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List of North American birds: passerines

The North American birds most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to this continent until geologically recent times.

Many groups occur throughout these northern hemisphere continents, although distinctive groups have also arisen, such as the wrens. Several common birds in North America, such as the House Sparrow, the Rock Dove, the European Starling, and the Mute Swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to this continent but were brought here by man from Europe or elsewhere. Introduced species are marked on this list as (Introduced). There may be species that have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America that are not on this list. This is especially true of birds that are commonly held as pets such as Parrots and Finches.

The definition of the area covered by a list of "North American birds" is somewhat subjective. The original list published by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) in 1886 covered birds found in North America north of Mexico, Baja California, Bermuda and Greenland. In 1983 the area was expanded to included all of Mexico, Central America south through Panama, the West Indies and the Hawaiian Islands, while Greenland was dropped. This expansion more than doubled the number of birds on the AOU list. Other organizations, such as the American Birding Association (ABA) use a smaller area. The current ABA area includes the 49 continental states, Canada and the French islands St. Pierre and Miquelon, plus surrounding waters. It does not include Greenland, Bermuda, the Bahamas or the Hawaiian Islands. As most field guides for "North American" birds use the ABA area, rather than the more expansive AOU area, this list is based on the ABA checklist.

The taxonomic system used for this article is Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, which is the standard for North America. See the discussion page for further taxonomic comment.

The birds marked (Accidental) on this list are birds from other parts of the world that are occasionally found in North America, but have not established populations, and are not regular visitors. Not all accidental birds on this list are necessarily marked.

A few of the birds on this list were once native to North America, but have, unfortunately, become extinct. They are marked as (Extinct).

This list includes the Passerines of North America. See also the List of North American birds: non-passerines for the North American non-passerines.

For local birding, see also

Table of contents
1 Tyrant flycatchers
2 Passerines Placement Uncertain
3 Shrikes
4 Vireos
5 Jays, Crows, Magpies, and Ravens
6 Larks
7 Swallows and Martins
8 Chickadees and Titmice
9 Verdin
10 Bushtits
11 Nuthatches
12 Treecreepers
13 Wrens
14 Dippers
15 Bulbuls
16 Kinglets
17 Old World warblers and Gnatcatchers
18 Old World flycatchers
19 Thrushes
20 Babblers
21 Mockingbirds and Thrashers
22 Starlings
23 Accentors
24 Wagtails and Pipits
25 Waxwings
26 Silky-flycatchers
27 Olive Warbler
28 Wood-Warblerss
29 Bananaquits
30 Tanagers
31 Sparrowss, Towhees, Juncos, and Longspurs
32 Cardinalss, Saltators, and Grosbeaks
33 Blackbirdss, Meadowlarks, Cowbirds, Grackles, and Orioless
34 Fringilline Finches, Cardueline Finches and Allies
35 Old World sparrowss

Tyrant flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae

Passerines Placement Uncertain

Order: Passeriformes Family: Incertae sedis

Shrikes

Order: Passeriformes Family: Laniidae

Vireos

Order: Passeriformes Family: Vireonidae

Jays, Crows, Magpies, and Ravens

Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae

Larks

Order: Passeriformes Family: Alaudidae

Swallows and Martins

Order: Passeriformes Family: Hirundinidae

Chickadees and Titmice

Order: Passeriformes' Family: Paridae

Verdin

Order: Passeriformes Family: Remizidae

Bushtits

Order: Passeriformes Family: Aegithalidae

Nuthatches

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sittidae

Treecreepers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Certhiidae

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes Family: Troglodytidae

Dippers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Cinclidae

Bulbuls

Order: Passeriformes Family: Pycnonotidae

Kinglets

Order: Passeriformes Family: Regulidae

Old World warblers and Gnatcatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sylviidae

Old World flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Muscicapidae

Thrushes

Order: Passeriformes Family: Turdidae

Babblers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Timaliidae

Mockingbirds and Thrashers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Mimidae

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae

Accentors

Order: Passeriformes Family: Prunellidae

Wagtails and Pipits

Order: Passeriformes Family: Motacillidae

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes Family: Bombycillidae

Silky-flycatchers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Ptilogonatidae

Olive Warbler

Order: Passeriformes Family: Peucedramidae

Wood-Warblerss

Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae

Bananaquits

Order: Passeriformes Family: Coerebidae

Tanagers

Order: Passeriformes Family: Thraupidae

Sparrowss, Towhees, Juncos, and Longspurs

Order: Passeriformes Family: Emberizidae

Cardinalss, Saltators, and Grosbeaks

Order: Passeriformes Family: Cardinalidae

Blackbirdss, Meadowlarks, Cowbirds, Grackles, and Orioless

Order: Passeriformes Family: Icteridae

Fringilline Finches, Cardueline Finches and Allies

Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae

Old World sparrowss

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passeridae