Reference

How many bird species are in Texas?

Texas has 678 bird species on its official list (Texas Bird Records Committee, June 7, 2026), the second most of any US state after California. Each species was accepted for Texas on a specimen, a clear photo or a sound recording, and the total includes 8 introduced species and 2 extinct ones.

Updated

Texas bird list at a glance

From Texas’s official list, read on October 3, 2026.
Official count678 species
List’s dateJune 7, 2026
Kept byTexas Bird Records Committee (Texas Ornithological Society)
Introduced species8, now living wild in Texas
Extinct or gone2 extinct species, and 1 no longer found in Texas
Review species179, rare enough that the committee reviews every sighting
Among US states2nd highest of the 47 US lists (50 states and DC) with a verified count
Official listTexas State List

What does Texas’s count include?

  • Only species proven in Texas: each was accepted by the committee on a specimen, a clear photo or a sound recording made in the state.
  • 8 introduced species that now live wild in Texas.
  • 2 extinct species, and 1 that no longer occurs in Texas (the list calls it extirpated).
  • 179 Review Species: birds rare enough that the committee asks for documentation of every sighting.
  • Not counted: 2 birds accepted on written descriptions alone. They wait on a separate Presumptive List until a specimen, photo or recording proves them.
  • Today's species and names: the list follows the American Ornithological Society's 66th checklist supplement (2025).

Why do other sources give 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 Texas 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 Texas; 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.

Birding festivals in Texas

Our birding festivals calendar lists 11 in Texas, 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, Texas State List, read on October 3, 2026. Other numbers link their own source. We never use eBird’s data or a website’s estimate for a state’s count.