Reference
How many bird species are in Colorado?
Colorado has 522 bird species on its official list (Colorado Bird Records Committee, kept up to date online), the 10th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. The committee keeps the list current online, and its 89th report (winter 2026) gives the same total. Introduced species now established in Colorado count too.
Updated
Colorado bird list at a glance
| Official count | 522 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | kept up to date online |
| Kept by | Colorado Bird Records Committee (Colorado Field Ornithologists) |
| Among US states | 10th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | CBRC State Checklist (live) |
What does Colorado’s count include?
- Every species for which the committee has accepted enough evidence: a specimen, a photo, a video, a sound recording or a written description.
- Introduced species now established in Colorado.
- The online list shows the day you open it as its date; we read it on October 3, 2026.
Why might you see 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 Colorado 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 Colorado; 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.
Colorado’s state bird
Lark Bunting
Colorado’s state bird is the Lark Bunting, the state bird since 1931. Adopted April 29, 1931.
Audubon painted it too: plate 390 of The Birds of America.
Source: State Bird (Colorado State Archives), archived copy (the copy saved on October 16, 2020), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
Birding festivals in Colorado
Our birding festivals calendar lists 4 in Colorado, with dates from each festival’s own website:
- Monte Vista Crane Festival, Monte Vista: March 5–7, 2027
- Pikes Peak Birding & Nature Festival, Colorado Springs: May 13–16, 2027
- Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival, Cortez: dates not announced yet (2026 festival: May 6–10, 2026)
- Yampa Valley Crane Festival, Steamboat Springs: September 2–5, 2027
In winter you can also join a Christmas Bird Count near you; our guide explains how.
More about bird counts
- How many bird species are in each state: all 50 states, DC and Canada, each from its official list.
- Bird lists of nearby states: Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Utah.
- State birds of all 50 states, each with its classic painting.
- How many bird species are in the US and Canada, and how birders count them.
- Bird splits and lumps: when one species becomes two, state lists change too.