The short answer: 1,161 species. That's the total on the American Birding Association's ABA Checklist, version 8.19, from January 2026. It counts every bird species ever documented in the "ABA Area": the US, Canada and Hawaii, plus nearby waters. It includes rare strays and a few birds no longer found here, so it's a record, not a to-see list.
Here's what that number includes, why other sources give other totals, and what the usual milestones are.
Key facts
- The ABA Checklist, version 8.19 (January 2026), lists 1,161 species "documented to have occurred in the ABA Area."
- The ABA Area is the 49 continental US states, Hawaii, Canada, St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the ocean up to 200 miles from land.
- In January 2026, two splits (Whimbrel and Yellow Warbler) and one new record (Waved Albatross) raised the total from 1,158 to 1,161.
- The next changes are due soon: eBird updates its taxonomy every October, and AviList expected its next edition in September or October 2026.
Facts checked: September 30, 2026.
The numbers you'll see, and what they count
| Number | What it counts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1,161 | Every species recorded in the ABA Area (US, Canada, Hawaii) | ABA Checklist v8.19, January 2026 |
| 1,158 | The same checklist, before the January 2026 update | ABA Checklist Committee, September 2025 |
| "More than 800" | Species that occur in the United States (no date or method given) | National Wildlife Federation |
| 11,131 | Every bird species in the world, including some now extinct | AviList v2025b, June 2026 |
We last checked these totals on September 30, 2026.
What the ABA Area covers (and what it leaves out)
The American Birding Association (ABA) keeps a checklist of every bird species recorded in its area, and many North American birders count their lists against it. The area includes:
- the 49 continental US states,
- Hawaii,
- Canada,
- the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon,
- and the ocean up to 200 miles from land, or halfway to a neighboring country if that's closer.
Bermuda, The Bahamas and Greenland are not included. Neither is Mexico. So when a birder says "North America" and means the ABA Area, they mean North America north of Mexico, plus Hawaii.
Hawaii is a fairly recent addition. ABA members voted to add it in November 2016, and the ABA expected it to bring roughly 100 to 115 more species. If you'd rather leave Hawaii out, the ABA also defines an "ABA Continental" area without it.
Not all 1,161 are easy to see
Every species on the checklist has a code from 1 to 6:
- Codes 1 and 2: found regularly. Code 1 birds are the more widespread and numerous ones.
- Code 3: rare, but seen every year.
- Code 4: casual. Six or more records in all, with at least three in the past 30 years.
- Code 5: accidental. Five records or fewer, or fewer than three in the past 30 years.
- Code 6: can't be found. The bird is extinct, gone from the area, or survives only in captivity.
So the 1,161 includes birds that have turned up only a handful of times, and a few that nobody can see today. It's a record of what has been found here, not a list of what you can expect to find.
The total keeps changing
The checklist grows as rare birds are found and as scientists divide one species into two. In September 2025 the ABA Checklist stood at 1,158 species. In January 2026 three were added:
- Whimbrel was split into Hudsonian Whimbrel (common here) and Eurasian Whimbrel (a rare visitor).
- Yellow Warbler was split into Northern Yellow Warbler (common) and Mangrove Yellow Warbler, which breeds in the Florida Keys and locally in Texas.
- Waved Albatross was added after sightings in California in October 2025 and January 2026.
That made 1,161. Our guide to bird splits and lumps explains how these changes can move your own total.
What might change next: eBird updates its list of species every October, and AviList said in June 2026 that its next edition was due in September or October 2026. The ABA's Checklist Committee publishes updates during the year; its last two came in September 2025 and January 2026.
Why other sources give other numbers
If you've seen a different total somewhere, there are four usual reasons.
1. A different area. The American Ornithological Society (AOS) keeps its own Check-list of North and Middle American Birds. It covers a much bigger region than the ABA Area, so its total is larger.
2. A different checklist. Scientists don't always agree where one species ends and the next begins. Birders have long used different world checklists, including Clements (the one eBird uses), the IOC World Bird List and BirdLife International's. In June 2025 a joint project called AviList published one shared global checklist. The IOC list stopped at version 15.2, and eBird/Clements is making its final changes through 2026 to line up with AviList.
They still differ on a few birds. The AOS (August 2025) and eBird/Clements (October 2025) both split Warbling Vireo into an eastern and a western species. AviList's current edition, v2025b from June 2026, still counts one Warbling Vireo. The same sightings can therefore give two different totals. The ABA itself recognizes both the AOS and Clements lists, notes where they differ, and sometimes follows AviList.
3. A different year. Every list is updated on a schedule. eBird updates its taxonomy once a year in October. AviList plans one edition a year. So a total from a few years ago may be out of date.
4. Only the regular birds. Some counts leave out the rare visitors. The National Wildlife Federation, for example, says more than 800 bird species occur in the United States. Its page doesn't say how it counts, but a lower total like this usually means the rare strays are left out.
For the whole world, AviList v2025b lists 11,131 species, including some that are now extinct.
Common milestones
Birders love round numbers. None of these is official; they're simply the totals people celebrate. For scale, here's each one as a share of the 1,161 on the ABA Checklist.
| Milestone | Share of 1,161 | What it usually takes |
|---|---|---|
| 100 species | about 9% | Local birding plus a few trips to different habitats (woods, lakes, the coast) |
| 300 species | about 26% | Birding in more than one region: many western birds don't occur in the East, and the other way around |
| 500 species | about 43% | A serious list, built over years of trips and seasons |
| 700 species | about 60% | A lifetime's work in the ABA Area; new birds tend to be the rare ones |
Two tips when you reach a milestone:
- Check which area your total counts. A "life list" often includes birds seen abroad. An ABA Area total counts only birds seen here.
- Check which checklist your app uses. A split or a lump can move your total by one or two.
The ABA's Listing Central lets members record their totals for the ABA Area and smaller regions. You can start or tidy your own list with our guide, what is a life list?
Mark the moment
Your 100th or 500th species is worth remembering: where you were, and who was with you. A Birdfolio book marks milestone birds such as your 100th and 500th species, each with the date and place you first saw it. Look inside a Birdfolio.
Birdfolio is not affiliated with eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or iNaturalist.