16 White Birds In Saskatchewan (ID, Photo, Call Guide)

From egrets to Snowy Owls there is something mesmerizing about white birds that means you can’t quite take your eyes off of them and want to know more.

But there are so many similar-looking white birds, especially egrets, herons, and ibis. So how do you know which is which?

Well, you have come to the right place as this guide will help you identify white birds by sight and sound and know which times of the year they are in Saskatchewan to help you narrow down the options and find out more about birds near you.

White Birds In Saskatchewan By Season

White Birds in Saskatchewan all year: Rock Pigeon

White Birds in Saskatchewan in summer: Ring-billed Gull, American White Pelican, Great Blue Heron, Common Tern, Great Egret, Trumpeter Swan, Cattle Egret

White Birds in Saskatchewan in winter: Snowy Owl, Snow Bunting, Gyrfalcon, Willow Ptarmigan

White Birds during migration in Saskatchewan: Snow Goose, Tundra Swan, Ross’s Goose, Whooping Crane

This guide will help you identify those white birds out on the water or in the woods or fields and are listed from most to least common according to checklists submitted by bird watchers on ebird for Saskatchewan.

16 White Birds In Saskatchewan

1. Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gulls spend the breeding season in Saskatchewan and are spotted from March to November. They are recorded in 14% of summer checklists submitted by bird watchers for the province.

Ring-billed Gulls are medium-sized gulls that are easily identified because of their short, yellow bills with a black ring around them near the tip.

Breeding adults are generally white all-over except for their pale gray backs and wings with black tips and white spots. Their eyes are yellow, outlined with orange. They have yellow legs and feet. Males and females are similar. 

The major differences between breeding and non-breeding adults are the light brown streaks on the heads and necks of non-breeding adults.

Juvenile Ring-billed Gulls are covered in brown streaks all over.

• Larus delawarensis
• Length: 18 – 19 in (46 – 48 cm) 
• Weight: 20.81 oz (590 g)
• Wingspan: 47 – 48 in (119 – 122 cm)

Ring-billed Gulls breed in Canada and northern and northwestern US states. They migrate for winter to southern US states, the Pacific Coast, and Mexico.

You can find Ring-billed Gulls in urban, suburban and agricultural areas. They also inhabit coastal waters, beaches, lakes, ponds, streams, estuaries, and mudflats. They are frequent visitors to parking lots, landfills, shopping malls, and reservoirs where they tend to group in large numbers.

Ring-billed Gulls calls:

Fun Fact: Ring-billed Gulls are sometimes called “fast food gulls” because they often hang out near fast food restaurants and scavenge for food there. 

2. Rock Pigeon

Rock Pigeons are an introduced species in Saskatchewan and they are residents of the province all year. They appear in up to 11% of summer checklists and 17% of winter checklists.

Rock Pigeons are well recognized around towns and parks and are usually blueish gray with two black bands on the wing and black on the tail tip. They have iridescent throat feathers and orange eyes.

However, they can also be white, spotted, or red.

• Columba livia
• Length: 11.8-14.2 in (30-36 cm)
• Weight: 9.3-13.4 oz (265-380 g)
• Wingspan: 19.7-26.4 in (50-67 cm)

Rock Pigeons do not migrate and can be found in all US states, southern Canada, and the Pacific Coast to Alaska.

You can find Rock Pigeons in cities, parks, and backyards, especially if there is birdseed on the ground. Some cities have ordinances against feeding pigeons as they are considered pests.

Rock Pigeon Call:

Fun Fact: Rock Pigeons have an amazing ability to find their way home using the earth’s magnetic field.

3. American White Pelican

American White Pelicans are usually found in Saskatchewan during the breeding season from April to October, but a few can be spotted here until January. They occur in 9% of summer checklists.

American White Pelicans are large soaring birds that have the second-largest average wingspan of any North American bird. 

Non-breeding adult American White Pelicans are white all over, except for black flight feathers that are only visible when in flight or when the wings are spread. Juveniles have light gray feathers with darker brown napes.

Breeding adult American White Pelicans are still white but they grow a yellow plate on their upper bills, like a horn, and around their eyes, bills and legs become brighter orange.

• Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
• Length: 60 – 63 in (152 – 160 cm)
• Weight: 246.4 oz (6983 g)
• Wingspan: 96 – 110 in (244 – 279 cm)

American White Pelicans breed in remote lakes inland in North America before spending the winter on the southern Pacific Coast of the US, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Central America. They can be spotted during migration in western and central US states.

