Reference

How many bird species are in California?

California has 696 bird species on its official list (California Bird Records Committee, September 8, 2026), the most of any US state. The list counts every species accepted for the state, including 19 introduced species now established in the wild, the Sharp-tailed Grouse, no longer found in California, and the California Condor, still being reintroduced.

Updated

California bird list at a glance

From California’s official list, read on October 3, 2026.
Official count696 species
List’s dateSeptember 8, 2026
Kept byCalifornia Bird Records Committee (Western Field Ornithologists)
Introduced species19, established in the wild
Gone or returning1 gone from the state (Sharp-tailed Grouse), 1 being reintroduced (California Condor)
Review species191, whose sightings the committee reviews
Not counted6 species of uncertain wild origin, on a supplemental list
Among US statesThe highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count
Official listOfficial California Checklist

What does California’s count include?

  • Every species accepted for California: to add a new one, the committee must review and accept at least one record of it.
  • 19 introduced species now established in the wild.
  • The Sharp-tailed Grouse, gone from California in historical times, and the California Condor, being reintroduced but not yet established.
  • 191 Review Species, whose sightings the committee reviews.
  • 139 species with no museum specimen from California, accepted on photos, video, sound recordings or tracking data instead.
  • Not counted: 6 species on a supplemental list, where the committee couldn't tell a wild stray from an escaped cage bird.

Why do other sources give a different number?

A state’s count is every species ever accepted on its official list, so a figure from another year, or one that counts something else, won’t match:

Every state’s list follows its own rules: see why the counts differ from state to state.

How do you count your own California list?

Your state list is every species you’ve seen in the state. If you log your sightings in eBird, it lets you filter your life list by place, a state included (eBird’s My eBird help page, updated March 28, 2025), and the data download you can ask for gives the state of every sighting: our guide shows how to download your own eBird data. On paper, count the species you’ve seen in California; what is a life list? explains how birders keep their lists.

If you’d like your whole life list in print, Birdfolio turns it into a hardcover book, each species beside a classic painting.

Birding festivals in California

Our birding festivals calendar lists 11 in California, with dates from each festival’s own website:

In winter you can also join a Christmas Bird Count near you; our guide explains how.

More about bird counts

Sources

The count, its date and the details above come from the official list, Official California Checklist, read on October 3, 2026. Other numbers link their own source. We never use eBird’s data or a website’s estimate for a state’s count.