How much does a bird weigh
Exclusive of the more common backyard or local birds found in the US, with an approximate stab at their weight in grams, pounds or ounces.
Average weight of a backyard bird would be in the 37 to 54 gram range, whereas the heaviest birds weigh between 140 to 180 grams - if the average is taken from the thirteen most common birds in the US alone. Differences in weight of the sexes does exist, but no real accurate data is available in mature birds.
With as many has 1107 different species current in the United States alone, I hope you can forgive me for not listing them all on my bird weight table.
Instead, I've concentrated on the most common birds in the US, but more so the data revolves around the thirteen most common backyard birds, as this can relate to us all.
Lightweight birds outside the most common would be most of the Hummingbird family, Warblers, Wrens and the Finches, including the American Goldfinch.
How much woodpeckers weigh requires a table of their own, but as a rule - all but the Downy and Ladder-Backed Woodpecker could be classed as heavier birds.
Pileated Woodpecker is the heaviest of the species, along with the Northern Flicker.
My findings were not able to unearth weight differences between the sexes, as no real scientifically proven data is publicly known at this time, as it relates to being unable to truly identify accurate weight with mature birds captured and released in the wild.
My table outlines up to sixty-seven birds, in which should keep you busy, but I've taken the pleasure of converting the weight into grams, pounds and ounces.
Bird weight table
| Species: | Grams: | Pounds: | Ounces: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altamira Oriole | 47 - 64 | 0.10 - 0.41 | 1.6 - 2.2 |
| American Goldfinch | 11 - 20 | 0.02 - 0.04 | 0.3 - 0.7 |
| American Robin | 72 - 94 | 0.15 - 0.20 | 2.5 - 3.3 |
| American Tree Sparrow | 18 - 26 | 0.03 - 0.05 | 0.6 - 0.9 |
| Anna's Hummingbird | 3 - 6 | 0.006 - 0.01 | 0.1 - 0.2 |
| Ash-Throated Flycatcher | 20 - 37 | 0.04 - 0.08 | 0.7 - 1.3 |
| Baltimore Oriole | 30 - 40 | 0.06 - 0.08 | 1.0 - 1.4 |
| Barn Swallow | 17 - 20 | 0.03 - 0.26 | 0.5 - 0.7 |
| Black-Capped Chickadee | 9 - 14 | 0.01 - 0.03 | 0.3 - 0.4 |
| Black-Throated Blue Warbler | 8 - 12 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.4 |
| Blue Jay | 70 - 100 | 0.15 - 0.22 | 2.4 - 3.5 |
| Bullocks Oriole | 29 - 43 | 0.06 - 0.09 | 1.0 - 1.5 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 8 - 12 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.4 |
| Carolina Wren | 18 - 22 | 0.03 - 0.04 | 0.6 - 0.7 |
| Chestnut-Backed Chickadee | 8 - 13 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.4 |
| Clark's Nutcracker | 106 - 161 | 0.23 - 0.35 | 3.7 - 5.6 |
| Common Grackle | 74 - 142 | 0.16 - 0.31 | 2.6 - 5.0 |
| Common Redpoll | 11 - 20 | 0.02 - - 0.26 | 0.3 - 0.7 |
