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Check-list of North American Birds

The Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of North and Middle American Birds (NACC) is an official committee of the American Ornithologists' Union whose mission is to keep abreast of the systematics and distribution of North and Middle American birds, with the purpose of creating a standard classification and nomenclature. The NACC produces editions of the "Check-list of North American Birds" as well as annual supplements to the latest edition (published in the July issue of The Auk). This classification is subject to constant revision as new data are incorporated. The committee web page contains information on pending proposals and other NACC activities.

The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition

This publication is the official source on the taxonomy of birds found in North and Middle America, including adjacent islands. The 829-page hardbound volume is available for purchase and in PDF format (see list of sections below: file size up to 13 MB):

• Frontmatter
• Tinaniformes - Falconiformes
• Galliformes - Charadriiformes
• Pteroclididae - Apodiformes
• Trogoniformes - Passeriformes
• Passeriformes: Incertae Sedis - Mimidae
• Sturnidae - Estrildidae
• Appendix, French names, Supplement listing, Literature Cited and Index

Note that the pdfs above do not as yet incorporate changes made in the 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th Supplements to the Check-list. Annotations to the book pdfs are planned for future, but for now, users of the book must check the supplements or this webpage to determine whether changes have been made.

The List of the 2,046 Bird Species known for the A.O.U. check-list area, which appears below, DOES incorporate changes made in all Supplements to the 7th Check-list. This list can be viewed as PDF file or Excel file (left click to view and right-click to download). Current French names are also available as a PDF file (Noms français).

List of the 2,046 Bird Species (With Scientific and English Names) Known From the A.O.U. Check-list Area

The geographic area covered includes North and Central America from the North Pole to the boundary of Panama and Colombia, including the adjacent islands under the jurisdiction of the included nations; the Hawaiian Islands; Clipperton Island; Bermuda; The West Indies, including the Bahama Islands, the Greater Antilles, Leeward and Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles (ending with Grenada); and Swan, Providencia, and San Andrés Islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Greenland is not included in the coverage of the Seventh Edition of the Check-list, although it was included in earlier editions and will be in the next edition.

Notes: "(A)" = accidental/casual in AOU area; "(H)" = recorded in AOU area only from Hawaii; "(I)" = introduced into AOU area; "(N)" = has not bred in AOU area, but occurs regularly as nonbreeding visitor; "" preceding name = extinct. Species without symbols are non-introduced species that have nested at least once in non-Hawaiian portion of the AOU area. The symbol "*" preceding name indicates a species that is probably misplaced in the current phylogenetic listing but for which data indicating proper placement are not yet available.