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The books on this page are arranged chronologically with the most recently published at the top.

There are a number of pages about birds of the world on this site:

World checklists

Bird Families Of The World

The Handbook of the Birds of the World

Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 2: Passerines

Josep Del Hoyo, Nigel J. Collar, David A. Christie, Andrew Elliott, Lincoln D.C. Fishpool, Peter Boesman, Guy M. Kirwan

2016

1012 pages, 440 colour plates with 12100 illustrations, colour photos, 6638 colour distribution maps.

"An extensive introduction, with many illustrated examples, explains the rationale and advantages of the taxonomic system adopted in the Checklist, as well as how to use the book. With the guidance of many genetic studies and the aid of the scoring system employed to evaluate differences in morphology, vocalizations, ecology and geographical relationships, the number of taxonomic changes for the passerines has been significantly high. At present (totals may change slightly before publication), the volume 2 has 41 lumps and 628 splits, compared with the taxonomy presented in the HBW series. Large-format maps offer the reader assistance in interpreting the distribution sections. They provide both administrative and physical details, for greater clarity of use. In total, Volume 2 deals with 1 order, 138 families, 1,351 genera, 6,585 extant species, and 58 extinct species."

Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines

Josep Del Hoyo, Nigel J. Collar, David A. Christie, Andrew Elliott, Lincoln D.C. Fishpool

2014

903 pages, 357 colour plates with 8290 illustrations, colour photos, 4428 colour distribution maps.

"An extensive introduction, with many illustrated examples, explains the rationale and advantages of the taxonomic system adopted in the Checklist, as well as how to use the book. A modern, broad version of the Biological Species Concept (BSC) has been applied, with the aid of the scoring system to evaluate differences in morphology, vocalizations, ecology and geographical relationships published in Ibis by Tobias et al. (2010). For the non-passerines, this has resulted in relatively few lumps (21) but a much higher number of splits, 462 in total at the time of writing, compared with the taxonomy presented in the HBW series. Two appendices cover all the species considered to have become extinct since 1500. The first gives full treatment, including text, illustration and former range map, for the extinct species known from complete specimens. The second provides information for the extinct species not known from complete specimens. Large-format maps offer the reader assistance in interpreting the distribution sections. They provide both administrative and physical details, for greater clarity of use. In total, Volume 1 deals with 35 orders, 105 families, 988 genera, 4372 extant species, 99 extinct species, and has 2126 bibliographical references."

The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 2: Passerines

Editor: E.C. Dickinson, J.V. Remsen Jr.

2014

This is the fourth edition of the Howard and Moore checklist, which was first published as a compact list of the birds of the world and included all subspecies. This edition has been split into two volumes and references and appendices supplied on a CD rather than as part of the volumes.

The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non Passerines

Editor: E.C. Dickinson, J.V. Remsen Jr.

2012

This is the fourth edition of the Howard and Moore checklist, which was first published as a compact list of the birds of the world and included all subspecies. This edition has been split into two volumes and references and appendices supplied on a CD rather than as part of the volumes.

Birds of the World: A Checklist

James F. Clements

2006 (6th ed)

"Birds have long held a unique dual role as a model group for scientists and as the focus of birders' passionate quests. Despite centuries of observation, each year brings the discovery and description of several entirely new avian species and hundreds of other taxonomic "splits" or "lumps" based on DNA data. In this arena of continual and increasing taxonomic change, The Clements Checklist presents the most up-to-date and most widely endorsed compendium of the more than 9800 species of birds recognized by the scientific and birding communities. This completely revised sixth edition is current as of 2005 and incorporates hundreds of updates since the last edition. In taxonomic sequence, it provides the scientific and English name of each species and a description of the worldwide range of each species and subspecies."

Birds of the World: Recommended English Names

Editors: Frank B. Gill and Minturn T. Wright III

2006

"The product of more than 15 years of discussion, debate and review by a team of international experts sanctioned by the International Ornithological Congress, "Birds of the World" unifies and standardises the avian nomenclature of the English-speaking regions of the world. It provides recommendations for the English name of every species of bird, and comes complete with a CD-ROM containing searchable and sortable Excel files of all the material in the book. Accommodating the very latest taxonomic revisions, this landmark volume will become an invaluable reference on the subject for scholars and ornithologists around the world."

