Field Guide · Regional

Wildlife in Illinois

The birds, plants, and insects most often recorded in Illinois. A starting field list, drawn from iNaturalist research-grade observations, for what is likely living near you.

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Birds

Birds Commonly Recorded In Illinois

Most-recorded birds reported across the state.

  1. Canada Goose Branta canadensis 15,080 records
  2. Mallard Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 14,572 records
  3. American Robin American Robin Turdus migratorius 14,141 records
  4. House Sparrow House Sparrow Passer domesticus 12,682 records
  5. Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis 12,563 records
  6. Red-Winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus 11,722 records
  7. Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 8,075 records
  8. American Goldfinch American Goldfinch Spinus tristis 7,554 records
  9. Red-Tailed Hawk Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 7,434 records
  10. Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens 7,170 records
  11. Dark-Eyed Junco Dark-Eyed Junco Junco hyemalis 6,921 records
  12. Mourning Dove Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura 6,540 records
Plants

Plants Commonly Recorded In Illinois

Plants observers log most often statewide.

  1. Prairie Trillium Trillium recurvatum 9,480 records
  2. Common Milkweed Common Milkweed Asclepias syriaca 9,467 records
  3. Mayapple Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum 8,244 records
  4. Virginia Springbeauty Claytonia virginica 7,818 records
  5. Virginia Bluebells Virginia Bluebells Mertensia virginica 7,618 records
  6. Wild Bergamot Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa 5,976 records
  7. Bloodroot Bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis 5,963 records
  8. American Pokeweed American Pokeweed Phytolacca americana 5,887 records
  9. Wild Geranium Wild Geranium Geranium maculatum 5,529 records
  10. Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata 5,525 records
  11. Ground-Ivy Ground-Ivy Glechoma hederacea 5,487 records
  12. Blue Phlox Blue Phlox Phlox divaricata 5,263 records
Insects

Insects Commonly Recorded In Illinois

The insects that turn up most in records.

  1. Common Eastern Bumble Bee Common Eastern Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens 15,736 records
  2. Monarch Monarch Danaus plexippus 15,330 records
  3. Brown-Belted Bumble Bee Brown-Belted Bumble Bee Bombus griseocollis 9,446 records
  4. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera 7,744 records
  5. Black Swallowtail Papilio polyxenes 7,568 records
  6. Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis 6,694 records
  7. Red Admiral Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta 6,294 records
  8. Two-Spotted Bumble Bee Two-Spotted Bumble Bee Bombus bimaculatus 6,213 records
  9. Pearl Crescent Pearl Crescent Phyciodes tharos 5,980 records
  10. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Papilio glaucus 5,611 records
  11. Silver-Spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus 5,212 records
  12. Small White Small White Pieris rapae 4,978 records

Go Deeper

Use the live finder to narrow this to your town and season. Then read Who Lives Here, how to attract wildlife to your yard, and planting for local wildlife. For tools and field guides, see the recommended gear.

Photographs via iNaturalist contributors, used under their Creative Commons licenses: (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)  ·  (c) John D Reynolds, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John D Reynolds  ·  (c) Ximo Galarza, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)  ·  (c) Laura Keene, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Laura Keene  ·  (c) Dan Roach, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Dan Roach  ·  (c) Chris Fisher, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Chris Fisher  ·  (c) Craig K. Hunt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Craig K. Hunt  ·  (c) Donna Pomeroy, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Donna Pomeroy  ·  (c) csozanne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  no rights reserved, uploaded by mefisher  ·  (c) tlit46, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by tlit46  ·  (c) ziggymom, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Haley Selen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Haley Selen  ·  (c) Mark Kluge, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mark Kluge  ·  (c) viktorie_kolouchova, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Noel Pennington, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Noel Pennington  ·  (c) scotstewart, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by scotstewart  ·  (c) Virginia Rivers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) Steven Mlodinow, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Steven Mlodinow  ·  (c) Gilles San Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Gilles San Martin  ·  (c) larrytip, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by larrytip  ·  (c) Greg Lasley, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Greg Lasley  ·  (c) David Alan Rogers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by David Alan Rogers  ·  (c) Liu JimFood, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Liu JimFood