You can find American White Pelicans in shallow freshwater lakes, wetlands, and edges of lakes and rivers. In the winter, you can find them in coastal bays, inlets, and estuaries where they forage in shallow water and rest on sandbars. 

American White Pelican calls: These birds are usually silent or only make a few grunts. However, the young can be noisy in the large colonies begging for food.

Fun Facts: The long and huge bill of the American White Pelican is capable of holding three gallons of water. When it scoops up fish from the sea, it tilts its bill down to drain the water so it can then swallow the fish that’s left inside its throat sac. 

4. Snow Goose

Snow Geese are spotted in Saskatchewan all year, but their numbers increase during migration from March to May and August to November. They are recorded in 12% of checklists during spring and 18% of checklists during fall.

The Snow Goose is aptly named because this goose is totally white except for its black wingtips, pink bill with a black grin patch, and pink legs and feet.

Interestingly, it has another variant, called the Blue Goose, which has a white head but a dark blue-gray body. Both variants of the Snow Geese may occasionally have a “stained” head due to their feeding. 

The sexes of both variants are similar though they may vary in size. Males tend to be larger than females.

Juvenile white morphs have a dusky gray-brown coloring, and juvenile blue morphs are dark gray. However, they both still have the recognizable pink bill and black grin patch.

• Anser caerulescens
• Length: 25 – 31 in (64 – 79 cm)
• Weight: 81.13 oz (2299 g)
• Wingspan: 54.3 in (138 cm)

Snow Geese breed mainly in Canada and spend winter in the United States.

You can find Snow Geese and Blue Geese together in freshwater marshes and agricultural grain fields. In winter, they favor salt marshes and coastal bays, but they still visit plowed cornfields or wetlands.

Snow Goose Call:

Fun Fact: Snow Geese choose the same color morph as themselves when breeding and will mate for life.

5. Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Herons are spotted during the breeding season in Saskatchewan from April to November. They appear in 3% of summer checklists.

Great Blue Herons are very large, majestic birds that are the largest heron native to North America. Their pale gray bodies can look white in flight.

They have a white face with a black crest or plume that extends from the front of their eyes to the back of their heads. Their bills are yellow-orangish.

They have long gray necks with black and white streaking in the front, pale grayish-blue bodies with dark wingtips, and long gray legs. 

The Great Blue Heron has a white morph subspecies called the Great White Heron in Florida.

• Ardea herodias
• Length: 46 – 52 in (117 – 132 cm)
• Weight: 128 oz (3628 g)
• Wingspan: 77 – 82 in (196 – 208 cm)

Great Blue Herons remain in most US states all year, but those that breed in the Mid-West and Canada migrate south.

You can find Great Blue Herons in many wetland environments. They can be present in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded marshes, lake edges, or shorelines.

Great Blue Heron Call:

Fun Fact: Great Blue Herons defend their feeding territory with dramatic wing outstretched displays, with their heads thrown back.

6. Snowy Owl

Snowy Owls are vulnerable species in Saskatchewan but they spend winter in the south of the province and are spotted from November to May. They occur in 9% of checklists at this time.

The iconic Snowy Owls of the arctic, camouflaged against the white winter background ready to stealthily snatch up their prey.

Snowy Owls have bright yellow eyes, and their legs and feet are fully covered with feathers to protect them from the cold, harsh weather of the Arctic. They have thick dark bars on their wingtips but incomplete bars on their tails.

Male Snowy Owls are either white all over or have a small number of brown spots.

Female Snowy Owls have flecks of dark brown to black on their backs, wings, and flanks, unlike the more white males. They also have thicker and more complete barring on their tails compared to the males.

Juveniles have extensive brown barring all over their bodies except their faces, underwings, legs, and feet.

• Bubo scandiacus
• Length: 20.5-27.9 in (52-71 cm)
• Weight: 56.4-104.1 oz (1600-2950 g)
• Wingspan: 49.6-57.1 in (126-145 cm)

Snowy Owls breed in the arctic around the world, including the north of Canada, and migrate to southern Canada and northern US states.

You can find Snowy Owls in open Arctic tundra and prefer to situate themselves in areas with vantage points like hummocks, ridges, knolls, and bluffs so that they can keep a close watch on their surroundings.

Snowy Owls calls: They make a strong raspy Hoo sound. They also hoot, whistle, and hiss if threatened.

Fun Fact: The Snowy Owl is also known as the Arctic Owl, the Polar Owl, and the White Owl.