Birds of the World: A Checklist

James F. Clements

2005 (5th ed)

"The 'Clements' checklist of the birds of the world is probably the best known of the various lists published in recent years. Now in its fifth edition, it covers subspecies for the first time. This will greatly enhance its appeal to all birders and ornithologists, and in these times of taxonomic uncertainty, when species are frequently being revised, it will make these taxonomic changes easier to understand. It presents a total of 9,800 species of birds; each is given its scientific name and its best-known English name. This is followed by a full listing of all recognized subspecies and brief descriptions of their ranges. Each entry has a space to record the locations and dates of individual sightings' providing the user with a personalised ornithological journal. Also included are appendices listing totals of bird species and endemics by country, a gazetteer of over 2000 localities mentioned in the text, a complete bibliography, and indexes to both scientific and English names."

The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World

Editor: Edward C. Dickinson

2003

"This is the third edition of the Howard and Moore checklist, which was first published as a compact list of the birds of the world and included all subspecies. This third edition has had the input of five regional consultants who have assisted with a reassessment of all taxonomic data. In addition, the authorities for all newly described subspecies are given with full references. Introductory sections include a discussion of the relative attributes of the Biological Species Concept and the Phylogenetic Species Concept, which cause much confusion among birders but which are critical to our understanding of taxonomy and related issues, not least conservation. Additionally, new developments in taxonomy are discussed, and areas highlighted where it appears that a new consensus is likely to emerge in the future."

World Bird Species Checklist: With Alternative English and Scientific Names

M. G. Wells

1998

"Published by the author, this is a checklist and practical reference book of 9941 species, containing 8294 species collectively recognised by leading scientific and national bird authorities, plus 1647 other species recognised by some, but not all, of these authorities (indicated as having limited recognition). It includes around eighteen thousand alternative (binomial) scientific, and over twenty-seven thousand alternative English names that have been found in the ornithological literature."

The Complete Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World

Tim Westoll

1998

"Written, illustrated and published by the late Tim Westoll, this extraordinary book is unquestionably the most comprehensive visual guide to the birds of the world - 10,300 species are depicted in colour (thumbnail illustrations) on the 367 plates. In every case the male is painted in full breeding plumage, plus 2,500 females when these differ substantially from the male in size or colour. Around one-third of the illustrations are the result of first-hand observation in the field. For the remainder the author was reliant on museum specimens, illustrations and occasionally, when no illustration appeared to exist, on a written description alone. The book's organisation is based on A Checklist of the Birds of the World (Gruson, 1976 - essentially the Peter's sequence) with additions and modifications gleaned from Walters, Clements, Howard & Moore and Sibley and Monroe. Species information (scientific name, common name, number of subspecies, length in centimetres, range) is given on facing pages."

A World Checklist of Birds

B.L. Monroe and C.G. Sibley

1997

"In this book, Burt L. Monroe, Jr., and Charles G. Sibley provide a list of 9,702 living avian species based on their 1990 book Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World and its 1993 Supplement. Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World was awarded the title of "Best Bird Book of the Year" for 1991 by the journal British Birds. A World Checklist of Birds gives the Latin and English names for the species recognised in that work and in the Supplement, abbreviated geographic distributions, and spaces for checking species observed in the field and for brief notes."

A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World

Richard Howard and Alick Moore

1991 (2nd ed)

"This book represents a complete revision of the authors' previous authoritative work. It incorporates all the significant changes to bird taxonomy that have occurred over the past six years and remains the only single-volume work to list subspecies. Ornithologists are constantly reviewing and revising the scientific and common names of the world's bird - combining and dividing established species and genera. Despite the fact that opinions will continue to vary on the details of avian classification, lists such as this provide a baseline reference to scientific and English names and taxonomy and distribution for both the professional and amateur ornithologist and taxonomist."

Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World

C.G. Sibley and B.L. Monroe

1990

"In this book, ornithologists Charles G. Sibley and Burt L. Monroe Jr, present descriptions of the geographic distributions, and comments about the species-level taxonomy, of the living birds of the world. The accounts of the 9672 species are arranged according to the classification developed by Sibley, Monroe, and Ahlquist. The authors provide new information on the distribution of each species; an appendix includes 24 maps and a gazetteer of the place names mentioned in the text. This volume also provides a cross-referenced index of scientific and English bird names of species."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XVI: Comprehensive index

Raymond A. Paynter

1987

From the introduction: "This Comprehensive Index is a compilation of all indices in the Checklist series, with the exception of that from the first edition of Volume I. Misspellings, omissions, and other errors detected in the indices have been corrected, but not those from within the texts. A few synonyms that I know to have been overlooked are cited in the Addenda to this volume and are indexed here, but no consideration is given to names coined subsequent to the publication of the relevant volume. It is a tribute to the authors that not a single homonym has been found in the approximately 55,000 entries that constitute this index. In this, the final volume in a series that has been appearing at intervals for nearly six decades, it seems appropriate to take a brief overview of the project and to examine some of the tenets and conventions, as well as the problems, that have guided and confronted the authors and editors."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XI

Editor: Ernst Mayr and G. William Cottrell

Ernst Mayr, Melvin A. Traylor and George E. Watson

1986

From the introduction: "Volume XI completes the Check -list of Birds of the World. Fifty-five years, thus, have passed between Volume I (1931) and this volume. When originally planned, Volume XI was to cover the Old World Warblers (Sylviidae) and Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae). These two groups were not only acknowledged to be difficult, containing some very troublesome genera (like Phylloscopus and Cisticola), but had never been treated in their entirety since the Catalogue of the Birds of the British Museum, Volumes IV (1879), V (1881), and VII (1883)."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume VIII

Editor: Melvin A. Traylor

Dead Amadon, Ernst Mayr, David W. Snow, Melvin A. Traynor and John T. Zimmer

1979

From the introduction: "The manuscript for Volume VIII has had a period of gestation of over 20 years. The late John Todd Zimmer had prepared almost complete manuscripts for the New World families, which comprise the bulk of the volume, before his death in 1957, and later these were read and edited by James Bond. The manuscripts for the Old World families had been completed by the present authors by 1960. Although the manuscripts for the New World families were written with Zimmer's usual care and scholarship, the latter had concerned himself only with the species and subspecies, and had used the generic and familial classifications of Hellmayr's Catalogue of Birds of the Americas (1927, 1929) virtually without change. The then editors of Peters' Checklist, Ernst Mayr and James C. Greenway, Jr., therefore decided to postpone the publication of Volume VIII until more modern classifications of the families were available."

A Checklist of the Birds of the World

Edward S. Gruson

1976

"A complete, concise guide to the names and groupings of all the birds on earth, with the authority for each name and the broad distribution of each species."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XIII

Editor: Raymond A. Paynter in consultation with Ernst Mayr

Raymond A. Paynter and Robert W. Storer

1970

From the introduction: "It has been the custom for the editor alone to write the Introduction to volumes in this series published since the death of J. L. Peters. However, because the present volume has but one author in addition to the editor-author and because of the controversial nature of the systematic arrangement of the taxa treated herein, the authors have collaborated more closely than usual. It is appropriate, therefore, that this Introduction be written jointly in order to point out some of the problems that were encountered and the reasons why they were handled as they were."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XIV

Editor: Raymond A. Paynter in consultation with Ernst Mayr

Emmet R. Blake, James C. Greenway, Thomas R. Howell, George H. Lowery, Ernst Mayr, Burt L. Monroe, Raymond A. Paynter, Austin L. Rand and Melvin A. Trayloe

1968

From the introduction: "The eight taxa covered in this volume (Parulidae, Drepanididae, Vireonidae, Icteridae, Fringillidae, CardueHnae, Estrildidae, and Viduinae) contain only about six percent of the living species of birds, but these are among the best known of the entire class. For many of these species there is comparatively abundant information on their natural history, general biology, physiology, ethology, and even genetics. A comparable amount of data could not be found for any similar assemblage of birds. However, in spite of the abundance of taxonomically useful information, or more probably because of it, the systematics of these birds are among the most unsettled and controversial in the Class Aves."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XII

Editor: Raymond A. Paynter in consultation with Ernst Mayr

James C. Greenway, Ernst Mayr, Reginald E. Moreau, Austin L. Rand, Finn Salomonsen and David W. Snow

