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Checklist
Checklist forms the core of the science-based tool for informing conservation strategies and development plans. Updating the Birds Korea Checklist regularly enables us to understand population trends and priorities for Important Bird Areas.
Checklist 2025
Updated August 2025
The current edition of Birds Korea Checklist exhibits the following key findings:
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eBird Mapping Test
# | Cat. | English Name | Scientific Name | Korean Name | GCS | NCS | Breeding Status (O=No evidence); 1= Breeding record since 2000; 2=Breeding record pre-2000; 3=Suspected breeding since 2000 | Abundance Code | Source | Population Trend | Notes to help with assessment | Profile Page (click image) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R1A | Sooty Shearwater | Ardenna grisea | 사대양슴새 | NT | NA | 0 | ||||||
작은흰갈매기 | thayeri again rejected - see Ayash (2024) | |||||||||||
1 | Red-necked Phalarope | Phalaropus lobatus | 지느러미발도요 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Asian Short-toed Lark | Alaudala cheleensis | 북방쇠종다리 | LC | NA | 0 | V2V2 | Puzzlingly, put into a pending file by Park et al (2025) even though inclusion is based on identification of one individual photographed by Park Jong-Gil by Per Slstrom. | ||||
AviList 2025 gives range of susbp. Pacificus as, "Siberia to Kamchatka, northern China, and northern Japan; winters Indonesia, Melanesia, and Australia (including Tasmania but not western deserts)" | ||||||||||||
쇠검은머리쑥새 | ||||||||||||
AviList (2025) explicitly includes Korea in distribution annotation | ||||||||||||
1 | Baillon's Crake | Zapornia pusilla | 쇠뜸부기 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
바이칼멋쟁이새 | ||||||||||||
AviList (2025) distribution text explicitly includes Korea in range of nominate | ||||||||||||
2 | Snowy Owl | Bubo scandiacus | 흰올빼미 | VU | NA | 0 | V2 | |||||
1 | Marsh Sandpiper | Tringa stagnatilis | 쇠청다리도요 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Brown-headed Thrush | Turdus chrysolaus | 붉은배지빠귀 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Black Woodpecker | Dryocopus martius | 까막딱다구리 | LC | II | 1 | ||||||
1 | Eurasian Eagle-Owl | Bubo bubo | 수리부엉이 | LC | II | 1 | ||||||
1 | Thick-billed Murre | Uria lomvia | 큰부리바다오리 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Crested Serpent Eagle | Spilornis cheela | 관수리 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | White-tailed Eagle | Haliaeetus albicilla | 흰꼬리수리 | LC | I | 1 | ||||||
1 | Mongolian Finch | Bucanetes mongolicus | 바위양진이 | LC | NA | 0 | V2 | One record: heuksan | ||||
Subspecies changed to affinis in accordance with Park et al. (2025) | ||||||||||||
1 | Ashy Woodswallow | Artamus fuscus | 회색숲제비 | LC | NA | 0 | V2 | |||||
1 | Common Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula | 흰죽지꼬마물떼새 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Ruddy-breasted Crake | Zapornia fusca | 쇠뜸부기사촌 | LC | NT | 1 | ||||||
1 | Swinhoe's Minivet | Pericrocotus cantonensis | 갈색할미새사촌 | LC | NA | 0 | V2 | |||||
1 | Japanese Accentor | Prunella rubida | 쇠바위종다리 | LC | NA | 0 | V2 | Two records (Busan, Gyeongju) | ||||
솔부엉이 | AviList (2025) distribution: "breeds southern Korean Peninsula and Japan; winters to Philippines and Indonesia" | |||||||||||
긴발톱멧새 | Recheck BOW which had this region as coloratus | |||||||||||
1 | Bull-headed Shrike | Lanius bucephalus | 때까치 | LC | NA | 1 | Kim et al. (2021) found this species to be stable or increasing slightly; I find the species to be much less widespread, esp. in winter. Likely therefore that the wintering population is in decline (either because of climate warming or declines in their breeding range) while the resident population is doing okay. Previous winter population likely underestimated. Changed from P4 >W4 (Back in 2007 was R3 (M) 3. Perhaps most migrants to ROK are here for the winter? Bar charts in eBird suggest highest frequency in winter months, though this likely strongly influenced by behaviour. | |||||
방울새 | ||||||||||||