| Dark-Eyed Junco | 18 - 30 | 0.03 - 0.06 | 0.6 - 1.0 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 21 - 28 | 0.04 - 0.06 | 0.7 - 0.9 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 28 - 32 | 0.06 - 0.07 | 0.9 - 1.1 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 16 - 21 | 0.03 - 0.04 | 0.5 - 0.7 |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | 27 - 30 | 0.05 - 0.06 | 0.9 - 1.0 |
| European Starling | 60 - 96 | 0.13 - 0.21 | 2.1 - 3.3 |
| Evening Grosbeak | 53 - 74 | 0.11 - 0.16 | 1.8 - 2.6 |
| Golden-Fronted Woodpecker | 73 - 99 | 0.16 - 0.21 | 2.5 - 3.4 |
| Gray Catbird | 23 - 56 | 0.05 - 0.12 | 0.8 - 1.9 |
| Great-Crested Flycatcher | 27 - 40 | 0.05 - 0.08 | 0.9 - 1.4 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 40 - 95 | 0.08 - 0.20 | 1.4 - 3.3 |
| House Finch | 16 - 27 | 0.03 - 0.05 | 0.5 - 0.9 |
| Hooded Oriole | 23 - 25 | 0.05 - 0.06 | 0.8 - 0.9 |
| House Sparrow | 24 - 38 | 0.05 - 0.08 | 0.8 - 1.3 |
| House Wren | 10 - 12 | 0.02 - 0.02 | 0.3 - 0.4 |
| Indigo Bunting | 12 - 18 | 0.02 - 0.04 | 0.4 - 0.6 |
| Juniper Titmouse | 15 - 17 | 0.03 - 0.04 | 0.5 - 0.6 |
| Ladder-Backed Woodpeckers | 21 - 48 | 0.04 - 0.10 | 0.7 - 1.6 |
| Lesser Goldfinch | 8 - 12 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.4 |
| Mountain Bluebird | 29 - 31 | 0.06 - 0.07 | 1.0 - 1.1 |
| Mountain Chickadee | 10 - 12 | 0.02 - 0.03 | 0.3 - 0.4 |
| Mourning Dove | 140 - 180 | 0.30 - 0.39 | 4.9 - 6.3 |
| Northern Cardinal | 42 - 48 | 0.09 - 0.10 | 1.4 - 1.6 |
| Northern Flicker | 110 - 160 | 0.24 - 0.35 | 3.8 - 5.6 |
| Orange-Crowned Warbler | 7 - 11 | 0.01 - 0.024 | 0.2 - 0.3 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 250 - 350 | 0.55 - 0.77 | 8.8 - 12 |
| Pine Grosbeak | 47 - 64 | 0.10 - 0.14 | 1.6 - 2.2 |
| Pine Siskin | 12 - 18 | 0.02 - 0.03 | 0.4 - 0.6 |
| Pine Warbler | 9 - 15 | 0.01 - 0.03 | 0.3 - 0.5 |
| Prothonotary Warbler | 13 - 15 | 0.02 - 0.03 | 0.4 - 0.5 |
| Purple Finch | 18 - 32 | 0.03 - 0.07 | 0.6 - 1.1 |
| Pyrrhuloxia | 24 - 43 | 0.05 - 0.09 | 0.8 - 1.5 |
| Red-Bellied Woodpecker | 56 - 91 | 0.12 - 0.20 | 1.9 - 3.2 |
| Red-Breasted Nuthatch | 8 - 13 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.4 |
| Red-Headed Woodpecker | 41 - 43 | 0.09 - 0.10 | 1.4 - 1.5 |
| Red-Winged Blackbird | 32 - 77 | 0.07 - 0.16 | 1.1 - 2.7 |
| Rose-Breasted Grosbeak | 39 - 49 | 0.08 - 1.10 | 1.3 - 1.7 |
| Ruby-Throated Hummingbird | 2 - 6 | 0.004 - 0.01 | 0.07 - 0.2 |
| Scotts Oriole | 32 - 41 | 0.07 - 0.09 | 1.1 - 1.4 |
| Song Sparrow | 18 - 20 | 0.03 - 0.04 | 0.6 - 0.7 |
| Spotted Towhee | 33 - 49 | 0.07 - 0.10 | 1.1 - 1.7 |
| Steller's Jay | 100 - 140 | 0.22 - 0.30 | 3.5 - 4.9 |
| Tree Swallow | 16 - 25 | 0.03 - 0.05 | 0.5 - 0.8 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 20 - 22 | 0.04 - 0.05 | 0.7 - 0.8 |
| Verdin | 6 - 7 | 0.01 - 0.02 | 0.2 - 0.3 |
| Western Bluebird | 24 - 31 | 0.05 - 0.06 | 0.8 - |
| White-Breasted Nuthatch | 19 - 21 | 0.04 - 0.05 | 0.6 - 0.7 |
| White-Throated Sparrow | 20 - 22 | 0.04 - 0.05 | 0.7 - 0.8 |
| Wood Thrush | 40 - 50 | 0.08 - 0.11 | 1.4 - 1.7 |
Average Backyard Bird weight
While many backyard birds you often see in your yard are not all taken into consideration, this is the average weight of up to thirteen common backyard birds.
