eBird: Checklists, Life Lists and Bird Taxonomy Explained
What eBird is for, how a checklist differs from a life list, why bird taxonomies give different species counts, and how prairie birders can choose regional checklists and apps.
Contents
The short answer
eBird is an online platform for recording bird observations. Each record is a checklist: the birds you found at one place during one outing. Many birders also use those records to build a life list, which is a running tally of every species they have personally encountered. For a prairie trip, eBird usually works alongside two other tools: a regional checklist that shows which species to expect in an area, and a taxonomy that sets which birds count as separate species.
The research behind this guide does not document eBird's current features, interface or regional coverage. Treat every feature described here as something to confirm in eBird's own help pages before you rely on it.
Four kinds of bird list
Birders use the word checklist for several different things. Keeping the meanings separate makes it easier to pick the right tool.
| List type | What it records | Typical use |
| Regional checklist | Species known from a defined area, sometimes with status notes | Planning a trip and checking whether a sighting is expected |
| Outing checklist | Birds found at one place during one visit | Submitting observations to a recording platform such as eBird |
| Life list | Every species you have seen or heard in person, accumulated over time | Personal record-keeping and tracking milestones |
| Packing or gear checklist | Equipment for the day, not birds | Preparing for a field outing; not a species record |
Diagnostic field notes are a fifth category. These are your written descriptions of plumage, song, behavior and habitat for a bird you could not identify on the spot, or for one that is unusual for the area. They support a checklist entry. They do not replace it.
What a life list is
A guide from the publisher of the Merlin bird identification app defines a life list as the birds you see or hear in person, and describes it as a scrapbook of memories. The phrase "or hear" matters on the prairie. Many grassland birds are easier to detect by song than by sight, and a heard bird still counts under this definition.
Some beginner discussions describe a life list view that opens as a table of every species, with the date, place and checklist where each one was first recorded. That layout shows why outing checklists matter: in that design, the life list is built from your checklist records. Confirm how eBird currently displays and calculates your list before counting on that behavior.
Dedicated life-list apps also exist. One App Store listing describes its app as a private, offline log of every bird the user has seen. Birders on community forums have asked for apps that hold an inventory of native birds they can check off as they find them. The supplied research does not compare these apps or confirm their current features, so it cannot support a recommendation for one over another.
Why taxonomy changes your species count
Taxonomy is the system that decides what counts as a species, how species are named and in what order they are listed. There is no single world list. Several major world bird lists are maintained independently, and they give different species counts because they make different decisions about splitting one species into two or lumping two into one.
For a life list, this means your total depends partly on which taxonomy your recording tool follows. Avibase, for example, offers its regional checklists in nine different taxonomies. When you compare your list with a printed checklist, another app or another birder's totals, check that both use the same taxonomy and the same edition of it.
Many North American birders also follow the ABA Checklist, the American Birding Association's list for its own reporting area. The supplied research does not describe its current contents, edition or how it aligns with eBird's taxonomy. Check those details directly with the ABA if your totals need to match its list.
Regional checklists for prairie trips
A regional checklist answers the question of what you might find in an area. Avibase lists more than 80,000 bird checklists, including more than 20,000 regional checklists. Its page for Prairie National Wildlife Area gives the species recorded there with status information, photos and audio calls, and offers a printable regional checklist.
For Montana, a statewide checklist on Fatbirder aims to include every bird species found in the state. It is based on the best information available when it was compiled and draws on a wide variety of sources. As with any compiled list, check its date and sources before treating it as current.
Printable checklists suit birders who prefer paper in the field. Handmade and decorative birdwatching checklists are also sold through craft marketplaces. These can make good keepsakes, but find out which list and taxonomy they follow before using one as a reference.
Recording responsibly
Searches about eBird often overlap with searches about birding ethics, especially around nesting birds. At least one eBird regional page has published guidelines on respecting birds, their habitat and each other. The American Birding Association publishes a Code of Birding Ethics. Read one of these before visiting grassland or wetland sites in the breeding season, when nests on or near the ground can be easy to disturb.
What to verify before relying on any list
- How eBird currently records checklists and builds a life list, from eBird's own documentation
- Which taxonomy and edition your app or printed checklist follows
- Whether a regional checklist covers the exact area you plan to visit, and when it was last updated
- Whether a life-list app syncs your data, works offline or exports records, if any of these matter to you
- The current ABA Checklist edition, if you report totals for the ABA area
Gap note: the research for this guide shows which list types and resources birders look for, but it does not confirm current app features, list editions or regional completeness. The definitions above are reliable starting points. Product and edition details need checking at the source.
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