1967

From the introduction: "This is the fourth volume to be published as a cooperative project after the death of J. L. Peters in 1952. Some manuscripts for this book were completed nearly ten years ago and have been revised several times to keep them up to date. This delay and extra effort is regretted, but it should be remembered that the six collaborators had varied commitments, and it was impossible for some authors to complete their sections as promptly as others. It is anticipated, however, that as the Check-list series nears completion, the time between the submission of a manuscript and its publication will decrease, and that the rate with which new volumes appear will accelerate."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume X

Editor: Ernst Mayr and James C Greenway Jr

Herbert G. Deignan, Raymond A. Paynter, S. Dillon Ripley

1964

From the introduction: "Peters' Check-list has long been recognized as an indispensable reference for reliable information on the classification, correct names, synonymies, and geographic distribution of birds. The fact that the account of each family is now prepared by a specialist has increased the usefulness and authority of this series. There is nothing like it in the world literature for any other kind of organism. Ornithologists will, therefore, rejoice that this volume follows the publication of volumes IX (1960) and XV (1962) so speedily."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume XV

Editor: Ernst Mayr and James C. Greenway

Dean Amadon, Emmet R. Blake, James C. Greenway, Ernst Mayr, Reginal E. Moreau, Charles Vaurie

1962

From the introduction: "Perhaps it should go without saying that this will not be the last volume of this series, even though it is numbered volume 15, and lists the last eleven families of the Basel sequence {vide Majrr and Greenway, 1956, Breviora, no. 58) of the perching birds. Eight volumes of the series have been published previously. The first 7 volumes contain the Non-Passeres. The latest (volume 9 of 1960) contains a listing of birds comprising the first thirteen families of the order of perching birds. Even though the editors had a manuscript for volume number 8 in hand in 1960, they decided not to print it in that year, but rather to bring the volume out later because of the considerable amount of new, basic work now going forward on the large and complicated family of Tyrant Flycatchers. The editors beg indulgence of librarians and others who may find a lack of conformity in the issuance of the volumes of the series confusing."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume IX

Editor: Ernst Mayr and James C Greenway Jr

1960

From the introduction: "The idea of a Check-list of Birds of the World was initiated in the Museum of Comparative Zoology to satisfy an acute need created by the obsolescence of Sharpe's Handlist (1900- 1910). The enthusiastic reception of the work by ornithologists throughout the world is testimony to the soundness of this plan. Yet, when James L. Peters suddenly died on April 19, 1952, only seven volumes of the planned fifteen volume series had appeared. It then became desirable and necessary that steps be taken to assure completion of this indispensible handbook of the working ornithologist. The Museum of Comparative Zoology, therefore, appointed the undersigned as editors with the request to arrange for completion of the work."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume VII

James Lee Peters

1951

From the introduction: "With the exception of the Eurylaimidae, all the families in this volume have been monographed since 1923 and 1924. It is difficult to realize that more than 25 years have elapsed since the master ornithologist, C. E. Hellmayr, revised the Furnarioidea in a manner that fundamentally will stand the test of time. At the same time, Hellmayr's sound work provided a firm foundation upon which subsequent ornithologists could build with confidence. The extensive zoological explorations conducted in South America since the appearance of Hellmayr's volumes have greatly increased the ornithological knowledge of this continent, as attested by the numbers of new forms that have been named during the last quarter century, resulting in an increase of approximately 300 over the number of forms listed by Hellmayr."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume VI

James Lee Peters

1948

From the introduction: "As stated in the introduction to Volume V, no major changes have been adopted in the general scope of this series."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume V

James Lee Peters

1945

From the introduction: "No innovations have been adopted in this volume; the general scope, as outlined in the introduction to the first volume, with minor changes explained in the introductions to subsequent volumes, still stands. A little more than half of the present volume is taken by the hummingbirds. The arrangement of this family is essentially that adopted by Eugene Simon in his Histoire Naturelle des Trochilidae (Paris, 1921), but I have not been able to follow all of his generic refinements or some of his interpretations of the Rules of Zoological Nomenclature. Nevertheless, Simon's arrangement is probably the best to date for a family that defies any attempt at a logical linear classification. Generic differentiation has been much overdone in the Trochilidae; too much emphasis has been laid on secondary sexual characters of the males; a better system could probably be evolved from a classification based on the females, but the time element prevented my undertaking it."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume IV

