Field Guide · Regional

Wildlife in North Dakota

The birds, plants, and insects most often recorded in North Dakota. 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 North Dakota

Most-recorded birds reported across the state.

  1. American Robin American Robin Turdus migratorius 503 records
  2. Canada Goose Branta canadensis 394 records
  3. Ring-Necked Pheasant Ring-Necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus 349 records
  4. Wild Turkey Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo 312 records
  5. American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 312 records
  6. Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus 302 records
  7. Mallard Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 298 records
  8. Blue-Winged Teal Blue-Winged Teal Spatula discors 298 records
  9. Yellow-Headed Blackbird Yellow-Headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus 275 records
  10. Red-Winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus 272 records
  11. American Goldfinch American Goldfinch Spinus tristis 272 records
  12. Red-Tailed Hawk Red-Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 268 records
Plants

Plants Commonly Recorded In North Dakota

Plants observers log most often statewide.

  1. Plains Pricklypear Plains Pricklypear Opuntia polyacantha 583 records
  2. Upright Prairie Coneflower Ratibida columnifera 463 records
  3. Western Snowberry Western Snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis 454 records
  4. Yellow Sweetclover Yellow Sweetclover Melilotus officinalis 441 records
  5. Narrow-Leaved Purple Coneflower Narrow-Leaved Purple Coneflower Echinacea angustifolia 402 records
  6. Creeping Thistle Creeping Thistle Cirsium arvense 391 records
  7. Prairie Pasqueflower Prairie Pasqueflower Pulsatilla nuttalliana 381 records
  8. Silver Buffaloberry Silver Buffaloberry Shepherdia argentea 380 records
  9. Wild Licorice Wild Licorice Glycyrrhiza lepidota 359 records
  10. Smooth Brome Smooth Brome Bromus inermis 354 records
  11. Showy Milkweed Showy Milkweed Asclepias speciosa 335 records
  12. Scarlet Globemallow Scarlet Globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea 328 records
Insects

Insects Commonly Recorded In North Dakota

The insects that turn up most in records.

  1. Brown-Belted Bumble Bee Brown-Belted Bumble Bee Bombus griseocollis 434 records
  2. Monarch Monarch Danaus plexippus 425 records
  3. Two-Spotted Bumble Bee Two-Spotted Bumble Bee Bombus bimaculatus 351 records
  4. Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth Hyles euphorbiae 344 records
  5. Hunt's Bumble Bee Hunt's Bumble Bee Bombus huntii 299 records
  6. Painted Lady Painted Lady Vanessa cardui 233 records
  7. Red Admiral Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta 227 records
  8. Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle Coccinella septempunctata 212 records
  9. Asian Lady Beetle Harmonia axyridis 206 records
  10. Western Honey Bee Apis mellifera 202 records
  11. Tricolored Bumble Bee Bombus ternarius 196 records
  12. Melissa Blue Melissa Blue Plebejus melissa 176 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) John D Reynolds, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John D Reynolds  ·  (c) Frank Lin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Frank Lin  ·  (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY)  ·  (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)  ·  (c) gregslak, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by gregslak  ·  (c) jim22lawrence, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (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) Michael John Oldham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Michael John Oldham  ·  (c) Matthew Thompson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Matthew Thompson  ·  (c) Sergey Mayorov, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Sergey Mayorov  ·  (c) Elaine White, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Elaine White  ·  (c) Adja Gaye, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Adja Gaye  ·  (c) anneepierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by anneepierce  ·  (c) Wren Coxson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Wren Coxson  ·  (c) Belinda Lo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Belinda Lo  ·  (c) Jeremy Graves, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Jeremy Graves  ·  (c) stormcatcher, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by stormcatcher  ·  (c) Lena Zappia, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Lena Zappia  ·  (c) Steven Mlodinow, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Steven Mlodinow  ·  (c) Virginia Rivers, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)  ·  (c) larrytip, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by larrytip  ·  (c) Luca Boscain, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Luca Boscain  ·  (c) John Kolts, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John Kolts  ·  (c) roy pilcher, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by roy pilcher  ·  (c) Gilles San Martin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Gilles San Martin  ·  (c) Thomas Shahan, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Thomas Shahan  ·  (c) Mathew L. Brust, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Mathew L. Brust