7. Tundra Swan

Tundra Swans are mainly spotted in Saskatchewan during migration from April to May and September to November.

They are recorded in 6% of checklists during spring and 11% of checklists during fall submitted by bird watchers for the province.

Tundra Swans are identifiable because of the yellow patches at the base of their bills, but sometimes these do not appear. They have entirely white bodies with long necks and black bills, legs, and feet.

Juvenile Whistling Tundra Swans are pale brown with white highlights and a mostly pink bill with a black tip and base.

• Cygnus columbianus
• Length: 487 – 58 in (119 – 147 cm)
• Weight: 370.37 oz (10496 g)
• Wingspan: 72 – 84 in (183 – 213 cm)

Tundra Swans breed predominantly in Alaska and Canada before migrating to the United States for winter.

You can find Tundra Swans, as their name suggests, in Arctic tundra. They mostly form flocks in wetlands, marshy lakes, ponds, estuaries, and bays. They also flock together in agricultural fields.

Tundra Swans Call:

Fun Fact: The Tundra Swan used to be called “Whistling Swan” because of the sound their wings make in flight.

8. Snow Bunting

Snow Buntings are winter birds in southern Saskatchewan and are spotted from September to May. They appear in 4% of winter checklists. However, they are also spotted during migration in the north of the province.

Snow Buntings are medium-sized, gregarious songbirds that inhabit the high Arctic.

Breeding adult males are all white except for black on their backs and wings. Breeding adult females are streaked brown on the back and pale underneath.

Non-breeding male and female Snow Buntings are quite similar with streaked backs, white undersides, and brown patches on their heads. However, non-breeding female Snow Buntings have a stronger reddish coloring than males.

Juvenile Snow Buntings are mostly gray everywhere with dark wings and lighter gray bellies.

• Plectrophenax nivalis
• Length: 6 – 7 in (15 – 17 cm)
• Weight: 1 – 2 oz (28 – 50 g)
• Wingspan: 12 – 14 in (32 – 38 cm) 

Snow Buntings breed in Alaska and northern Canada before migrating to southern Canada and the United States for winter. They are also found in western Europe and eastern Russia.

You can find Snow Buntings in rocky habitats in the Arctic during summer. They will also be around areas rich in vegetation like meadows and those places with lichens. In the winter, they may be hard to find because they blend so well in their surroundings, particularly in barren fields.

Snow Buntings usually forage for weeds and seeds on the ground or collect them from flowering plants. They also occasionally eat insects and small crustaceans when near the coast.

Snow Bunting Calls:

Fun Fact: Unlike other songbirds, Snow Buntings’ feathers do not molt and change color by rubbing the brown tips of the feathers to reveal the white feathers below.

9. Common Tern

Common Terns spend the breeding season in Saskatchewan and occur in 2% of summer checklists. They arrive in May and start to migrate in September.

Common Terns are small to medium-sized seabirds considered one of the most widespread terns in North America.

Breeding Common Terns have distinct black caps and napes, white necks and chests, orange bills with a black tip, soft gray bodies which are lighter underneath, and orange legs. Their wings are dark-tipped and form a dark wedge on the upperside of the wingtips. Their tails are white and deeply forked. 

Non-breeding adult Common Terns lose the front portion of their black caps and are left with white foreheads. Their bills and legs turn black. 

Juveniles are a pale version of non-breeding adults.

• Sterna hirundo
• Length: 13 – 16 in (33 – 41 cm)
• Weight: 5.15 oz (146 g)
• Wingspan: 30 – 31 in (76 – 79 cm)

You can find Common Terns close to the water (whether freshwater or saltwater) as long as it’s in any open flat habitat like sand or shell beaches, firm dune areas, salt marshes, or islands during their breeding season.

In winter, Common Terns occur anywhere that has access to fish. They may be on natural sand and shell beaches, marine habitats, estuaries, and large inland lakes. They are also known to rest on boats, buoys, and piers.

Common Tern calls:

Fun Facts: In the 19th century, there was a huge decrease in the population of Common Terns due to fashion. Entire stuffed Common Terns were used to make hats in Europe and North America. 

10. Ross’s Goose

Ross’s Geese are not very common in Saskatchewan, but they can be spotted in the south of the province during migration, from March to June and September to November. They are recorded in up to 3% of checklists during these times.

Ross’s Geese are pretty similar to Snow Geese, whom they often flock with. They are white all over except for their short, gray-based red-orange bills, short and stubby, pink-red legs and feet, and black wingtips. Both sexes are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. 

