16 Rare And Beautiful Birds You Can Attract To Your Yard (And How To Do It)

It's always fun to watch birds perched on your backyard trees or feeding stations. And if they happen to be a rare sight in your area? You could easily spend a few hours looking up their ID, logging the sighting, and cooking up stories about how they wandered into your garden. What's even better is that you don't have to go out of your way to attract rare visitors to your yard. Just follow a few birdscaping tips to turn your yard and garden into a bird haven, a.k.a. offer them a heady mix of food, shelter, water, and cover to attract both common and rare visitors, like bumblebee hummingbirds, green-breasted mangos, and scarlet tanagers.

That being said, it's worth noting that there's no fixed definition of what earns a bird the "rare" label. Because the US is diverse geographically, most birds tend to have localized ranges. This means they'd be treated as a common occurrence in those areas but rare outside of them. Similarly, any migrating birds flying off-course, either because of the natural elements, a poor sense of direction, or in search of food, would be considered unique. Those who have taken a serious hit to their population are also assumed to be uncommon visitors. This quick roundup of rare and beautiful birds takes this into account, while also mentioning any quick tweaks to lure them into your yard.

A year-round occupant of Mexico, the white-eared hummingbird (Basilinna leucotis) has been known to stray north into the arid Arizona during summer and sometimes in winter. At times confused for the broad-billed hummingbird, the white-eared hummingbird boasts a stark white stripe on its head and has iridescent green wings. You can attract these hummingbirds to your yard with classic trees, like oaks or pines, where they actively nest. Typical hummingbird feeders holding sugar water also catch their fancy if they've been put up in the winter. They may sip nectar at patches of columbine and penstemon.

The only species of American hummingbird where males don't sport a colorful patch on their throats, the violet-crowned hummingbird (Amazilia violiceps) has, of late, expanded its range into the U.S. As their name suggests, they feature purple crowns on their mostly white bodies and have red bills. If you live in the Southeast U.S., you may notice these graceful birds swooping around sycamore trees, singling out suitable branches for their nests or catching flying insects. From spring through summer, they frequent hummingbird feeders suspended in residential lots. They feed on nectar from Mexican bird of paradise plants and coral beans.

Leaving a shimmering trail of purple and bronze as they fly, berylline hummingbirds (Amazilia beryllina) are Mexican natives that have been occasionally spotted in the Arizona canyons. If you maintain a suburban or woodland garden with a rich collection of flowering trees, you may find these elegant, apple green-bodied birds perching on branches or terrorizing other hummingbirds so they may make their nests in the summer. They also visit hummingbird feeders. Consider planting blocks of native plants with tubular flowers and minimize pesticide use so they may feast on nuisance pests.

Since bumblebee hummingbirds (Atthis heloisa) are so tiny, measuring no greater than 3 inches, they can be easily missed. But if the nesting season is on, you may get lucky and spot a male bird singing persistently from his tree perch to get the attention of his counterpart. Bumblebee hummingbirds feature a gorgeous, pink throat and usually hold their tails up when feasting on insects. There have been rare sightings in Arizona, where these miniature birds drink sweet nectar in hanging feeders or water in bird baths. They're attracted to flowering plants like salvia, penstemons, opuntia, and lobelias.

The green-breasted mango (Anthracothorax prevostii), lovingly called the "fruity flyer," has been infrequently spotted along the Gulf Coast in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. These woodland dwellers have developed a taste for suburban lots, perhaps because it's mostly the juveniles who enter the states. Teal and deep green shades run along their orange-striped bodies. You may spot them flashing their bluish-magenta tails as they head toward hummingbird feeders. If they choose to remain for longer, thank them for their pest control services, as they greedily feed on mosquitoes, spiders, and gnats. They love the nectar of bougainvillea, hibiscus, and mango trees.

Common in the Bahamas, as you'd expect from its common name, the Bahama woodstar (Nesophlox evelynae) is a rare visitor in southern Florida. You may place them as tiny, green-bodied creatures with long, forked tail feathers. Females display a splash of orange on their sides, while the males sport purple throats. These hummingbirds visit suburban gardens housing lots of flowering shrubs and vines, and they are an important pollinator for black mangrove. When food sources are scarce in their native habitat, they may move continents and land at bird feeders for the delicious sweet water.

Having recovered successfully from the massive hit their population took due to deforestation, the pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) has since begun to frequent suet feeders in wooded lots. Huge as they are, you can easily recognize them from the red crest on their black bodies. Retaining dead stumps or snags on your property can encourage them to roost or nest inside. And if you ever hear them drumming away at your trees? Thank them for clearing away the carpenter ants, termites, and wood-boring beetles. Interestingly, the rectangular cavities they leave behind can attract other uncommon birds, including owls and bats.

