Reference
How many bird species are in North Carolina?
North Carolina has 488 bird species on its official list (North Carolina Bird Records Committee, 2023 annual report), tied for the 17th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. It counts the committee's definitive list, and 11 provisional species are listed separately. The same club keeps South Carolina's list.
Updated
North Carolina bird list at a glance
| Official count | 488 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | 2023 annual report |
| Kept by | North Carolina Bird Records Committee (Carolina Bird Club) |
| Among US states | Tied for 17th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | Official list of the birds of North Carolina |
What does North Carolina’s count include?
- The definitive list, as of the committee's 2023 annual report, with species names updated through 2025.
- Established introduced and reintroduced species, and extinct species.
- Not counted: 11 provisional species, 2 introduced species that never became established, and 4 subspecies.
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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina; 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.
North Carolina’s state bird
Northern Cardinal
North Carolina’s state bird is the Northern Cardinal (officially, the “cardinal”), the state bird since 1943. Session Laws 1943, c. 595, after a statewide vote run by the North Carolina Bird Club.
Audubon painted it too: plate 159 of The Birds of America.
Source: State Bird of North Carolina: Cardinal (NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
Birding festivals in North Carolina
Our birding festivals calendar lists one festival in North Carolina, with dates from its own website:
- Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival Encore, Northeastern North Carolina: December 4–6, 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.
- Bird lists of nearby states: South Carolina, Tennessee 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.