Reference
How many bird species are in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire has 428 bird species on its official list (New Hampshire Rare Birds Committee, February 28, 2023), tied for the 40th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. It counts the committee's main list only; 4 more species on its hypothetical list are not counted.
Updated
New Hampshire bird list at a glance
| Official count | 428 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | February 28, 2023 |
| Kept by | New Hampshire Rare Birds Committee |
| Among US states | Tied for 40th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | New Hampshire RBC State and Review List |
What does New Hampshire’s count include?
- The main list: the species fully proven in New Hampshire.
- Not counted: 4 species on the committee's hypothetical 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 New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire; 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.
New Hampshire’s state bird
Purple Finch
New Hampshire’s state bird is the Purple Finch, the state bird since 1957.
Audubon painted it too: plate 4 of The Birds of America.
Source: Facts & Firsts (Visit NH, New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development), 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: Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.
- 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.