Average weight being 37.3g at its lowest or 54.9g at the highest.
In comparison, that is light as a light bulb at its lightest, or if you like 54g could be as heavy as two slices of bread, or one cup of pasta - if you happen to be wondering what it really compares too in real life.
Has you can imagine then, the average weight of a backyard bird is not heavy at all, so to hand feed birds in the palm of your hand would not be felt at all.
Heaviest average weight is still light in comparison, while weighing as much as two slices of bread, or a sandwich if you like.
However, the average weight is still drastically reduced if I remove few outliers such as the Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker or Mourning Dove.
For the record, I consider the most common backyard birds to be, but not exclusively to be the following:
Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-Capped Chickadee, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
Common lightweight birds
Often correlating with small common backyard birds only, how much a bird weighs at its lightest, is very light indeed.
And for the record, my calculations are based on the following species, who are no less than 9g or up to 38g at the heaviest:
Dark-eyed Junco, Black-Capped Chickadee, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, House Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch and Downy Woodpecker.
My personal cut off range for no other reason than the following being considered larger birds - so weight wise I don't believe the Northern Cardinal or Hairy Woodpecker to fit within the lightweight bird range.
On average that brings the average weight of a small common lightweight bird to 17.2g at its lightest, or 24.2g at their heaviest.
Heaviest being the House Sparrow, which you'd probably know is quite a small bird, while the lightest is indeed the common Black-capped Chickadee.
Following that up with the American Goldfinch and then the House Finch; its therefore safe to say the Finches are among the lightest common backyard birds.
Male vs female differences
Unfortunately, while it is confirmed certain species have varied weight differences between the mature sexes, there's really no hard data to be sure.
Female birds are the lightest sex while a male can be only a few grams heavier.
Differences are hard to tell by the naked eye with any real scientific data not being made available for me to lay it out.
What that can be contributed to is the mature wild birds are captured in the wild to be weighed, then instantly released, but then differences in weight still vary even when an identical male or female bird is measured.
And that is why the weight I have provided you must be an approximate only, as size of bird, diet, time of year or not knowing if the bird is unwell - due to weight loss is hard to take into consideration.
How much birds weigh is taken from living birds only, plucked out of the wild and released back again for preservation reasons only.
Birds on the heavy size
One heavy size bird in terms of common backyard birds only is of course the always present Mourning Dove, weighing between 140g to 180g.
As few of us can receive far larger birds if taking birds of pray into consideration, it would be best to exclude weight in relation to Owls or Hawks, for example.
For now the heaviest birds you'd most likely see at the platform feeder or clumsily attempting to reach bird feed hanging inside the bird feeders, you can expect the still light in bird terms the Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal.
The woodpeckers make the heavy list too with the Hairy and Red-bellied woodpecker being heaviest - or the Pileated woodpecker being heaviest of the lot.
To compare weight of these birds to an object in real life, Northern Cardinals can be as heavy has a ladies bra to be a bit weird about it.
Likewise the common Blue Jay can be as heavy has about half a cup of cooked rice, two boiled eggs or six medium size oranges.
To summarize
Remarkably, despite wild birds appearing to be quite heavy, even the biggest can still feel light as a feather to hold.
As the average weight of a backyard bird is approximately 37.3g to 54.9g, that is in comparison to a light bulb or two medium slices of bread.
While not taking into consideration with my overall average, all of the Hummingbird family would be the lightest birds in the United States by far, followed by Finches, Warblers and Wrens.
Heaviest backyard birds would the Blue Jay and Northern Cardinal.
However, not included again on the average weight of common backyard birds is all the woodpeckers, most of whom are among the heaviest.
Differences in weight between a mature male and female bird of any species does exist but not included within my data.
That can be attributed to no real hard scientific data being publicly known, due to weight differences being hard to accurately measure in a real life scenario.
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