This list of birds of Great Britain comprises all bird species that have been recorded in a wild state in Great Britain. It follows the official British List, maintained by the British Ornithologists' Union (BOU).[1] Decisions relating to the British List are published by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) in its annual reports in the BOU's journal Ibis. These reports were formerly geographically based and included the whole of the British Isles, but records for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are now published by their own ornithological associations. Records from the Isle of Man are adjudicated by the Manx Ornithological Society.[2]
Bird species admitted to the British List are those in BOU categories A, B or C:
A: species that have been recorded in an apparently natural state at least once since 1 January 1950.
B: species that were recorded in an apparently natural state at least once between 1 January 1800 and 31 December 1949, but have not been recorded subsequently.
C: species that, although originally introduced by humans, either deliberately or accidentally, have established breeding populations derived from introduced stock, which maintain themselves without necessary recourse to further introduction.
Birds can be listed in more than one category: for example, the Canada goose has a large introduced population but there have also been a few naturally occurring vagrants, and the white-tailed eagle is a native species that is also subject to an ongoing reintroduction project, so both species meet the criteria for categories A and C.
Categories D and E (not listed here) are used for record keeping only, and species in these categories are not included in the British List:
D: species that would otherwise appear in categories A or B except that there is reasonable doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state.
E: species that have been recorded as introductions, transportees, or escapees from captivity, and whose breeding populations (if any) are not believed to be self-sustaining.
A further category (not listed here) is being compiled:
F: species recorded before 1800, including fossil species.[3]
As of 13 August 2024, there are 641 species of birds on the British List, the latest addition being western olivaceous warbler on 20-21 October 2023.[4] Five species groups (birds that were not identified to species level) are included in an appendix to the December 2023 amendment – southern/northern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus/halli), Fea's/Desertas petrel (Pterodroma feae/desertas), black-bellied/white-bellied storm petrel (Fregetta tropica/grallaria), brown/south polar skua (Stercorarius antarctica/maccormickii), and Asian/Mediterranean/Turkestan short-toed lark (Alaudala cheleensis/rufescens/heinei). A number of additional species are awaiting consideration by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee.
Species listed on this page as "rare" are those for which a full description is required for acceptance of the record by the British Birds Rarities Committee. Other species have an indication of their breeding and wintering status in Great Britain.
In general the avifauna of Britain is similar to that of the rest of Europe. Because of its mild winters, Great Britain has a considerable population of wintering species, particularly ducks, geese and swans. There are also a number of species, such as the oystercatcher, that are resident on the island of Great Britain, but migrants elsewhere. Britain receives a number of vagrants from Asia and North America. Some American gulls, ducks and waders are regular enough not to be considered rare, including the ring-billed gull, surf scoter and pectoral sandpiper. There is one endemic bird species found in Great Britain: the Scottish crossbill.
The swans, ducks and geese are medium to large birds that are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet and bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent. In many ducks the male is colourful while the female is dull brown. The diet consists of a variety of animals and plants. The family is well represented in Britain, especially in winter when large numbers visit from Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia.
These are terrestrial species, feeding and nesting on the ground. They are variable in size but generally plump, with broad and relatively short wings. Four of these were introduced for hunting or ornamental purposes but two have now died out.
Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Their soft plumage is cryptically coloured to resemble bark or leaves.
Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae The swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces.
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere. There are 344 species worldwide, seven in Britain.
These birds mainly occupy dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, marshes or rivers. Many are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces.
Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".
Grebes are small to medium-large diving birds with lobed toes and pointed bills. They are seen mainly on lowland waters and coasts. They feed on aquatic animals and nest on a floating platform of vegetation.
The oystercatchers are large, obvious and noisy wading birds with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. There are eleven species worldwide with one in Britain.
A family of fairly large wading birds. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. There are ten species worldwide with two in Britain.
A large, diverse family of wading birds. Different lengths of legs and bills enable multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.
Medium to large seabirds with mainly grey or brown plumage, sharp claws and a hooked tip to the bill. They chase other seabirds to force them to drop their catches.
A family of seabirds which are superficially similar to penguins, with their black-and-white colours, upright posture and some of their habits, but which are able to fly.
Divers are aquatic birds the size of a large duck, to which they are unrelated. They swim well and fly adequately but are almost helpless on land, because their legs are placed towards the rear of the body. They feed on fish and other aquatic animals.
The southern storm petrels are the smallest seabirds, feeding on plankton and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. They nest in colonies on the ground, most often in burrows.
The albatrosses are among the largest flying birds, with long, narrow wings for gliding. The majority are found in the Southern Hemisphere with only vagrants occurring in the North Atlantic.
The northern storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, feeding on plankton and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. They nest in colonies on the ground, most often in burrows.
A – rare vagrant; first recorded 2021, with a geotagged bird from a Tenerife breeding colony entering UK waters about 285 km southwest of Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly
These are highly pelagic birds with long, narrow wings and tube-shaped nostrils. They feed at sea on fish, squid and other marine life. They come to land to breed in colonies, nesting in burrows or on cliffs.
Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black-and-white, or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have colored inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.
Gannets are large seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and nest in large colonies. They have a torpedo-shaped body, long, narrow, pointed wings and a fairly long tail. There are ten species worldwide with three in Britain.
Cormorants are medium to large aquatic birds with mainly dark plumage and areas of coloured skin on the face. The bill is long, thin and sharply hooked for catching fish and aquatic invertebrates. They nest in colonies by water, usually by the sea or on the banks of rivers.
Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive. They all fly with their necks retracted. The sharp bill is used to catch fish, amphibians and other animals. Many species nest in colonies, often in trees. There are 64 species worldwide and 15 in Britain.
Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.
A family of birds of prey which includes hawks, buzzards, eagles, kites and harriers. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.
Typical owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disc.
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey.
The orioles are medium-sized passerines, mostly with bright and showy plumage, the females often have duller plumage than the males The beak is long, slightly curved and hooked. Orioles are arboreal and tend to feed in the canopy. There are 36 species worldwide, one of which has been recorded in Great Britain.
Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds.
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin, pointed, down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark.
The thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
Sparrows tend to be small, plump, brownish or greyish birds with short tails and short, powerful beaks. They are seed-eaters and they also consume small insects.
The icterids are a group of small to medium-sized, often colorful passerine birds restricted to the New World and include the grackles, New World blackbirds, and New World orioles. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red.
The cardinals are a family of robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages.
The links above lead to family accounts and individual species. Taxonomy is very fluid in the age of DNA analysis, so other arrangements may be found, as in Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy.
Species awaiting acceptance
The following species have been recorded recently and the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee has not yet made a decision on whether to accept them onto the British List.
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