10 Popular Black And White Birds In Utah (Ultimate Guide + Pictures)

There are many black and white birds that live in or migrate to Utah’s gorgeous canyons, plateaus, and rock formations.

Some of these interesting western birds are common in many states, such as Juncos, Nuthatches, and Chickadees, while others such as Snow Buntings and Western Grebes only appear in the state during nesting or migration.

Black and White Birds in Utah

Just grab our guide and match up identifying characteristics of these 10 popular black and white birds in Utah to get started.

Check out these other popular bird posts:

1. Black-Billed Magpie

Scientific name: Pica hudsonia
Diet: Omnivore
Habitat: Yards, roads, and fields
Lifespan: 3 years
Size: 18 inches
Weight: 6 ounces
Wingspan: 22 inches

If you see a big black bird with iridescent blue-black wings, a broad curved bill, a white belly, and bold white-tipped wings, chances are that you’ve spotted the Black-Billed Magpie. Look for a black-green scissor-shaped tail during flight for further identification.

While you might notice a single Magpie sitting on a fence or foraging for seeds in a field, it’s also common to see these birds arriving in flocks at backyard feeders.

2. Black-Capped Chickadee

Scientific name: Poecile atricapillus
Diet: Insectivore, invertivore, and frugivore
Habitat: Deciduous and evergreen trees
Lifespan: 3 years
Size: 6 inches
Weight: 4 ounces
Wingspan: 8 inches

It’s common to see the Black-Capped Chickadee throughout the year in Utah, but they are often most visible at backyard feeders during wintertime. This bird has a fluffy white body, white cheeks, and a black cap on its head.

Black-Capped Chickadees spend their time in areas such as woods, parks, and yards that have mixed conifer and deciduous trees such as cottonwoods where they eat insects, berries, snails, suet, and sunflower seeds.

3. Dark-Eyed Junco

Scientific name: Junco hyemalis
Diet: Insectivore and herbivore
Habitat: Fields, sides of roads, yards, and parks
Lifespan: 2 or 3 years
Size: 6 inches
Weight: 1 ounce
Wingspan: 9 inches

This dark-eyed beauty has a chubby figure with charcoal-gray feathers above a white belly, a black back, and black wings. Look for their thick pale pink beaks used for catching insects and cracking seeds for more identifying characteristics.

Watch for these birds that can flock to hunt for seeds in colder months everywhere from yards to roads, fields, and parks. In the summer months, they stick to evergreen woods.

4. Downy Woodpecker

Scientific name: Dryovates pubescens
Diet: Insectivore
Habitat: Yards, orchards, parks, and deciduous woods
Lifespan: 3 or 4 years
Size: 7 inches
Weight: 1 ounce
Wingspan: 11 inches

A Downy Woodpecker is a small black and white bird with streaky and spotty black and white feathers. It has a red cap and a small sharp beak.

They are often seen drilling away at the trunks of mature, deciduous trees in woodlands, parks, or backyards. These interesting little birds also love to sip nectar from hummingbird feeders or consume sunflower seeds and peanut butter from regular bird feeders.

5. Snow Bunting

Scientific name: Plectrophenax nivalis
Diet: Mostly granivorous
Habitat: Roadsides and open fields
Lifespan: 3 years
Size: 5 inches
Weight: 1 ounce
Wingspan: 10 to 12 inches

While Snow Buntings Breed north of Canada past the Arctic Circle, they can migrate to western states such as Utah in the winter. Look for a chunky, almost completely snow-white bird with bold black feathers and a black back. A small, thick black beak completes identification.

When seen, these birds are busy picking up insects, weed seeds, berries, or grain in open fields.

6. Common Loon

Scientific name: Gavia immer
Diet: Carnivore
Habitat: Lakes, ponds, and marshes
Lifespan: 28 years
Size: 28 inches
Weight: 10 pounds
Wingspan: 42 inches

The loon’s voice is a loud, tremolo shout or chuckle that can catch you off guard if you hear the eerie sound echoing across a secluded wetland. Look for a black body with a black and white checked pattern below a sleek, curved black head and a dagger-like fishing bill.

Loons are swift swimmers and spend a lot of time underwater fishing and consuming their prey in remote, marshy areas.

7. Loggerhead Shrike

Scientific name: Lanius ludovicianus
Diet: Carnivore
Habitat: Fences, posts, thorny underbrush, and shrubs
Lifespan: 6 years
Size: 10 inches
Weight: 2 ounces
Wingspan: 14 inches

A Loggerhead Shrike is usually observed perching on a barbed wire fence or a nearby fencepost watching for bugs, small birds and animals, and lizard prey. They have a pale grayish-white body, black wings, and a broad black mask across the face.

These birds don’t usually frequent backyard feeders, but they might leave you unwelcome presents of dead birds, insects, or small animals hung on fences or thorny shrubs for future snacking purposes.

8. Clark’s Nutcracker

Scientific name: Nucifraga columbiana
Diet: Omnivore
Habitat: Trees in high, remote areas
Lifespan: 15 years
Size: 12 inches
Weight: 6 ounces
Wingspan: 24 inches

With a body the size of a Blue Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker is an omnivorous eater with a gray-white belly and head, bright black eyes, black wings, and white tail underparts.

Watch for these birds in lonely, evergreen spaces at high-elevation tree lines above 3,000 feet. Sometimes mistaken for a woodpecker in the air, Clark’s Nutcracker emits a noisy “kraak” call while flying. On the ground, they pick up bugs, berries, pine nuts, bird eggs, baby birds, carrion, and just about anything else that they can get their beaks on.

9. Barrow’s Goldeneye

Scientific name: Bucephala islandica
Diet: Insectivore, herbivore, and invertivore
Habitat: Pounds, lakes, and marshy places at high elevation
Lifespan: About 18 years
Size: 20 inches
Weight: 2 pounds
Wingspan: 30 inches

A big duck with a bold pattern, Barrow’s Goldeneye is a striking sight with its smooth black head, white throat, and undersides, and black back, tail, and wings. Look for white daube patterns on its wings, a black slightly curved beak, and yellow eyes ringed with white circles and a white mark under the eyes.

These long-lived ducks are often spotted during winter in elevated forested area lakes or ponds where they eat a variety of insects, water vegetation, and crustaceans.

10. Western Grebe

Scientific name: Aechmophorus occidentalis
Diet: Mostly aquatic carnivore
Habitat: Marshes and lakes with reeds
Lifespan: Up to 10 years
Size: 30 inches
Weight: 4 pounds
Wingspan: 40 inches

A Western Grebe is a slender and graceful black and white water bird that is usually found in inland lakes or marshes in Utah during the breeding season. Look for a white neck like a swan, a long dagger-shaped beak, a black back, a black cap, and white marks on the cheeks. Notice their bright red eyes for further identification.

Western Grebes court their mates, fish, and nest on the surface and near the edges of secluded lakes and wetlands.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re birdwatching in your backyard, out on one of Utah’s 2,000 lakes, or taking a hike through the Rocky Mountains, there are many opportunities to spot black and white avian wildlife in the state.

Maybe one of these popular black and white Utah birds will become your next favorite.