| Full Name | Type | Families | Scientific Name | Habitat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Bittern | Bittern | Ardeidae | Botaurus lentiginosus | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Least Bittern | Bittern | Ardeidae | Ixobrychus exilis | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Common Moorhen | Rail and Coot | Aramidae | Gallinula chloropus | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Yellow Rail | Rail and Coot | Rallidae | Coturnicops noveboracensis | Fresh Water Marshes |
| American Coot | Rail and Coot | Rallidae | Fulica americana | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Sora | Rail and Coot | Rallidae | Porzana carolina | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Virginia Rail | Rail and Coot | Rallidae | Rallus limicola | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Cattle Egret | Egret | Ardeidae | Bubulcus ibis | Grassland |
| Great Egret | Egret | Ardeidae | Casmerodius albus | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Snowy Egret | Egret | Ardeidae | Egretta thula | Salt Marsh |
| Great Blue Heron | Heron | Ardeidae | Ardea herodias | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Green Heron | Heron | Ardeidae | Butorides striatus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Little Blue Heron | Heron | Ardeidae | Egretta caerulea | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | Heron | Ardeidae | Nycticorax nycticorax | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | Heron | Ardeidae | Nycticorax violacea | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Herring Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus argentatus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Ring-billed Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus delawarensis | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus fuscus | Sea Shore |
| Iceland Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus glaucoides | Sea Shore |
| Glaucous Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus hyperboreus | Sea Shore |
| Great Black-backed Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus marinus | Sea Shore |
| Little Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus minutus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Bonaparte's Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus philadelphia | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Franklin's Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus pipixcan | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Thayer's Gull | Gull | Laridae | Larus thayeri | Sea Shore |
| Parasitic Jaeger | Jaeger | Stercorariidae | Stercorarius parasiticus | Open Ocean |
| Black Tern | Tern | Laridae | Chlidonias nigra | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Caspian Tern | Tern | Laridae | Sterna caspia | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Forster's Tern | Tern | Laridae | Sterna forsteri | Salt Marsh |
| Common Tern | Tern | Laridae | Sterna hirundo | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Common Loon | Loon | Gaviidae | Gavia immer | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Pacific Loon | Loon | Gaviidae | Gavia pacifica | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Red-throated Loon | Loon | Gaviidae | Gavia stellata | Sea Shore |
| Belted Kingfisher | Kingfisher | Alcedinidae | Megaceryle alcyon | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Cormorant | Phalacrocoracidae | Phalacrocorax auritus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| American White Pelican | Pelican | Pelecanidae | Pelecanus eryhrorhynchos | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Sandhill Crane | Crane | Gruidae | Grus canadensis | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Piping Plover | Plover | Charadriidae | Charadrius melodus | Sea Shore |
| Semipalmated Plover | Plover | Charadriidae | Charadrius semipalmatus | Sea Shore |
| Killdeer | Plover | Charadriidae | Charadrius vociferus | Grassland |
| American Golden-Plover | Plover | Charadriidae | Pluvialis dominica | Sea Shore |
| Black-bellied Plover | Plover | Charadriidae | Pluvialis squatarola | Sea Shore |
| American Avocet | Sandpiper | Recurvirostridae | Recurvirostra americana | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Spotted Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Actitis macularia | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Arenaria interpres | Sea Shore |
| Upland Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Bartramia longicauda | Grassland |
| Sanderling | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris alba | Sea Shore |
| Dunlin | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris alpina | Sea Shore |
| Baird's Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris bairdii | Sea Shore |
| Red Knot | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris canutus | Sea Shore |
| White-rumped Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris fuscicollis | Sea Shore |
| Pectoral Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris melanotos | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Least Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris minutilla | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Calidris pusilla | Sea Shore |
| Willet | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Catoptrophorus semipalmatus | Salt Marsh |
| Wilson's Snipe | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Gallinago delicata | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Limnodromus griseus | Salt Marsh |
| Long-billed Dowitcher | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Limnodromus scolopaceus | Salt Marsh |