There is a dark phase variant of Ross’s Goose, but it’s extremely rare. It has a white head, a brownish bill with a red patch, dark gray throats, underparts, and back.

• Anser rossii
• Length: 21 – 26 in (53 – 66 cm)
• Weight: 59.2 oz (1678 g)
• Wingspan: 47 – 54 in (119 – 137 cm)

Ross’s Geese breed in northern Canada and spend the winter in the United States.

You can find Ross’s Geese in salt and freshwater marshes during winter. During the breeding season, they will nest on the arctic tundra. 

Ross’s Goose Call:

Fun Fact: Ross’s Geese are the smallest geese in North America.

11. Whooping Crane

Whooping Cranes are endangered species in Saskatchewan but they can be spotted in the south of the province during migration.

Whooping Cranes are majestic birds with graceful courtship dances and trumpeting calls. They were so endangered that only around 20 survived in the 1940s but efforts to save them have increased their number to 600.

They have all-white bodies, a red crown, a black facial mask, and black feathers that are only visible in flight on their 7-foot wingspan. Their long legs are also black. 

Juveniles also have white bodies but they have several splotches of rust. Their heads and upper necks are rust-brown. 

• Grus americana
• Length: 52 in (132 cm)
• Weight: 204.8 oz (5804 g)
• Wingspan: 87 in (221 cm)

Whooping Cranes breed in a small area in Canada and migrate to Texas and a reintroduced population that breeds in Wisconsin migrates to Florida.

You can find Whooping Cranes in shallow wetlands and plenty of bulrushes and aquatic plants during the breeding season. Their wintering grounds are shallow bays, tidal flats, and estuarine marshes and sometimes on nearby farmlands and rolling grasslands. 

Whooping Crane Calls:

Fun Fact: The Whooping Crane has the distinction of being the tallest bird native to North America at nearly five feet tall, nearly as tall as a human and they have been taught their migration routes to reintroduced areas by following ultralight aircraft. 

12. Great Egret

Great Egrets are not very common in Saskatchewan but there have been some sightings in the southeast of the province during the breeding season.

Great Egrets are at their best during the breeding season when males have neon green facial skin and long, wispy feathers (aigrettes) extending from their backs to their tails, which they show off during courtship, like how a peacock flares out its tail.  

They are large, all-white herons, which is why they’re often called Great White Herons. They are also called common egrets. These large birds are white, with dagger-like, long, bright yellow bills and long, black legs and feet.

Non-breeding males, females, and juveniles look alike. 

• Ardea alba
• Length: 37 – 41 in (94 – 104cm)
• Weight: 59.96 oz (1699 g)
• Wingspan: 54 – 55 in (137 – 140 cm)

Great Egrets have a vast range around the world. Those in the southern and coastal US states remain all year, but those more inland and in Canada migrate south.

You can find Great Egrets in freshwater and saltwater marshes and tidal flats, but also fish ponds.

Great Egret Calls:

Fun Fact: The Great Egret was almost hunted to extinction because of their long white feathers (aigrettes) that were mainly used to decorate ladies’ hats. 

13. Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swans are not very common in Saskatchewan, but they are recognized as regularly occurring during summer, from March to mid-November. They are mainly spotted in the south of the province.

The Trumpeter Swan has the distinction of being the longest and heaviest living bird native to North America. It is also recognized as the heaviest flying bird in the world.

Trumpeter Swans are entirely white except for their black bills, legs, and feet. There is a black patch on their face, seemingly connecting their eyes to their bills. Their heads and neck may occasionally show some rust-brown coloring because of their contact with iron elements in wetland soils.

Juvenile Trumpeter Swans are mostly dusky-gray, with a pink center on their black bills.

• Cygnus buccinator
• Length: 58 – 72 in (147 – 183 cm)
• Weight: 401.6 oz (11381 g)
• Wingspan: 72 – 102 in (183 – 259 cm)

Trumpeter swans breed in Alaska and western and southern Canada before migrating to ice-free coastal regions. Those in northwestern and northern US states often stay all year but may move around depending on the weather.

You can find Trumpeter Swans in marshes, lakes, and rivers with dense vegetation. They breed in open areas near shallow waters. They are sometimes seen on agricultural fields, too.

Trumpeter Swans Call:

Fun Fact: Trumpeter Swans generally mate for life. When nesting, there is always one adult that stays with the nest. They are both territorial and aggressive when it comes to protecting their nesting area.

14. Gyrfalcon

Gyrfalcons are usually spotted in the south of Saskatchewan during winter, from October to April, but they are not common here.

