List of birds of Great Britain

This list of birds of Great Britain comprises all bird species which have been recorded in a wild state in Great Britain. In general the avifauna of Britain is similar to that of Europe, although with fewer breeding species. There are 598 species of birds on the British list as of 7 February 2015, with the latest additions being the alder flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum) and Moltoni's warbler (Sylvia subalpina). The species order and scientific names used here follow that of the official British list, maintained by the British Ornithologists' Union (BOU). Decisions relating to the British list are published by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) in its annual reports in the Ibis, the journal of the BOU. These reports were formerly geographically based and included the whole of the British Isles, but records for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are now published by their own ornithological associations. Records from the Isle of Man, although adjudicated by the Manx Ornithological Society, continue to be published in the BOU reports.

The BOU uses the following categories for British bird species:

Categories A, B and C constitute the Official British List. Birds can be listed in more than one category, for example the Canada goose has a large introduced population, but there have also been a few naturally occurring vagrants, so it meets the criteria for categories A and C. Two further categories are used for record keeping only.

Birds in Categories D and E are not on the official British list and are not included here. A sixth category, Category F, is being compiled to include species recorded before 1800 including fossil species.

Species listed as rare here are those for which a full description is required for acceptance of the record by the British Birds Rarities Committee. Other species have an indication of their breeding and wintering status in Great Britain.

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