Western tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana) have an affinity for conifer forests running along the US west coast, breeding or nesting in the treetops. But on their way back in early spring, the male birds make bird feeders their pit stop, with a few rare individuals sometimes straying into the East Coast. To attract western tanagers to your yard, keep your birdbaths brimming with water and lay out a tray with fresh or dried fruit, especially oranges. If there's space, consider adding berry-producing plants, like elderberries or mulberries (not the white mulberry; it's invasive), that also draw in insects, promising a full meal.

Red bodies finished in black wings make scarlet tanagers (Piranga olivacea) some of the most beautiful birds you can lay your eyes on — assuming you do; they tend to stick to treetops in oak forests, after all. However, if the forests don't offer much food because the late spring frost played spoilsport, you might find these birds foraging near ground level for berries. Elder, sumac, strawberry, serviceberry, and blackberry plants can lure these birds to your yard, as may a heady population of caterpillars, aphids, snails, bees, beetles, moths, or spiders lurking around the landscape.

With a face that looks permanently stupefied, long-eared owls (Asio otus) could surely become the butt of memes. But because they're a) nocturnal and b) brown-bodied, they naturally hide in the tree canopies and are difficult to spot. Unless you're willing to undertake a night expedition to pine forests, one way to have a better look at them is to put out nest boxes. Be sure they're open in the front, or you could just recycle old artificial baskets. If your property features mesquite trees, willows, conifers, or a giant cactus, these owls may be more willing to spend some time.

Keeping to their name, pine warblers (Setophaga pinus) stick to pine trees and their nuts for the most part. However, sometimes, they do make a getaway to home gardens offering mixed seeds or suet in feeders. Patches of flowering plants over which spiders, ants, moths, and caterpillars collect also pique their interest. Pine warblers can munch on weed seeds and berries during winter. They're most prominent in the eastern U.S. and may even be found in the winter down south. These trilling birds sound like chipping sparrows but vary vastly in appearance, thanks to their olive-yellowish bodies.

Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) may be a common sighting across Europe, but that's not the case in the northern U.S. While migrating, several pairs wander west of the Bering Sea, venturing into the Alaskan lands during autumn, and continue to brave it out and travel onward to Colorado. Male bramblings change their appearance, showing orange stripes on white rumps during spring but growing plain, similar to their opposite counterparts in winter. If they decide to breed within the states, they'll seek out beech trees. To draw them into your gardens, add mixed seeds to bird feeders or grow fruit trees.

You might catch sight of Scott's orioles (Icterus parisorum), or at least hear them whistling, if you live in the southwest. These black-headed, yellow-bodied passerines are especially abundant along the Rocky Mountains. Although these birds tend to stay hidden in yucca plants, they may visit gardens if they find sugar water in the suspended bird feeders. They may similarly seek flowering plants, both for the nectar and the various insects (think beetles and caterpillars) foraging on them. Scott's orioles also enjoy berry-producing vegetation, so grow these to attract them.

In times when white-winged crossbills (Loxia leucoptera) can't find their favorite spruce crops, they travel beyond their typical Canadian and Alaskan ranges into the continental U.S. Therein, you're most likely to see these crisscross-billed, stocky red or yellow finches during winter, though summer sightings have also been recorded. Although these birds stick to forests, they may flock into your yard if they find sunflower or nyjer seeds in the feeders. When especially famished, they also drop in to pick seeds of conifers and hemlocks, no matter how small the patch. They also enjoy salt and berries.

Lewis's woodpeckers (Melanerpes lewis) are experiencing a noticeable decline in their populations and have disappeared from a few of their previous nesting sites. Plus, since they're on a constant hunt for nuts, these nomadic woodpeckers can be difficult to spot. However, if you can safely maintain a dead tree in your yard, you may attract these colorful birds if you live in and around their range in the western U.S. They may also stop by for peanuts, acorns, and conifer seeds on trees or in your feeders in winter and for berries if it's late summer.

Boreal owls (Aegolius funereus) are a rare sighting because they typically dwell in forests and change their roosting sites every day. However, when they can't find many voles, mice, squirrels, or birds to feed on during winter, they travel further south into the country so they won't go hungry. If you'd like to grab the attention of these yellow-eyed creatures, pin up nest boxes to any dead or live tree about 16 to 20 feet above ground. Do this in late winter or early spring, as that's when the male birds court their counterparts.