A comprehensive listing of all the bird species confirmed in the United States follows. It includes species from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as of July 2022. Species confirmed in other U.S. territories are also included with other "as of" dates.

The birds of the continental United States most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to the continent as part of the supercontinent Laurasia until around 60 million years ago. Many groups occur throughout the Northern Hemisphere and worldwide. However some families unique to the New World have also arisen; those represented in the list are the hummingbirds, the New World vultures, the New World quail, the tyrant flycatchers, the vireos, the mimids, the New World warblers, the tanagers, the cardinals, and the icterids.

Several common birds in the United States, such as the house sparrow, the rock pigeon, the European starling, and the mute swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to North America, but were brought there by humans. Introduced species are marked as (I). In addition, many non-native species which have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America are not on the list. It is especially true of birds that are commonly held as pets, such as parrots and finches.

The status of one bird on the list, the ivory-billed woodpecker, is controversial. Until 2005, the bird was widely considered to be extinct. In April of that year, it was reported that at least one adult male bird had been sighted in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas. The report, however, has not been universally accepted, and the American Birding Association still lists the ivory-billed woodpecker as extinct.

Hawaii has many endemic bird species (such as the Kauaʻi ʻelepaio) that are vulnerable or endangered, and some have become extinct. The number of birds on Guam has been severely reduced by introduced brown tree snakeshttps://www.allaboutbirds.org/the-snake-that-ate-guams-birds/ All About Birds (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology). The Snake That Ate Guam's Birds. Hugh Powell. January 15, 2009. Retrieved June 2019.https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Guam/wildlife_and_habitat/ U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Guam. Retrieved June 2019. — several endemic species on Guam (such as the Guam flycatcher) have become extinct, while others (such as the Guam rail) have become extinct in the wild. Guam rails have since been reintroduced to the wild on Guam and Rota. There are many endemic bird species in Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, while American Samoa has South Pacific bird species (such as the many-colored fruit dove) found in no other part of the United States.

Sources and geographic coverage

The majority of this list is derived from the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 63rd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS) and the Bird Checklists of the World (Avibase). The geographic territory of that source which applies to the article is the 48 contiguous states, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, the adjacent islands under the jurisdiction of those states, Puerto Rico, and the American Virgin Islands.

The article also includes birds found in the other U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands). In total, the list of birds in the article includes bird species found in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.

The source for birds in the U.S. territories is the Avibase website: Bird checklists of the world (American Samoa), Bird checklists of the world (Guam),https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=gu&list=clements&region=umna&list=clements Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World (Guam). Retrieved July 3, 2019. Bird checklists of the world (Northern Mariana Islands),https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=mp&list=clements&region=mp&list=clements Bird Checklists of the world (Northern Marianas). Avibase. Retrieved July 3, 2019. Bird checklists of the world (Puerto Rico), Bird checklists of the world (United States Virgin Islands),https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=vi&list=clements&region=vi&list=clements Avibase — Bird checklists of the world (United States Virgin Islands). Retrieved July 3, 2019. and Bird Checklists of the world (U.S. Minor Outlying Islands).https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=UM&list=howardmoore&region=UMpa&list=howardmoore Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World — US Minor Outlying Islands. Retrieved July 3, 2019.

When a bird's presence in the U.S. only occurs within a U.S. territory such as Puerto Rico, the name of the territory is noted alongside the bird's name.

Taxonomy and status

For species found in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) used in the list are those of the AOS, the recognized scientific authority on the taxonomy and nomenclature of North and Middle American birds. However, the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them. The AOS's Committee on Classification and Nomenclature, the body responsible for maintaining and updating the Check-list, "strongly and unanimously continues to endorse the biological species concept (BSC), in which species are considered to be genetically cohesive groups of populations that are reproductively isolated from other such groups". The sequence and names of families and species found in American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands follow the Clements taxonomy because the AOS does not address those areas.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 15, 2019.