| Marbled Godwit | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Limosa fedoa | Salt Marsh |
| Hudsonian Godwit | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Limosa haemastica | Salt Marsh |
| Stilt Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Micropalma himantopus | Salt Marsh |
| Whimbrel | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Numenius phaeopus | Salt Marsh |
| Red-necked Phalarope | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Phalaropus lobatus | Tundra Ponds |
| Wilson's Phalarope | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Phalaropus tricolor | Fresh Water Marshes |
| American Woodcock | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Philohela minor | Deciduous Forest |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Tringa flavipes | Salt Marsh |
| Greater Yellowlegs | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Tringa melanoleuca | Salt Marsh |
| Solitary Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Tringa solitria | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Buff-breasted Sandpiper | Sandpiper | Scolopacidae | Tryngites subruficollis | Grassland |
| Clark's Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Aechmophorus clarkii | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Western Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Aechmophorus occidentalis | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Horned Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Podiceps auritus | Sea Shore |
| Red-necked Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Podiceps grisegena | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Eared Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Podiceps nigricollis | Sea Shore |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Grebe | Podicipedidae | Podilymbus podiceps | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Wood Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Aix sponsa | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Northern Pintail | Duck | Anatidae | Anas acuta | Fresh Water Marshes |
| American Wigeon | Duck | Anatidae | Anas americana | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Northern Shoveler | Duck | Anatidae | Anas clypeata | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Green-winged Teal | Duck | Anatidae | Anas crecca | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Blue-winged Teal | Duck | Anatidae | Anas discors | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Mallard | Duck | Anatidae | Anas platyrhyuchos | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| American Black Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Anas rubripes | Salt Marsh |
| Gadwall | Duck | Anatidae | Anas strepera | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Lesser Scaup | Duck | Anatidae | Aythya affinis | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Redhead | Duck | Anatidae | Aythya americana | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Ring-necked Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Aythya collaris | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Greater Scaup | Duck | Anatidae | Aythya marila | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Canvasback | Duck | Anatidae | Aythya valisineria | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Bufflehead | Duck | Anatidae | Bucephala albeola | Sea Shore |
| Common Goldeneye | Duck | Anatidae | Bucephala clangula | Sea Shore |
| Long-tailed Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Clangula hyemalis | Sea Shore |
| Harlequin Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Histrionicus histrionicus | Sea Shore |
| Hooded Merganser | Duck | Anatidae | Lophodytes cucullatus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| White-winged Scoter | Duck | Anatidae | Melanitta fusca | Sea Shore |
| Black Scoter | Duck | Anatidae | Melanitta nigra | Sea Shore |
| Surf Scoter | Duck | Anatidae | Melanitta perspicillata | Sea Shore |
| Common Merganser | Duck | Anatidae | Mergus merganser | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Red-breasted Merganser | Duck | Anatidae | Mergus serrator | Sea Shore |
| Ruddy Duck | Duck | Anatidae | Oxyura jamaicensis | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Greater White-fronted Goose | Goose | Anatidae | Anser albifrons | Fresh Water Marshes |
| Canada Goose | Goose | Anatidae | Branta canadensis | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Snow Goose | Goose | Anatidae | Chen Caerulescens | Salt Marsh |
| Ross's Goose | Goose | Anatidae | Chen rossii | Salt Marsh |
| Trumpeter Swan | Swan | Anatidae | Cygnus buccinator | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Tundra Swan | Swan | Anatidae | Cygnus columbianus | Lakes Rivers Ponds |
| Mute Swan | Swan | Anatidae | Cygnus olor | Fresh Water Marshes |
There have been some changes in the birding world. One significant change is the recognition of the Canadian Goose having more than one type. The name for the regional birds you could see in Minnesota is the Cackling Goose. I have not included this bird on this particular table, but if you want to read more, here is a good page describing the differences in these birds: Cackling Goose Information
The Wilson's Snipe is now the correct name for the bird formerly called the Common Snipe. The term, Common Snipe is assigned to the European type of this bird, which is found in some places in the USA, but is not included on the Minnesota Common Bird list.
Other changes on my list are included as notes on the following pages where the bird is listed
To the best of my knowledge, this information is up to date as of 2005 *the most current information I could obtain. If you see any errors please fill out a comments form at the sites Main Page