North American landbirds in Britain

Many species of North American landbird have been recorded in Great Britain as vagrants. Most occur in autumn; southwest England attracts the greatest proportion, but northern and western Scotland comes a close second. Occasionally birds overwinter, and some species (e.g. Baltimore oriole) are more prone to this than others. Vagrancy also occurs in spring, and some species (e.g. white-throated sparrow and dark-eyed junco) do in fact have more records at this time than in autumn. Weather systems are thought to be the primary reason for the occurrence of birds in autumn; some birds seen in spring may simply be overshoots, although ship-assistance may also play a part.

Species list
The following species have been recorded, and accepted as wild by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee:


 * American kestrel
 * Mourning dove
 * Yellow-billed cuckoo
 * Black-billed cuckoo
 * Common nighthawk
 * Chimney swift
 * Belted kingfisher
 * Yellow-bellied sapsucker
 * Purple martin
 * Cliff swallow
 * Tree swallow
 * Buff-bellied pipit
 * Cedar waxwing
 * Grey catbird
 * Northern mockingbird
 * Brown thrasher
 * American robin
 * Varied thrush
 * Veery
 * Grey-cheeked thrush
 * Swainson's thrush
 * Hermit thrush
 * Wood thrush
 * Scarlet tanager
 * Summer tanager
 * Red-eyed vireo
 * Philadelphia vireo
 * Yellow-throated vireo
 * Eastern towhee
 * Lark sparrow
 * Song sparrow
 * White-crowned sparrow
 * White-throated sparrow
 * Dark-eyed junco
 * Rose-breasted grosbeak
 * Indigo bunting
 * Savannah sparrow
 * Golden-winged warbler
 * Tennessee warbler
 * Northern parula
 * Yellow warbler
 * Chestnut-sided warbler
 * Magnolia warbler
 * Cape May warbler
 * Yellow-rumped warbler
 * Blackburnian warbler
 * Bay-breasted warbler
 * Blackpoll warbler
 * Black-and-white warbler
 * American redstart
 * Ovenbird
 * Northern waterthrush
 * Common yellowthroat
 * Hooded warbler
 * Wilson's warbler
 * Evening grosbeak
 * Baltimore oriole
 * Brown-headed cowbird
 * Bobolink

Controversial species
The following species have been recorded, but not accepted as wild:


 * Yellow-headed blackbird