Reference
How many bird species are in South Dakota?
South Dakota has 440 bird species on its official list (South Dakota Ornithologists' Union, no date on the list), the 34th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. It also counts hypothetical species: unconfirmed sightings, birds of uncertain origin and introductions that failed.
Updated
South Dakota bird list at a glance
| Official count | 440 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | Not given on the list (we read it on October 2, 2026) |
| Kept by | South Dakota Ornithologists' Union |
| Among US states | 34th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | South Dakota State Distributional Checklist |
What does South Dakota’s count include?
- Regular species and rare visitors (the list calls them casual and accidental).
- Hypothetical species: unconfirmed sightings, birds of uncertain origin and introductions that didn't succeed.
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 South Dakota 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 South Dakota; 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.
South Dakota’s state bird
Ring-necked Pheasant
South Dakota’s state bird is the Ring-necked Pheasant (officially, the “ring-neck pheasant”), the state bird since 1943. South Dakota Codified Laws 1-6-9 (SL 1943, ch 272). The law says ring-neck pheasant: the Ring-necked Pheasant (AviList: Common Pheasant).
Source: Codified Law 1-6-9, State bird (South Dakota Legislature), 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: Iowa, Minnesota, Montana and Nebraska.
- 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.