1 | Red-crowned Crane | Grus japonensis | 두루미 | VU | I | 0 | W3, SV2 | |||||
1 | Northern Boobook | Ninox japonica | 솔부엉이 | LC | NA | 1 | ||||||
1 | Little Gull | Hydrocoloeus minutus | 꼬마갈매기 | LC | NA | 0 | V2 | First winter photographed at Namdaecheon, Gangneung by Sim Heon Seop on December 13th 2023, at https://birdseek.tistory.com/4778 | ||||
1 | Hazel Grouse | Tetrastes bonasia | 들꿩 | LC | NA | 1 | R1 | STA | ||||
1 | Lesser Coucal | Centropus bengalensis | 작은뻐꾸기사촌 | LC | NA | 0 | V1 | |||||
1 | Eastern Red-rumped Swallow | Cecropis daurica | 귀제비 | LC | NA | 1 | ||||||
1 | Black Stork | Ciconia nigra | 먹황새 | LC | I | 3? | ||||||
1 | Short-toed Snake Eagle | Circaetus gallicus | 작은발땅꾼수리 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Himalayan Vulture | Gyps himalayensis | 고산대머리수리 | NT | NA | 0 | V2 | |||||
1 | Eastern Imperial Eagle | Aquila heliaca | 흰죽지수리 | VU | II | 0 | ||||||
1 | Red Collared Dove | Streptopelia tranquebarica | 홍비둘기 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
R1A | Western Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla flava | 서양긴발톱할미새 | LC | NA | 0 | As completely excluded by Park et al. (2025), move to review. Some images exist to support inclusion - perhaps! | |||||
1 | Siberian Thrush | Geokichla sibirica | 흰눈썹지빠귀 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Bar-tailed Godwit | Limosa lapponica | 큰뒷부리도요 | NT | II | 0 | ||||||
한국황조롱이 | Park et al. (2025) includes nominate F. t. tinnunculus as one of only two subspecies found in Korea, even though analysis of captured individuals revealed no nominate (Park J-G, Song J U., Kim E-J., Park C-G & Nam D A. Korean Journal of Ornithology, December 2022). In China nominate is distributed to the northeast (and northwest) of Beijing (Li Z, Lui YY & Song J. 2008 , J. raptor research 42 (3): 214-219). This source also only looks at two subspecies, and does not refer to perpallidus. They consider nominate to be a winter visitor to Beijing, while interstinctus is a summer visitor. However, AviList 2025 cites the range of perpallidus as, "breeds eastern Siberia (east from the Lena Basin) to Korea and northern China; in winter to eastern China and southeastern Asia". The reason for this confusion seems to be that, as indicated by LIMPARUNGPATTHANAKIJ et al. (FORKTAIL 35 (2019): 18–27) perpallidus is often subsumed within the nominate race. Within NE Asia nominate and perpallidus are therefore one and the same. Avilist (2025) state explicitly that they are not fully reviewing subspecies. Their specific mention of perpallidus in Korea; the presence of some extremely pale birds (some being much paler than Common Kestrel within the range of nominate in Europe) means that it would be wisest to list as tinnunculus / perpallidus (to avoid suggesting three subspecies occur in Korea) and to include proper annotation to that effect. | |||||||||||
1 | Japanese Scops Owl | Otus semitorques | 큰소쩍새 | LC | NT | 1 | ||||||
Bird photographed on Heuksan Island on August 25th 2013 was considered by Paul Leader to be outside the range of Eastern Yellow; images seem to match lutea better than any Eastern Yellow. | ||||||||||||
1 | Eurasian Oystercatcher | Haematopus ostrelegus | 검은머리물떼새 | NT | II | 1 | ||||||
1 | Asian Brown Flycatcher | Muscicapa dauurica | 쇠솔딱새 | LC | NA | 1 | ||||||
1 | Bohemian Waxwing | Bombycilla garrulus | 황여새 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Common Reed Bunting | Emberiza schoeniclus | 검은머리쑥새 | LC | NA | 0 | W3, P4 | Archive | INC? | Some suggestion of through migration from viz mig counts on Baengnyeong | ||
1 | Pale Thrush | Turdus pallidus | 흰배지빠귀 | LC | NA | 1 | Apparently slight increase (Kim et al. 2021); possibly a shift in distirbution with drier conditions. I am experiencing hearing and seeing many fewer than eg 20 years ago. | |||||
5C | Great-tailed Grackle | Quiscalus mexicanus | 큰꼬리찌르레기사촌 | First record, October 2024- (https://www.birdskoreablog.org/?p=30306) | ||||||||
1 | Sanderling | Calidris alba | 세가락도요 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
검은턱할미새 | ||||||||||||
