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, so it meets the criteria for both 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 February 2024, there are 634 species of birds on the British List,[4] the latest addition being Stejneger's scoter.[5] 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.
^British Ornithologists' Union (2013). "The British List". Ibis. 155: 635–676. doi:10.1111/ibi.12069.
^"Maintaining the British List". BOU. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
^BOURC. "Species categories". Retrieved 9 December 2012.
^"Changes to the British List". British Ornithologists' Union. 18 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
^"British list increases to 634". BirdGuides Ltd. 14 February 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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