Unless otherwise noted, the species listed here are considered to occur regularly in the United States as permanent residents, summer or winter residents or visitors, or annual migrants. The following tags are used to designate some species:

(A) Accidental - occurrence based on one or two (rarely more) records and unlikely to occur regularly (C) Casual - occurrence based on two or a few records, with subsequent records not improbable (E) Extinct - a species which no longer exists (Ex) Extirpated - a species which no longer occurs in the United States, but other populations still exist elsewhere (I) Introduced - a species established solely as result of direct or indirect human intervention; synonymous with non-native and non-indigenous (EH) Endemic to Hawaii - a native species found only in Hawaii (EG) Endemic to Guam - a native species found only in Guam (ENM) Endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands - a native species found only in the Northern Mariana Islands (EP) Endemic to Puerto Rico - a native species found only in Puerto Rico (EU) Endemic to the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands - a native species found only in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands (EM) Endemic to the mainland - a native species found only in the 48 contiguous states, Alaska, and their adjacent islands

The (A) and (C) tags correspond to the codes 5 and 4 respectively of the American Birding Association.The ABA Checklist Version 8.0.1 (11/23/17) http://listing.aba.org/aba-checklist/ retrieved 28 November 2017. The (E), (Ex), and (I) tags describe species' status according to the AOS. The (EH) tags follow the AOS list and the (EM) tags are based on the Clements taxonomy.

Population status symbols are those of the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3 http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 10 December 2020. The symbols apply to the species' worldwide status, not their status solely in the United States except for endemic species. The symbols and their meanings, in increasing order of peril, are:

= least concern = near threatened = vulnerable = endangered = critically endangered = extinct in the wild = extinct

By the numbers

This list contains 1125 species found in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of these 1125, 155 are tagged as accidental, 101 as casual, and 55 as introduced. Thirty-three are known to be extinct and one, the thick-billed parrot, has been extirpated though a population remains in Mexico. Thirty-three living species are endemic to Hawaii; an additional 28 former Hawaiian endemics are known to be extinct and a few others are thought to be. Sixteen species are endemic to the 48 contiguous states and one to Alaska.

There are an additional 146 species whose presence in the United States is only within one or more U.S. territories; some of those species have become extinct. The total number of bird species on the list is 1267 (i.e. the 1120 bird species found in the 50 states and District of Columbia, plus the 146 species found only in the U.S. territories). Some of the species found in the 50 states and District of Columbia are also found in the U.S. territories.

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl

Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae

Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.

White-faced whistling-duck, Dendrocygna viduata (U.S. Virgin Islands) (A) Black-bellied whistling-duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis West Indian whistling-duck, Dendrocygna arborea (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) Fulvous whistling-duck, Dendrocygna bicolor Emperor goose, Anser canagica Snow goose, Anser caerulescens Ross's goose, Anser rossii Graylag goose, Anser anser (A) Greater white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons Lesser white-fronted goose, Anser erythropus (A) Taiga bean-goose, Anser fabalis Tundra bean-goose, Anser serrirostris Pink-footed goose, Anser brachyrhynchus (C) Brant, Branta bernicla Barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis (C) Cackling goose, Branta hutchinsii Canada goose, Branta canadensis Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis (EH) Mute swan, Cygnus olor (I) Black swan, Cygnus atratus (I) Trumpeter swan, Cygnus buccinator Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus Whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca (I) Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna (C) Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata Wood duck, Aix sponsa Baikal teal, Sibirionetta formosa (C) Garganey, Spatula querquedula (C) Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors Cinnamon teal, Spatula cyanoptera Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata Gadwall, Mareca strepera Falcated duck, Mareca falcata (C) Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope American wigeon, Mareca americana Pacific black duck, Anas superciliosa (American Samoa) Laysan duck, Anas laysanensis (EH) Hawaiian duck, Anas wyvilliana (EH) Eastern spot-billed duck, Anas zonorhyncha (C) Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos Mexican duck, Anas diazi (not yet assessed by the IUCN) American black duck, Anas rubripes Mottled duck, Anas fulvigula White-cheeked pintail, Anas bahamensis (C) Northern pintail, Anas acuta Green-winged teal, Anas crecca Canvasback, Aythya valisineria Redhead, Aythya americana Common pochard, Aythya ferina Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula (A) Greater scaup, Aythya marila Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis Steller's eider, Polysticta stelleri Spectacled eider, Somateria fischeri King eider, Somateria spectabilis Common eider, Somateria mollissima Harlequin duck, Histrionicus histrionicus Labrador duck, Camptorhynchus labradorius (E) Surf scoter, Melanitta perspicillata Velvet scoter, Melanitta fusca