A hardcover book of every bird you’ve seen
Your life list, beautifully bound.
Upload your eBird sightings or a simple list. We set every species beside a classic plate by the great bird painters (Fuertes, Audubon, Gould and more), with the date and place you first saw it.
For your 500th bird, after a big trip, or just because.
Free to try. We only use your list to make your book.
How it works
New to the words? A life list is every species a birder has ever seen. Each new one is a lifer. More about life lists
Bring your list
Download your sightings from eBird (the file is called MyEBirdData.csv) or iNaturalist (your observations export), or paste a simple list with one bird per line.
See it as a book, free
You see your species count, your first bird and your milestones, then a preview of your pages.
We print and ship it
Your hardcover is printed and shipped to your door in the US.
What’s inside
Laid out like a natural-history folio. Bigger lists get more birds to a page, never smaller books.
- A plate for every species
- Each bird sits beside a classic plate by the great bird painters: Louis Agassiz Fuertes, John James Audubon, John Gould and others.
- The day you first saw it
- The date and place of every first sighting, taken from your own records.
- Your milestones
- Your first bird, your 100th, 250th, 500th and beyond, each marked in the book.
- Your birding in numbers
- Best day, year-by-year growth, the families you know best.
- A map of where you've birded
- The states and countries on your list. Place names only, never your exact spots.
- An index
- Every species by common and scientific name, so the book works as a reference too.
Real pages from a Birdfolio.
Turn the pages with the Previous and Next buttons, the arrow keys, or by clicking or swiping the pages.
Page 1 of 20
Front coverHermit Thrush, J. J. Audubon, 1827–38
A real book, made to keep.
A hardcover, 8.5 × 11 inches: big enough to do the paintings justice.
It usually arrives in about 2–3 weeks (3–4 weeks in November and December). You’ll see your delivery dates before you pay.
Your own photos, free
Photographed a bird yourself? Use your photo for any species in your book, at no extra cost.
- Pick the species from your own list.
- We check the photo is sharp enough to print well.
- You keep the copyright; we use it only to print your book, unless you choose to share it with other birders.
A gift for the birder in your life
For a birthday, a retirement, Mother's Day or Father's Day. You don’t need to know their list. Give a Birdfolio gift card; they add their sightings whenever they’re ready, and we print their book then.
Their eBird download already holds every bird they’ve logged. Not on eBird? A typed list works too.
More ideas: gifts for birders.
One book, three sizes
The size follows your list. Every size is the same hardcover, with a plate for every species.
Standard
For life lists up to 300 species.
$79
Complete
For life lists up to 1,000 species.
$99
Grand
For life lists over 1,000 species.
$129
US shipping included. Express shipping is $30 more. You see the total before you pay.
Orders open on November 1. The preview is free to try now.
Questions
What file do I need?
Your eBird download, called MyEBirdData.csv. In eBird, use Download My Data; eBird emails you a link to a .zip file with the CSV inside (our step-by-step guide shows where to click). You can drop either the .zip or the .csv. On iNaturalist? Export your observations (inaturalist.org/observations/export) and drop that file; if you use both, add both and we make one list. Or paste a list instead: one bird per line, with a date and place if you have them.
Is Birdfolio part of eBird?
No. Birdfolio is independent and not affiliated with eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or iNaturalist. We simply read the file that eBird or iNaturalist lets you download.
Is my data safe?
Your file is read in your own browser and nothing is uploaded while you explore. Your list stays saved on your device for 7 days, so you can pick up where you left off. When you order, we receive only what's needed to print and ship your book, and we delete your files 30 days after delivery.
Is every bird a painting?
Most are. About 7 in 10 birds are classic paintings; where no painting exists, we use a credited wildlife photograph. Your preview shows exactly which, before you order. If we have no picture of a bird yet, you choose: we find one (a few days longer), a simple outline marked as such, or your own photo. We never use AI-generated birds.
Which bird names do you use?
We match your records to AviList, the global checklist of the world's birds, and print the common names North American birders know. If a species has been split or merged since you logged it, a notes page explains what changed.
Do you ship outside the US?
Not yet. We're starting with the United States; other countries will follow.
What if my book arrives damaged?
Send us a photo within 7 days of delivery and we'll reprint it free.