What are the biggest birding records? Guinness World Records lists 6,852 species seen in one year (Arjan Dwarshuis, 2016) and 431 in one day (a team of four in Ecuador, 2015). The highest US and Canada Big Year we found is 839 species (John Weigel, 2019). Peter Kaestner was the first person to see 10,000 species, in 2024.
A Big Year is a try at seeing as many bird species as you can in one calendar year. A Big Day is the same idea in a single day. Both count species, not individual birds. Here is each record, who holds it, and how sure we are that it still stands.
Birding records at a glance
| Record | Count | Who and when | Standing on October 3, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Big Year | 6,852 species | Arjan Dwarshuis, 2016 | The record, as Guinness World Records lists it |
| ABA Area Big Year (US and Canada) | 839 species | John Weigel, 2019 | The highest published count we found |
| Lower 48 Big Year | Not confirmed | Ezekiel Dobson, 2024 | Called a record; we found no primary source for the count |
| World Big Day (one team, 24 hours) | 431 species | Four guides in Ecuador, October 8, 2015 | The record, as Guinness World Records lists it |
| US Big Day | 294 species | Team Sapsucker, Texas, April 25, 2013 | The highest published count we found |
| Biggest world life list | 10,000 species | Peter Kaestner, February 9, 2024 | The first person to reach it: a milestone, not a ranking |
Sources for each row are in its section below. All were read on October 3, 2026.
World Big Year: 6,852 species
Guinness World Records lists the most birds seen in one year by one person as 6,852 species, by Arjan Dwarshuis of the Netherlands in 2016. He birded in 40 countries on six continents.
There's a twist. Scientists keep revising the list of bird species, and by December 2021 the same sightings added up to 6,910 species. Guinness keeps 6,852, the count as it stood in 2016, as the record. (Why totals move: see bird splits and lumps.) We found no report of a higher one-year total since.
ABA Area Big Year: 839 species
The American Birding Association (ABA) Area is all 50 US states, Canada, and the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, with nearby waters (more on the ABA Area).
In 2019, John Weigel saw 839 species there. In February 2020, Audubon called it "the current real-world ABA Big Year record." Weigel's own closing account, posted on January 2, 2020, gives 839 plus one likely addition.
His earlier Big Year, in 2016, came to 783 species by his own account, counted before Hawaii was part of the ABA Area. So the two totals aren't directly comparable.
Is 839 still the top? It's the highest published count we found. We couldn't check the ABA's own records, so we don't call it the current record. For the ABA's Big Year rules and how a year list works, see life list vs year list.
Lower 48 Big Year
The "Lower 48" are the contiguous US states, without Alaska and Hawaii. A birding podcast that interviewed Ezekiel Dobson describes his 2024 Big Year as a Lower 48 record. We couldn't find his final count in a primary source, so we leave the number out rather than guess.
World Big Day: 431 species
On October 8, 2015, four guides, Dušan Brinkhuizen, Rudy Gelis, Mitch Lysinger and Tuomas Seimola, found 431 species in 24 hours in Ecuador. Guinness World Records lists it as the record for a team.
Guinness also shows how the record grew:
- 331 species in 1982 (Ted Parker and Scott Robinson)
- 342 in 1986 (Terry Stevenson, John Fanshawe and Andy Roberts)
- 354 in 2014 (a Louisiana State University team)
- 431 in 2015
Guinness notes that its online pages may not show the newest records.
US Big Day: 294 species
On April 25, 2013, Team Sapsucker from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recorded 294 species in Texas, from midnight to midnight. The Cornell Lab's BirdCast called it a North American record at the time. It's the highest US count we found; we couldn't confirm that it still stands.
Prefer to sit still? The Big Sit! is a one-day count from a single 17-foot circle, held in 2026 on October 10 or 11.
The biggest life lists
A life list is every species a birder has ever seen. On February 9, 2024, Peter Kaestner saw an Orange-tufted Spiderhunter on Mindanao, in the Philippines, and became the first person to see 10,000 bird species, Audubon reported. His list follows the IOC World Bird List, which counts more than 11,000 species.
That's a milestone, not a ranking. We found no current published ranking of world life lists that we could check, so we don't name a leader.
For perspective, 400 keen birders in one study averaged 670 species. See how many birds the average birder sees.
Records the birds hold
| Record | Bird | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longest nonstop flight | Bar-tailed Godwit | About 13,560 km (8,400 miles), Alaska to Tasmania in 11 days, October 2022 | Guinness World Records |
| Farthest yearly travel | Arctic Tern | About 90,000 km (56,000 miles) on average, five birds tracked from the Netherlands, 2011–12 | Ardea, 2013 |
| Oldest known wild bird | Wisdom, a Laysan Albatross | About 75 years old in April 2026 | US Fish and Wildlife Service |
The tern figure covers a whole round trip with its stopovers, not one flight. For how long birds live, and the oldest known age of 96 common birds, see how long wild birds live.
Questions people ask
What is the Big Year record?
For the world, 6,852 species in one year, by Arjan Dwarshuis in 2016 (Guinness World Records). For the US and Canada, the highest published count we found is 839, by John Weigel in 2019.
What is the most birds seen in one day?
431 species in 24 hours, by a team of four in Ecuador on October 8, 2015 (Guinness World Records). In the US, the highest count we found is 294, by Team Sapsucker in Texas in 2013.
Has anyone seen every bird in the world?
No. Peter Kaestner became the first person to reach 10,000 species in 2024, out of more than 11,000 on the list he follows.
Can I do my own Big Year?
Yes, and you don't need to chase a record. Start a year list on January 1 (see your first bird of the year). A birding festival is a pleasant way to add new species in a weekend.
Whatever the size of your own list, every bird on it has a day and a place. A Birdfolio prints them beside a classic painting of each species: see your list as a book, free.