Simplified 2024 Birds Korea Checklist

Dr. Nial Moores & Dr Ha Jungmoon, August 17th 2024 (with one revision made on August 27th).

Below, as a pdf download and as an extended blog post, follows a simplified version of the English-language 2024 Birds Korea Checklist, which aims to list the English, scientific and Korean names, and the conservation status, of every bird species which has been reliably recorded in the wild in the Republic of Korea up to the end of July 2024.

The simplified 2024 Birds Korea Checklist follows the IOC Checklist Version 14.1 (with two differences in taxonomic opinion marked with an asterisk; and multiple revisions from IOC Checklist Version 14.2 also included). The intention is to post a fully annotated Birds Korea checklist (including breeding code, seasonality, abundance codes and an indication of population trend in the ROK) later in 2024 or as schedules allow, at which time additional taxonomic revisions contained in Version 14.2 (yet to be added to the Family Index on the World Bird Names website) will also be adopted.

Please let us know if you see anything in need of correction: thank you!

(NOTE: Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 꼬마물떼새 was accidentally omitted from an earlier version and was re-added on August 27th)

Korea Birds Checklist 2024.pdf

Download PDF • 1.06MB

Birds Korea checklist Eng (2024) final with quick fix (20240827)Download

The 2024 Checklist: Summary

Birds Korea Checklists contain several categories which help to divide species which are naturally-occurring and are adequately-documented (with identifiable images, sound recordings and / or specimens) from those which are not.

As of the end of July 2024:

• 612 species are included in the list, including 579 assessed as adequately documented and naturally occurring;

• 568 species are listed in Category One (adequately documented and recorded in 2000 or subsequently), an increase of 5 since 2022;

• 11 species are listed in Category Two (adequately documented prior to but not in or after 2000, a decrease of one since 2022)

• 16 species are listed in Category 3 or 4 as credibly identified but unsupported with adequate documentation (a reduction of one since 2022)

• Five species are listed in Category 5, as adequately documented, but not originating from completely naturally origins (one of which, Feral Rock Dove, is well-established)

• 15 species are listed in the newly revised Review Category, including 14 species recorded in 2000 or subsequently and one species which was previously in Category Two.  All of these species have some supporting evidence. The aim will be to present information on these species in dedicated blog posts in the future to provide an opportunity for public comment and to assess whether they should be included in the checklist or not.

• A small number of species included in other checklists remain intentionally excluded because they are considered to be inadequately documented and / or highly anomalous at the regional level. If similar records of these same species are adequately documented within the near-region, then they can be added to Category 3 or 4 of the Birds Korea Checklist in the subsequent revision.  If images or sound recordings are eventually published or if a specimen is confirmed, then these species will be added to Category 1 or 2. In addition, if similarly anomalous records of the same species are later adequately documented in the ROK, then these earlier records will be recognized as national “firsts”.

Conservation Status (Global - GCS and National - NCS)

Global Conservation Status (GCS) follows BirdLife International (July 2024) with assessments of CR (Critically Endangered), EN (Endangered), VU (Vulnerable), NT (Near Threatened) or LC (least Concern) at the global level, with the additional category of “Not Recognized” (NR) for taxa currently not recognized by BirdLife International as species. National Conservation Status (NCS), limited to the Republic of Korea, follows NIBR (2019, 2022), so includes revisions to the NIBR’s 2019 Red List of Birds made in December 2022.  The 2022 Red List assesses 69 bird species as either Class 1 (broadly equivalent to Critically Endangered or Endangered) or Class 2 (broadly equivalent to Endangered or Vulnerable), with an additional 23 species assessed as either Near Threatened (NT) or Least Concern (LC) in NIBR (2019).  All of the remainder are listed as Not Assessed (NA).

The Checklist Categories

The Birds Korea 2024 Checklist is divided into five main categories, with four species falling into more than one category, and an additional Review Folder. Birds Korea Checklists do not include species recorded only as obvious escapes from captivity, even if listed by eBird.

CAT 1	Species of bird recorded in the ROK since 2000, which are adequately-documented with independently identifiable photographs, sound recordings and / or specimens.
CAT 2	Species of bird recorded in the ROK before 2000, which are credibly supported by photographs or specimens, which have not been recorded since 2000 with the same level of documentation.
CAT 3	Species of bird credibly recorded in the ROK since 2000, with the record(s) supported with a detailed description but without independently-identifiable photographs and / or sound recordings.
CAT 4	Species of bird credibly recorded in the ROK before 2000, with a detailed description but without independently-identifiable photographs or sound recordings.
CAT 5	Species of bird with records or populations in the ROK which are, or might become, part of conservation breeding programs or which are likely to be not entirely naturally occurring.  This category has six sub-categories, 5A-F.
5A	Species with populations becoming established following translocation(s) since 2000 within the historic breeding range (1880-2000) in which the same species also occurs regularly in an apparently wild state, i.e., Oriental Stork Ciconia boyciana.
5B	Species breeding in the wild following post-2000 translocation(s) outside of the historic breeding range (1880-2000), which have also occurred in an apparently natural state since 2000.
5C	Species not recorded since 2000 in an apparently natural state now breeding in the wild due to post 2000 translocation(s) outside of the historic breeding range (1880-2000), i.e., Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon.
5D	Pioneering, largely non-migratory species, which are extending their fragmented global range through shipping and which have occurred in the ROK without establishing free-flying populations yet, e.g., Common Myna Acridotheres tristis.
5E	Irregularly occurring individuals of potentially migratory species from established naturalized populations outside of the Republic of Korea (e.g., in Taiwan or Japan) that are certainly a result of translocation(s) outside the normal range of the species, e.g., some records of Mute Swan Cygnus olor and all records of African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus.
5F	Naturalized feral species – non-native species which have established persistent (>10 generations) free-flying populations in the ROK, i.e., feral populations of Rock Dove Columba livia.
Review	R1A: Species with one or more records in the ROK since 2000 that are supported with images, sound-recordings or specimens, but for which doubts persist about the species’ identification and / or taxonomic status and / or origin. R2A: Species with one or more records in the ROK only before 2000, for which there is some question about identification or location (i.e., whether or not in ROK territory).