Gyrfalcons are the largest Falcons and are apex predators of the Arctic, where they snatch birds from the sky or dive at great speed to catch unsuspecting prey from the ground.

Their coloring varies greatly but generally has three morphs – white, silver/gray, and dark. Silver/gray is most common in North America 

The silver/gray morphs are heavily banded gray and white on their upperparts but some are mostly gray without obvious banding. Their underparts are evenly spotted and white at the throat. Juveniles have solid dark heads and are browner overall.

The White morphs of Gyrfalcons are white with brown/black barring on their upperparts with dark wingtips and a white tail. Some birds have barring on their tails and spots on their breasts. Juveniles are similar but have more barring on their upperparts but have faint streaks on their underparts. 

• Falco rusticolus
• Length: 20 – 25 in (51 – 64 cm)
• Weight: 41.6 oz (1179 g)
• Wingspan: 48 – 64 in (122 – 163 cm)

Gyrfalcons are found predominantly in the arctic and sub-arctic around the world. Those that breed in the high arctic of Canada migrate to the rest of Canada and into the United States for winter.

You can find Gyrfalcons in one of the harshest places on earth, the arctic tundra (treeless shrublands and plains). They usually stay on cliffs near shorelines or rivers and with a vast open space where they can easily hunt prey. When they migrate during the winter, they stay in areas with plenty of birds for them to hunt, like coasts, reservoirs, grasslands, farmlands, and river valleys. 

Gyrfalcon Call:

Fun Fact: When the chicks aren’t able to finish off their meal, the female Gyrfalcon will keep or store their leftovers behind some vegetation to retrieve later.

15. Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets are not often spotted in Saskatchewan but they were spotted around Quill Lake in 2019.

Cattle Egrets have a smart way of catching their food…they stand on the backs of cattle, so when the cattle move and disturb the ground, they catch the disturbed prey.

Cattle Egrets are small, short-necked egrets with white bodies and pale orange-brown patches on their heads, necks, and backs.

• Bubulcus ibis
• Length: 19 – 21 in (48 – 53 cm)
• Weight: 17.98 oz (510 g)
• Wingspan: 36 – 38 in (91 – 97 cm)

Cattle Egrets have a vast range around the world, but within North America, those in the south in Mexico, the Gulf Coast, and southwestern US states remain all year.

However, those that breed further north, mainly in eastern US states, migrate south after breeding.

You can find Cattle Egrets in native grasslands, pastures, crop fields, and rice fields, especially where there is hoofed livestock. 

Cattle Egret Calls:

Fun Fact: The Cattle Egret’s eyes have adapted to foraging on land by having binocular vision for judging distance to catch prey on land rather than correcting for light refraction when feeding in the water.

16. Willow Ptarmigan

Although they are not very common here, Willow Ptarmigans have occasionally been spotted in the north of Saskatchewan from November to April.

Willow Ptarmigans also called “willow grouse”, are short, plump, and chicken-like birds with feathered legs and feet from the grouse family. Males and females are similar in size but have different seasonal physical appearances. 

During the summer and the breeding season, adult male Willow Ptarmigans have brown heads, necks, and upper breasts with a reddish hue. They have bright red eye combs or eyebrows, and their eyes have white eye-rings. Their bills are short, curved, and black. Their wings and underparts are white. Their tails are black.

Adult female Willow Ptarmigans are a combination of brown, black, and white with a mottled pattern. They have barely-visible red eyecombs, and their bills are also short, curved, and black. 

When winter comes, adult Willow Ptarmigans are completely white except for their black eyes and bills and the black edges on their tails. 

• Lagopus lagopus
• Length: 15 – 17 in (38 – 43 cm)
• Weight: 2.8 oz (589 g)
• Wingspan: 20 – 22.5 in (51 – 57 cm)

Willow Ptarmigans are predominantly found in Canada and northern Europe.

You can find Willow Ptarmigans in damp areas like pine and birch forests and thickets with willow and alder trees during the breeding season. In the fall, they move into drier and stonier habitats as they molt into their winter plumage. In winter, females move into lower altitudes and densely vegetated areas. 

Willow Ptarmigan calls:

Fun Facts: In Britain, they’re called Red Grouse as their feathers don’t turn white when it’s winter there. 

How Frequently White Birds Are Spotted In Saskatchewan In Summer And Winter

Checklists are a great resource to find out which birds are commonly spotted in your state. These lists show which white birds are most frequently recorded on checklists on ebird in summer and winter in Saskatchewan.