Reference
How many bird species are in the District of Columbia?
The District of Columbia has 348 bird species on its official list (Maryland/District of Columbia Records Committee, October 2, 2024), fewer than any of the 46 states with a verified count. The same committee keeps Maryland's list, and the count includes one frigatebird not identified to species.
Updated
District of Columbia bird list at a glance
| Official count | 348 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | October 2, 2024 |
| Kept by | Maryland/District of Columbia Records Committee (Maryland Ornithological Society) |
| Among US states | The lowest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | Official List of the Birds of District of Columbia (as of 2 October 2024) |
What does the District of Columbia’s count include?
- Species accepted for the District of Columbia, numbered 1 to 348 in the first part of the list.
- One frigatebird, counted although it couldn't be identified to species.
- Not counted: subspecies and forms, in a separate part of the list.
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 District of Columbia 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 the District of Columbia; 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.
The District of Columbia’s official bird
Wood Thrush
The District of Columbia’s official bird is the Wood Thrush, its official bird since 1967. Approved January 31, 1967.
Audubon painted it too: plate 73 of The Birds of America.
Source: DC Symbols (Office of the Secretary of the District of Columbia), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
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: Maryland and Virginia.
- 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.