The list of birds of Alaska includes every wild bird species recorded in the U.S. state of Alaska, based on the list published by the Alaska Checklist Committee. As of January 2022, there were 534 species on the official list. Of them, 55 are considered rare, 149 are casual, and 79 are accidental, all as defined below. Another 18 and a species pair are considered unsubstantiated. One species is endemic to the state. One species has been added as a result of a split enacted in June 2021.
Only birds that are considered to have established, self-sustaining, wild populations in Alaska are included on this list. This means that birds that are considered probable escapees, although they may have been sighted flying free in Alaska, are not included. Species which the Checklist Committee considers to depend entirely on human feeding, such as rock pigeon, are also not included.
This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them.
The following codes and definitions (except En) are used by the Alaska Checklist Committee to annotate some species:
(R) = Rare - "Annual or possibly annual in small numbers; most such species occur at the perimeter of Alaska, in season; a few are scarce residents" (C) = Casual - "Not annual; these species are beyond the periphery of annual range, but recur in Alaska at irregular intervals, usually in seasonal and regional patterns" (A) = Accidental - "One or two Alaska records, or none in the last 30 years" (U) = Unsubstantiated - "attributed to Alaska without specimen or photo substantiation" (En) = Endemic - A species found only in Alaska (except as a vagrant elsewhere)
Ducks, geese, and waterfowl
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, bills which are flattened to a greater or lesser extent, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to special oils.
Emperor goose, Anser canagica
Snow goose, Anser caerulescens
Ross's goose, Anser rossii (C) Greater white-fronted goose, Anser albifrons Lesser white-fronted goose, Anser erythropus (C) Taiga bean-goose, Anser fabalis (C) Tundra bean-goose, Anser serrirostris (C) Brant, Branta bernicla Cackling goose, Branta hutchinsii Canada goose, Branta canadensis Trumpeter swan, Cygnus buccinator Tundra swan, Cygnus columbianus Whooper swan, Cygnus cygnus (R) Wood duck, Aix sponsa (R) Baikal teal, Sibirionetta formosa (C) Garganey, Spatula querquedula (C) Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors Cinnamon teal, Spatula cyanoptera (R) Northern shoveler, Spatula clypeata Gadwall, Mareca strepera Falcated duck, Mareca falcata (C) Eurasian wigeon, Mareca penelope American wigeon, Mareca americana Eastern spot-billed duck, Anas zonorhyncha (C) Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos American black duck, Anas rubripes (A) Northern pintail, Anas acuta Green-winged teal, Anas crecca Canvasback, Aythya valisineria Redhead, Aythya americana Common pochard, Aythya ferina (C) Ring-necked duck, Aythya collaris Tufted duck, Aythya fuligula (R) Greater scaup, Aythya marila Lesser scaup, Aythya affinis Steller's eider, Polysticta stelleri Spectacled eider, Somateria fischeri King eider, Somateria spectabilis Common eider, Somateria mollissima Harlequin duck, Histrionicus histrionicus Surf scoter, Melanitta perspicillata White-winged scoter, Melanitta deglandi Stejneger's scoter, Melanitta stejnegeri (C) Black scoter, Melanitta americana Long-tailed duck, Clangula hyemalis Bufflehead, Bucephala albeola Common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula Barrow's goldeneye, Bucephala islandica Smew, Mergellus albellus (R) Hooded merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus Common merganser, Mergus merganser Red-breasted merganser, Mergus serrator Ruddy duck, Oxyura jamaicensis (R)
Grouse, pheasants, and allies
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae
Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.