James Lee Peters

1940

From the introduction: "In the preparation of this volume I have attempted to adhere to the general plan originally outlined in the introduction to the first volume; no basic changes have been made in this scheme, but additional explanatory paragraphs have appeared in the introduction to volumes 2 and 3. The treatment of the orders dealt with in this volume has been brought up to 31 December 1938; a very few forms described early in 1939 are included, but no pretense has been made of keeping the work up to date after 1938. None of the included Orders has been completely monographed or listed since the turn of the last century; the Owls have been particularly neglected, and for this reason an unusually large amount of time was consumed in preparing a fresh arrangement."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume III

James Lee Peters

1937

From the introduction: "The two orders treated in this volume have been the objects of special study on the part of many ornithologists during the past 150 years and the resulting literature is enormous. Among those who have contributed extensively are Kuhl (Parrots), Wagler (Parrots), Temminck (Pigeons), Bonaparte (Parrots and Pigeons), Reichenbach (Pigeons), Schlegel (Parrots and Pigeons), Finsch (Parrots) and Salvadori (Parrots and Pigeons). The two volumes of the Catalogue of Birds of the British Museum by Salvadori dealing with these orders have long been the standard, and after frequent renewed association with these volumes, I can say that in the care and thoroughness with which they were prepared and in the soundness of their writer's views they constitute a record of which anyone might be proud, and stamp their author as a truly great ornithologist."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume II

James Lee Peters

1934

From the introduction: "There is little to add by way of explanation to the second volume that is not mentioned in the introduction to the first. In response to a general demand I have given the vernacular names of families in the table of contents, but still adhere to my original stand that inventing common English names for birds that do not have them is a waste of time. After all, the primary reason for a scientific name is to have a name intelligible to scientists the world over."

Check-list Of Birds Of The World: Volume I

James Lee Peters

1931

From the introduction: "It is now nearly thirty-two years since the first volume of Sharpe's Handlist of the Genera and Species of Birds made its appearance. The five volumes comprising that work have long been the one and only standard catalogue available to ornithologists, and it is a pity that Sharpe's work could not have remained so, but the rapidity of the increase of ornithological knowledge has made it clear for a number of years that a new work along the same, or perhaps shghtly more elaborate, lines was needed. The order of families and higher groups followed in this work is essentially the same as that proposed by Wetmore in the Proceedings XJ. S. National Museum, 76, Art. 24, 1930, pp. 1-8. The arrangement of the subfamilies and the sequence of genera and species have been compiled from many sources and from personal examination of material. The muchmooted question of generic limits is largely a matter of individual preference. In the recognition of genera I have endeavored to adhere to the doctrine that 'The genus should be used for expressing relationships,' and that minor structural differences should be considered as of specific value only, or at the most merely of subgeneric worth."

Handlist Of Genera And Species Of Birds

R. Bowdler Sharpe

Volume 1: 1899
Volume 2: 1900
Volume 3: 1901
Volume 4: 1903
Volume 5: 1909

Preface to volume 1: "The first 'Hand-list' of Birds was compiled by the late George Robert Gray, and published by the Trustees of the British Museum in three parts, in the years 1869, 1870, and 1871. This work has long been out of print, and the time seems to have come when a new Handlist would be of advantage to working ornithologists. This new 'Hand-list' has been written by Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, the author of the greater part of the 'Catalogue of Birds.' To the latter work reference is made throughout, and the ' Hand-list' is avowedly founded upon the 'Catalogue'; but the new species described since the publication of the twenty-seven volumes which comprise the latter work will be here included, so as to bring the list of the known species of birds up to date. I thoroughly endorse the author's remarks as to the value of the co-operation which he has received from distinguished ornithologists in this and other countries. The desire which has been evinced by so many ornithologists to make this new 'Hand-list' complete will be fully appreciated by all those who desire the progress of Zoological Science."

Handlist Of Genera And Species Of Birds

G.R. Gray

Volume 1: 1869
Volume 2: 1870
Volume 3: 1871

Preface to volume 1: "The object of this Hand-List is to give a complete List of all the Genera with their subdivisions; and also a comprehensive List of the species of Birds under the respective divisions to which they are supposed to belong. The specific name in Antique (or thick) type exemplifies those species that are contained in the British Museum; whilst the Roman (or thin) type exhibits those species that are at present desiderata to the Collection. The second or remaining part of the Hand-List is far advanced towards completion."