List of birdwatchers


This is a list of notable birdwatchers and of people who are notable in their own right but also happen to be birdwatchers.
First are listed birdwatchers with large life lists, which is based on the number of species of birds each of them has/had seen. Depending on the taxonomic viewpoint, there are 10,858 or 11,032 living bird species recognised.

Large life lists

As of January 5th 2026 according to the, there is only one birder who has added 10,000 or more species of birds to their life lists. An additional 18 birders have added at least 9,000 species of life birds and 34 at least 8,000 species. Note: all known sources of bird species life list data are self-reported.
Birders with over 8,000 species include:

Other notable birdwatchers

Birdwatchers famous for achievements in other fields