Reference
How many bird species are in Tennessee?
Tennessee has 434 bird species on its official list (Tennessee Bird Records Committee, December 2024), the 35th highest count of the 46 states with a verified count. It counts the species that occur in Tennessee naturally, plus introduced species that have become established.
Updated
Tennessee bird list at a glance
| Official count | 434 species |
|---|---|
| List’s date | December 2024 |
| Kept by | Tennessee Bird Records Committee (Tennessee Ornithological Society) |
| Among US states | 35th highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count |
| Official list | Official List of the Birds of Tennessee (Updated December 2024) |
What does Tennessee’s count include?
- Species that occur in Tennessee naturally.
- Established introduced species.
- The official list as updated in December 2024.
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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee; 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.
Tennessee’s state bird
Northern Mockingbird
Tennessee’s state bird is the Northern Mockingbird (officially, the “Mockingbird”), the state bird since 1933.
Audubon painted it too: plate 21 of The Birds of America.
Source: State Symbols (TN.gov, State of Tennessee), read October 3, 2026. See the state birds of all 50 states, each with its painting.
Birding festivals in Tennessee
Our birding festivals calendar lists 2 in Tennessee, with dates from each festival’s own website:
- Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival, Birchwood: January 16–17, 2027
- Hatchie BirdFest, Brownsville: dates not announced yet (2026 festival: April 24–26, 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: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina 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.