List of Birds of Great Britain

List Of Birds Of Great Britain

The list of British birds comprises all those bird species which have occurred 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 596 species of birds on the British list as of 15 December 2011, with the latest additions Band-rumped Storm Petrel (Oceanodroma castro), Hudsonian Whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus), Cabot's Tern (Sterna acuflavida) and Siberian Stonechat (Saxicola maurus). 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 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:

• A: species which have been recorded in an apparently natural state at least once since 1 January 1950.
• B: species which were recorded in an apparently natural state at least once up to 31 December 1949, but have not been recorded subsequently.
• C: species that, although originally introduced by man, either deliberately or accidentally, have established breeding populations derived from introduced stock, that maintain themselves without necessary recourse to further introduction.

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

• D: species that would otherwise appear in Categories A or B except that there is reasonable doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state.
• E: species that have been recorded as introductions, transportees or escapees from captivity, and whose breeding populations (if any) are thought not to be self-sustaining.

Birds in Categories D and E are not on the official British List, and are not included here.

Species listed as rare here are those for 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.

Because of its mild winters, Great Britain has a considerable population of wintering species, particularly ducks, geese and swans. There are also a number of species, such as Oystercatcher, which are resident in this island, but migrants elsewhere. Also because of its position, Britain receives a number of vagrants from Asia and North America. Some American gulls, ducks and waders are regular enough not to be considered rare. These include Ring-billed Gull, Surf Scoter and Pectoral Sandpiper; 150 of the latter species were found in Britain in the record month of September 2003, with a further 40 in Ireland.