The difference between a life list and a year list is time: a life list counts every bird species you have ever seen or heard and identified, and a year list counts only the species you identify in one calendar year, going back to zero on January 1. They use the same birds but answer different questions: "what have I ever seen?" and "what have I seen this year?"
Key facts
- An ABA Big Year runs from 12:00 am on January 1 to 11:59 pm on December 31, by the birder's local time (ABA Area Big Year Rules).
- Under the ABA Recording Rules (version 2020), a bird counts if it was alive, wild and unrestrained, and you identified it by sight or by sound. Heard-only birds count.
- Hybrids, and birds not identified to species (such as a "gull sp."), don't count on any list under those rules.
- eBird builds your life list from the checklists you submit, and lets you filter it by place, date or species (My eBird help, updated March 28, 2025).
Facts checked: September 30, 2026.
Life list vs year list at a glance
| Compare | Life list | Year list |
|---|---|---|
| What it counts | Every species you've ever identified | Every species you identify in one calendar year |
| When it starts over | Never | Every January 1 |
| A new species is | A lifer | New for the year (it may be a lifer too) |
| Can it shrink? | Rarely, for example when scientists merge two species | Rarely, the same way (then it restarts on January 1) |
| Rules | ABA Recording Rules, if you follow them | The same rules, for that year only |
| Best for | A record of your whole birding life | A fresh goal every year |
The life list: every bird you've ever seen
A life list is every bird species you have seen or heard and identified, over your whole life. Each species goes on it once, however many times you meet it again. For how long life lists tend to get, see how many birds the average birder sees.
A new species for your life list is called a lifer. Audubon's dictionary for birders defines it simply as "a first-time sighting for a birder." Your first Northern Cardinal is a lifer. The hundredth cardinal in your yard is still a joy, but it doesn't change the list. (The bird that got you started in the first place has its own name: your spark bird.)
A life list only grows. The one exception is when scientists change the list of species itself, which can add or remove a bird without you going outside. We explain that in bird splits and lumps.
Everything else about keeping one, from what counts to a free printable, is in our main guide to the bird life list.
The year list: every bird you see this year
A year list is every species you see in one calendar year. On January 1 it goes back to zero, and the first bird you see that morning becomes your first bird of the year.
Where a life list is a record, a year list is a game you can play again every January:
- Common birds count again. The first robin of spring feels like news.
- It gives the year a gentle goal. Beat last year's total, or just see what turns up.
- It lets you compare years. A big year list often means you got out more, or traveled somewhere new.
What counts as a good total, the rules for when it resets, and how to start one on January 1 are all in our guide, what is a year list? A Christmas Bird Count in early January is a fine way to begin.
Curious what your own year list looks like? See your birding year in numbers: drop in your eBird export and get your total, new lifers and biggest day.
What is a Big Year?
A Big Year is a year list taken as a challenge: seeing as many species as you can in one calendar year. The American Birding Association (ABA) publishes rules for a Big Year in the ABA Area: all 50 US states, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and nearby waters up to 200 miles from land. Under those rules:
- It runs from midnight on January 1 to 11:59 pm on December 31, by the local time where you are.
- Every bird must meet the ABA Recording Rules (below).
- Every species must be on the ABA Checklist during that year.
You don't need to chase a record to enjoy a year list. Most people simply keep one alongside their life list. If you'd like to try one, Big Year birding covers the rules, the records and a step-by-step plan. (If you're curious, the records themselves are in birding records: Big Year, Big Day and the biggest life lists.)
What other lists do birders keep?
The same idea works for any place or time. A few favorites:
- State or province list: the species you've seen in one state, such as Ohio or Ontario.
- County list: the species you've seen in one county. It suits people who mostly bird close to home.
- Yard list: what you've seen from your own home. eBird calls a group of places you visit often a "patch", and your yard is the patch where you live.
- Area list: a larger region, such as the "ABA Area" (all 50 US states, Canada, the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and nearby waters). See how many bird species are in the US and Canada.
Each of these can be kept as a year list too: a yard year list, a county year list and so on. Real totals for each, from one yard to a whole state, are in what is a year list?
The ABA runs Listing Central, a members' tool for life lists, year lists, month lists and Big Day lists (a Big Day is one day of birding), from whole regions down to counties. If you use eBird, it builds your life, year, month and regional lists for you from the checklists you submit.
What counts on any list?
It's your list, so you can set your own rules. Many North American birders follow the ABA's Recording Rules, which apply to every kind of list. In short:
- The bird was inside the list's area, and seen during the list's time period (that year, for a year list).
- It was alive, wild and unrestrained. Birds in a zoo or a cage don't count.
- You identified it to species by sight, by sound or both. Heard-only birds count under these rules.
- You followed the ABA Code of Birding Ethics.
For lists of the ABA Area, the species must also be on the ABA's official checklist. Hybrids don't count. A bird you couldn't pin down, such as a "gull sp." (a gull of unknown species), doesn't count on any list either.
If you keep a list only for yourself, the most important rule is to be consistent.
Which one should you keep?
Keep a life list as your main record, and let a year list ride along.
The life list is the record of your birding life. It's the one worth keeping safe, and the one you'll want to look back on in twenty years. The year list is for fun and motivation. It resets anyway.
The good news is that you don't have to choose. If you note three things for every sighting, the species, the date and the place, you can build any list later:
- your life list is the earliest record of each species;
- a year list is the same notes, filtered to one year;
- a state or county list is the same notes, filtered to one place.
An app does this sorting for you. A notebook or a birding log book works just as well if it has dates and places. When you're ready, you can type it up: see how to turn a paper list into a spreadsheet. Whatever you use, keep a copy somewhere safe: here's how to back up your birding records.
A life list worth looking at
A life list with dates and places is a small autobiography. Each line says where you were, and when, the first time you saw that bird.
That's the idea behind Birdfolio: it turns your life list into a hardcover book, with a classic painting of each species beside the date and place you first saw it. If you'd like to see what that looks like, page through a Birdfolio.
Birdfolio is not affiliated with eBird, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or iNaturalist.