Oklahoma is home to a variety of unique winged lifeforms, covered in many unique sets of colors. In this article I’ll only be covering one of the less vibrant colors, green. Continue reading if you want to learn about 5 unique green birds within Oklahoma’s skyline and wilderness.

• Lewis’s Woodpecker 
• Ruby Throated Hummingbird 
• Red Eyed Vireo 
• Green Heron 
• Painted Bunting 

5 Green Birds In Oklahoma

1. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes Lewis)

• Size: 25 – 28cm
• Weight: 110 – 130 grams
• Wingspan: 49 – 52cm

You’ll generally only spot Lewis’s woodpeckers in the western most part of Oklahoma throughout their wintering non-breeding season. 

Lewis’s woodpecker is recognised by their red, black and dark green plumage where their wings and back are black in color, their breast and face have elements of red and their neck a mostly white/gray color. Females are mostly white and gray,

These woodpeckers can be found in open ponderosa pine forests and burned forests with a high density of standing dead trees. They will also breed near streamsides, oak woodlands, orchards, and pinyon-juniper woodlands.

Lewis’s woodpeckers mostly eat insects that they catch flying in mid-air or found on branches and trees, nuts along with a variety of seeds.

As for how long these woodpeckers are known to live for, it can be anywhere from 4 – 12 years.

2. Ruby Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus Colubris)

• Size: 7 – 9cm
• Weight: 2 – 6 grams
• Wingspan: 8 – 11cm

Ruby throated hummingbirds can be found in most of central and eastern Oklahoma when they’re settling down to breed through their summer months. 

A ruby throated hummingbird can be recognised by their plumage that is red, white and green. Their throat is the red part, its breast/stomach white in color and their wings and back an emerald green color. Females are mostly white and green in color.

As for what they eat, it ranges from small insects, fruits, sugar water from feeders, tree sap and of course the nectar produced by blooming flowers.

Ruby throated hummingbirds tend to stay near environments with flowerbeds as these birds have a very strong metabolism that requires them to feed multiple times per hour. Therefore, you can find them in fields, parks, backyards, and open clearings in forests.

As for how long these tiny little hummingbirds can live for, it’s known to be around 3 – 5 years on average with the longest recorded lifespan just short of 7 years.

3. Red Eyed Vireo (Vireo Olivaceus)

• Size: 11 – 13cm
• Weight: 20 – 24 grams
• Wingspan: 23 – 25cm

Red eyed vireos are generally found in Oklahoma when they’re going through their breeding season. This in most cases will encompass the late spring and summer months. 

These vireos are recognised by there green feathers from head, wings and back, white feathers on their breast and the stand out red eye. The females look very similar to the males.

As for where you’ll often see these birds perching or flying around, it would include environments with large expanses of deciduous forest, particularly deciduous trees with large leaves, like maple trees for example. 

Red eyed vireos tend to eat mostly insects like caterpillars, moths, beetles, wasps, bees, ants, bugs, flies, as well as the occasional fruit and berry.

Red eyed vireos tend to live for around 6 – 7 years, whilst the oldest recorded one died at 10 years and 2 months.

4. Green Heron (Butorides Virescens)

• Size: 40 – 44cm
• Weight: 230 – 250 grams
• Wingspan: 54 – 58cm

You’ll find green herons in Oklahoma in the spring and summer months when they happen to be going through their breeding season. 

These heron’s are recognised by their darker green back and wings, maroon chest and neck, with yellow legs and a relatively long and pointy black beak. Females on the other hand are mostly brown and gray in color.

Green herons tend to spend the majority of their time around wetlands like lakes, ponds, marshes, swamps, streamsides and rivers. 

As for what they consume, it includes a variety of different sources such as small fish like minnows, sunfishes, gizzard shads, crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, tadpoles, grasshoppers, snakes, earthworms, snails and other smaller rodents.

Green herons don’t have the longest of lifespans for a bird of their size, with the maximum known life expectancy said to be around 8 years.

5. Painted Bunting (Passerina Ciris)

• Size: 12 – 13cm
• Weight: 13 – 19 grams
• Wingspan: 21 – 23cm

Painted buntings are found in Oklahoma when they breed. This season will normally be around late spring and summer. 

Although painted buntings come in a variety of colors where their neck, breast and lower back is red, their head is blue whilst their upper back and wing is green. Females on the other hand are almost completely green.

You can find painted buntings around thickets, woodland edges with riparian thickets, shrubbery and brushy areas.

As for what they eat, it includes seeds, primarily those of grasses and weeds, berries, smaller fruits and a variety of smaller insects.

Most painted buntings can live for an average of 5 – 6 years whilst some have been known to live for 10+ years.