Reference
How many bird species are in Hawaii?
Hawaii has 355 bird species on its official list (Hawaii Bird Records Committee, 2024), the lowest count of the 46 states with a verified count. The list covers the whole Hawaiian Islands chain, including Midway Atoll, which is not part of the state; 15 of its species were seen only there.
Updated
Hawaii bird list at a glance
| Official count | 355 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | 2024 |
| Kept by | Hawaii Bird Records Committee (Western Field Ornithologists) |
| Seen only at Midway | 15 species |
| Among US states | 46th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | Second Report of the Hawaii Bird Records Committee (Western Birds 56:2-20, 2025) |
What does Hawaii’s count include?
- The whole Hawaiian Islands chain, including Midway Atoll, which is not part of the state: 15 species on the list were seen only at Midway.
- Introduced species that live wild.
- Extinct birds known from historical records.
- The list as of 2024, from the committee's second report, published in the journal Western Birds in 2025.
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 Hawaii 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 Hawaii; 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.
Hawaii’s state bird
Hawaiian Goose
Hawaii’s state bird is the Hawaiian Goose (officially, the “nēnē”). The state bird since statehood, 1959. Nēnē is the bird’s Hawaiian name; in English it is the Hawaiian Goose (AviList: Nene).
Source: A Teacher’s Guide to Nēnē, Hawaiʻi’s Endangered State Bird (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
Birding festivals in Hawaii
Our birding festivals calendar lists one festival in Hawaii, with dates from its own website:
- Hawaiʻi Island Festival of Birds, Hilo: dates not announced yet (2026 festival: October 24, 2026)
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.
- 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.