Places › Cities › St. Louis

Wildlife near St. Louis, MO

Illustrated wildlife of St. Louis

St. Louis sits where the Missouri meets the Mississippi, one of the great river confluences on the continent, and the flyway concentrates wildlife here. Bald eagles gather below the dams in winter, white pelicans stage on the rivers in migration, and the big forest parks hold white-tailed deer, barred owls, and pileated woodpeckers. Northern cardinals and fox squirrels fill the neighborhoods, and the wetlands at the confluence draw huge numbers of ducks and geese.

Everything below is pulled live from recent research-grade observations near St. Louis. Browse by group, explore the map, and identify what you find with Huck.

69,298
recent observations
30
species listed
15
insects & arthropods
6
birds
5
plants

Naturalists have logged 69,298 research-grade observations across the 30 most-recorded species near St. Louis. The most frequently seen is the Brown-belted Bumble Bee, with 8,614 recorded sightings.

Insects & Arthropods account for the largest share of what gets recorded there (15 of the species listed here), followed by birds (6).

🖨️ Printable wildlife checklist

Most-observed species near St. Louis

Brown-belted Bumble Bee
Bombus griseocollis
8,614 observations
Common Eastern Bumble Bee
Bombus impatiens
6,935 observations
Western Honey Bee
Apis mellifera
6,883 observations
Eastern Carpenter Bee
Xylocopa virginica
5,242 observations
Ligated Furrow Bee
Halictus ligatus
3,688 observations · iNaturalist
Monarch
Danaus plexippus
3,172 observations
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
2,701 observations
White-tailed Deer
Odocoileus virginianus
2,039 observations
Two-spotted Bumble Bee
Bombus bimaculatus
2,000 observations
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
1,834 observations
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
1,799 observations
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
1,625 observations
Amur Honeysuckle
Lonicera maackii
1,621 observations
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
1,472 observations
Asian Lady Beetle
Harmonia axyridis
1,463 observations
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
1,439 observations
White Snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
1,351 observations
American Toad
Anaxyrus americanus
1,260 observations
Common Buckeye
Junonia coenia
1,259 observations
American Pokeweed
Phytolacca americana
1,244 observations
Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
1,229 observations
Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus
1,223 observations
Virginia Springbeauty
Claytonia virginica
1,220 observations
Black-and-gold Bumble Bee
Bombus auricomus
1,209 observations
Mourning Dove
Zenaida macroura
1,161 observations
Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus
1,152 observations · iNaturalist
American Bumble Bee
Bombus pensylvanicus
1,140 observations
Mayapple
Podophyllum peltatum
1,116 observations
Three-toed Box Turtle
Terrapene triunguis
1,113 observations
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
1,094 observations

Built from recent research-grade iNaturalist observations. Identifications are community-sourced and may occasionally be wrong, and the ranking reflects where people record and photograph wildlife, so a species seen often here is not necessarily rare elsewhere. Some plants and animals are only out in certain seasons. Treat this as a lively snapshot of what people are finding, not a formal checklist.

Get rare-sighting alerts for St. Louis

We’ll email you when an uncommon or rare species is spotted here. One check a day, only when there’s something new.

Free. Unsubscribe from any email. See our Privacy Policy.

More wildlife near St. Louis

Exploring St. Louis?

Take Huck with you. Identify any wildlife you find in seconds, and watch the live map of what is being spotted near St. Louis right now.

Get Huck

Exploring St. Louis? Get Huck field notes

Spotting tips, new species, and the best of what naturalists are finding - straight to your inbox.

By subscribing you agree to receive Huck emails. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.