1 | Siberian Accentor | Prunella montanella | 멧종다리 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Black-winged Stilt | Himantopus himantopus | 장다리물떼새 | LC | NA | 1 | P4,S5, WV2 | INC | ||||
붉은뺨멧새 | ||||||||||||
1 | Pied Bush Chat | Saxicola caprata | According to Birds of the World, "Largely migratoryin W of range; resident in E. Populations from Transcaspia, E Iran and Afghanistan move S & E, autumn movement in Afghanistan Sept–Oct; winter mainly along coast and hinterland of SE Iran to NW Pakistan; spring passage in Turkmenistan early Apr, reaching upland Tadjikistan early May. On Indus Plains, in Pakistan, local winter movements and considerable summer immigration into warm dry mountain areas, arriving Mar, departing Sept; cold-weather immigrant into NW India, where arrives Sept and departs Mar. Apparently at least partly an elevational migrant in Myanmar," Collar, N. and D. A. Christie (2020). Pied Bushchat (Saxicola caprata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.piebus1.01. If this species is to be treated as naturally occurring then it likely originated from the west of the range - i.e., suspecies biocolor. | |||||||||
R1A | Far Eastern Lark* | Alauda japonica* | 극동종다리 | NR | NA | 1 | Same taxa recognised in Park et al. (2025), just not the arrangment long-suggested by Birds Korea. While an argument for consistency can be made for lumping these subspecies back into Eurasian Skylark, the presence of two subspecies nesting close to each other (first noted at least in Austin 1948), and preliminary unpublished analysis of songs and calls (by Magnus Robb and others) which suggest that Eurasian Skylark will likely be split into two or more species, suggest that changes to our treatment would better be made in response to new research, rather than on "general knowledge". Note the following in Birds of the World, "Subspecies japonica sometimes considered a race of Oriental Skylark (A. gulgula) owing to similarities in plumage and structure; alternatively, treated by many as a separate species based on constant differences in plumage and apparent sympatric breeding with race lonnbergi of present species in Sakhalin, but limits of E taxa disputed by others; further study required."(Campbell, R. W., L. M. Van Damme, S. R. Johnson, P. Donald, and E. Garcia (2020). Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.skylar.01). Perhaps following Birds Korea, these same authors recognise an Asian (pekinensis) group; and a Far Eastern japonica/intermedia group in our region. | |||||
Archive | Not recognised by either AviList (2025) or by Park et al. (2025) but how to describe birds that seem "close" to personata? | |||||||||||
1 | Lesser White-fronted Goose | Anser erythropus | 흰이마기러기 | VU | II | 0 | P5, W 5 | Archives | DEC | Increasing number of records but likely decreasing trend. Highest Census count 21 in Feb 2023 | ||
1 | Ruddy Kingfisher | Halcyon coromanda | 호반새 | LC | NA | 1 | Dec/ STA | Red-listed by Kim Hankyu: on what evidence? | ||||
1 | Little Egret | Egretta garzetta | 쇠백로 | LC | NA | 1 | ||||||
1 | Chinese Grosbeak | Eophona migratoria | 밀화부리 | LC | LC | 1 | ||||||
1 | Whooper Swan | Cygnus cygnus | 큰고니 | LC | II | 0 | W3/2, SV2 | Census, Archives | INC | Strongly increasing trend revealed by the Census; no strong evidence of through migration | ||
1 | Common Greenshank | Tringa nebularia | 청다리도요 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Zitting Cisticola | Cisticola juncidis | 개개비사촌 | LC | NA | 1 | ||||||
1 | Black-winged Kite | Elanus caeruleus | 검은어깨매 | LC | NA | 1**** | V1 | Needs note: attempted breeding which failed in Gunsan | ||||
1 | Greater Spotted Eagle | Clanga clanga | 항라머리검독수리 | VU | II | 0 | ||||||
솔잣새 | ||||||||||||
1 | Mugimaki Flycatcher | Ficedula mugimaki | 노랑딱새 | LC | NA | 0 | ||||||
1 | Eurasian Jay | Garrulus glandarius | 어치 | LC | NA | 1 | Recent declines suggested by Kim et al. (2021) | |||||
1 | Red Phalarope | Phalaropus fulicarius | 붉은배지느러미발도요 | LC | NA | 0 | V1 | |||||
흰턱해변종다리 |
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