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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 (Clements V2023) or 11,032 (IOC ver. 14.1) living bird species recognised.

Large life lists

As of January 5th 2026 according to the iGoTerra website, 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:

  • Peter Kaestner: 10,002 / 10,009 / 9,851 (#1 on Surfbirds / #1 on iGoTerra / #1 on eBird). Discovered the Cundinamarca antpitta (Grallaria kaestneri), which was subsequently named after him. First birder to see a representative of each of the world's (currently 249 [2021 eBird/Clements list] or 253 [2024 IOC list]) bird families.
  • Philip Rostron: 9,763 (#2 on Surfbirds)
  • Claes-Göran Cederlund: 9,761/ 9,829 (#3 on Surfbirds, #4 on iGoTerra). Deceased 2020)
  • Sue Williamson: 9,306 (#14 on Surfbirds—#1 female birder)
  • Phoebe Snetsinger: 8,398 (deceased 1999). First person to see 8,000 species. At time of her death in Madagascar she was World #1.
  • Bernard Master: 8,346 The Chocó vireo (Vireo masteri) is named after him.

Other notable birdwatchers

Birdwatchers famous for achievements in other fields

See also

References