IOC World Bird List (Version 1.6)

The pages in this section provide a complete list of the species of birds of the world (Version 1.6). 

We will update the list regularly to reflect taxonomic progress and favored English names for species of all avifaunas.

Accordingly, Updates are summarized in chronological order (most recent first) on separate pages for Species, English Names, Ranges, and Corrigenda.  Updates to the IOC World Bird list also are noted under “Comments” with more detail in the linked Footnote at the bottom of the page. The footnotes include citations to published authorities detailed separately in Literature Cited.

These additions extend the IOC World Bird List beyond the taxonomy of Dickinson (2003) that was our starting foundation.

We are progressive with respect to splits of species proposed by ornithologists in peer-reviewed journal publications and in leading handbooks and major field guides.  In part, the trend is to recognize distinct and geographically separate populations as species, rather than to lump them by default under the Biological Species Concept.  Our main goal, however, is try to represent the leading edge of  the exciting new pace of taxonomic ornithology in order to improve communication and to aid the conservation of birds. We aim to be prospective and to include serious proposals for species recognition that are under consideration for acceptance by regional authorities.  By so doing, we not only track taxonomic discussions as closely as we can, but also try to herald forthcoming changes or, in the words of Pete Morris of Birdquest Ltd, to “future-proof” our world list against the widespread inconsistencies that prevail.

We also strive to accommodate the decisions of regional committees that await submission of a proposal, or decisions on pending proposals. We seek a middle ground by indicating the status of pending decisions by assigning species updates to several categories, namely:

  • PS - Proposed Splits for newly described species or splits that are being reviewed.
  • AS - Accepted Splits (AS) that areofficially accepted by one or more leading authorities, or that we deem valid and intend to ADD to Version 2.0 of the IOC World Bird list.
  • PL - Proposed Lumps for species that are likely to be treated as conspecific with another taxon and thus that may be DELETED from Version 2.0 of the IOC World Bird List.
  • AL - Accepted Lumps (AL) for species that are deemed to be conspecific with another and will be DELETED in Version 2.0.
  • ENG – Changes or corrections of English names, often required by proposed or accepted splits.

Website updates to the IOC World Bird List, first published as Birds of the World, Recommended English Names - Version 1.0 (Gill and Wright 2006) include the following:

  • August 2007 (Version 1.3) - Alignments with the AOU Checklist for North and Middle America.
  • October 2007 (Version 1.4) - Alignments with the classification and pending proposals of the AOU's South American Checklist Committee (SACC).
  • January 2008 (Version 1.5) - Addition of most proposed species splits and taxonomic changes published in peer-reviewed ornithological journals in 2005-2007, with necessary adjustments of English names and Ranges. Additional alignments with decisions by the SACC. Alignments with the draft list (Version 0) of world birds of Birdlife International (BLI).
  • June 2008 (Version 1.6) – Addition of splits proposed by Rasmussen and Anderton (2005) for the avifauna of South Asia. Alignments with Version 1.0 of the BLI world list and with Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian birds (Christidis and Boles 2008). Upgrades of seabird taxonomy. Addition of other proposed species splits and taxonomic updates published or identified in peer reviewed journals since the posting of Version 1.5.

On our desks are many proposed changes of bird genera and of sequences of species on the list, as well as changes in family and ordinal classifications informed by DNA analyses (see phylogenies portrayed in the Tree of Life Project. We will address these comprehensively in the next major update (Version 2.0, January 2009).

The IOC World Bird List below is subdivided primarily by Order and for Passeriformes by sets of related families. Presently, the sequence of families follows that in Birds of the World, Recommended English Name, and on the Excel files with that work. Forthcoming will be revisions of higher order relationships that correspond to phylogenies portrayed in the Tree of Life Project.

Please use the edit/find tool on your browser to locate a species on a particular page.