Reference

How many bird species are in New York?

New York has 518 bird species on its official list (New York State Avian Records Committee, May 22, 2026), the 11th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. It includes 2 extinct species, 8 introduced ones and 2 no longer found in New York, plus 2 introduced species that have since died out there.

Updated

New York bird list at a glance

From New York’s official list, read on October 2, 2026.
Official count518 species
List’s dateMay 22, 2026
Kept byNew York State Avian Records Committee (New York State Ornithological Association)
Introduced species8
Extinct or gone2 extinct, 2 no longer found, 2 introduced and since gone
Among US states11th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count
Official listChecklist of the Birds of New York State

What does New York’s count include?

  • Species accepted on a specimen, a photo or a written description.
  • 2 extinct species and 8 introduced species.
  • 2 species no longer found in New York, and 2 introduced species that have since disappeared from the state.

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 York 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 York; 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 York’s state bird

Audubon’s plate of Eastern Bluebirds: a blue male in flight above two birds on a flowering stalk, one feeding the other
John James Audubon, The Birds of America, Havell edition (1827–38)

Eastern Bluebird

New York’s state bird is the Eastern Bluebird (officially, the “bluebird (Sialia sialis)”), the state bird since 1970. State Law § 78, signed May 18, 1970. The law names the bluebird, Sialia sialis: the Eastern Bluebird.

This picture is plate 113 of Audubon’s The Birds of America.

Source: New York State Emblems (New York State Library), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.

Birding festivals in New York

Our birding festivals calendar lists 7 in New York, 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, Checklist of the Birds of New York State, read on October 2, 2026. We never use eBird’s data or a website’s estimate for a state’s count.