Birds of South Carolina: The Official State Checklist
Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: As of 2024, 445 species of birds have been documented in South Carolina.
This page lists 159 birds: all from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources's Species of Greatest Conservation Need: Birds. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources gives a total of 445; the 159 here are the birds official sources name one by one.
All 159 birds on the list
- Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens
- American Avocet Recurvirostra americana
- American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus
- American Black Duck Anas rubripes
- American Coot Fulica americana
- American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica
- American Kestrel [Southeastern race] Falco sparverius paulus
- American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliates
- American Woodcock Scolopax minor
- Anhinga Anhinga anhinga
- Bachman's Sparrow Aimophila aestivalis
- Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii
- Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula
- Barn Owl Tyto alba
- Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
- Bewick's Wren Thryomanes bewickii
- Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis
- Black Scoter Melanitta nigra
- Black Skimmer Rynchops nigra
- Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia
- Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
- Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus
- Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
- Black-throated Blue Warbler Setophaga caerulescens
- Black-throated Green Warbler [nominate and Wayne's] Setophaga virens and S. v. wayneii
- Black-throated Green Warbler [nominate race] Setophaga virens
- Blue Grosbeak Guiraca caerulea
- Blue-winged Teal Anas discors
- Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus
- Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platyperus
- Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
- Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed Nuthatch Sitta pusilla
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis
- Canvasback Aythya valisineria
- Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis
- Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus
- Cerulean Warbler Setophaga cerulean
- Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanic
- Chimney Swift Chaetura pelagic
- Chuck-Will's-Widow Caprimulgus carolinensis
- Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris
- Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata
- Common Ground-dove Columbina passerine
- Common Loon Gavia immer
- Common Raven Corvus corax principalis
- Common Tern Sterna hirundo
- Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
- Dickcissel Spiza americana
- Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
- Dunlin Calidris alpine
- Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna
- Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Whip-Poor-Will Antrostomus vociferous
- Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus virens
- Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla
- Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri
- Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus
- Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa
- Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera
- Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum
- Gray Kingbird Tyrannus dominicensis
- Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
- Great Egret Casmerodius albus
- Greater Scaup Aythya marila
- Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca
- Green Heron Butorides virescens
- Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica
- Henslow's Sparrow Ammodramus henslowii
- Hooded Warbler Setophaga americana
- Horned Grebe Podicips auritus
- Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea
- Kentucky Warbler Oporornis formosus
- King Rail Rallus elegans
- Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis
- Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla
- Least Tern Sterna albifrons
- Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis
- Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes
- Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea
- Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus
- Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus
- Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus
- Louisiana Waterthrush Seiurus motacilla
- Mallard Anas platyrhyncos
- Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa
- Mottled Duck Anas fulgiva
- Northern Bobwhite Colinus virginianus
- Northern Parula Setophaga americana
- Northern Pintail Anas acuta
- Orchard Oriole Icterus spurious
- Painted Bunting [Eastern] Passerina ciris ciris
- Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos
- Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrines
- Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
- Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus
- Pine Warbler Dendroica pinus
- Piping Plover Charadrius melodus
- Prairie Warbler Dendroica discolor
- Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea
- Purple Gallinule Porphyrula martinica
- Purple Martin Progne subis
- Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritime
- Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
- Red Knot Calidris canutus
- Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
- Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
- Red-cockaded Woodpecker Picoides borealis
- Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus
- Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
- Redhead Aythya Americana
- Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris
- Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaja
- Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus
- Ruddy Turnstone Aenaria interpres
- Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus
- Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus
- Sanderling Calidris alba
- Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis
- Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea
- Seaside Sparrow [MacGillivray's] Ammodramus maritimus macgillivraii
- Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis
- Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus
- Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla
- Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus
- Snowy Egret Egretta thula
- Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria
- Sora Porzana carolina
- Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia
- Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus
- Summer Tanager Piranga rubra
- Swainson's Warbler Limnothlypis swainsonii
- Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus
- Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor
- Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus
- Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda
- Virginia Rail Rallus limicola
- Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri
- White Ibis Eudocimus albus
- White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus
- White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis
- White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca
- Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus
- Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia
- Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicate
- Wimbrel Numenius phaeopus
- Wood Duck Aix sponsa
- Wood Stork Mycteria Americana
- Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina
- Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorus
- Yellow Rail Coturnicops noveboracensis
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus
- Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens
- Yellow-crowned Night Heron Nyctanassa violacea
- Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifroms
- Yellow-throated Warbler Setophaga dominica
When birds are active in South Carolina
Records of birds in South Carolina peak in January to May and October. They show when people record birds, not how many there are (about month bars).
About this list
The species list comes from Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Priority Species): Birds (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, 2015 list; count 2025 SWAP).
Venom does not apply to birds.
Sources
- Reptiles and Amphibians of SC. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. page footer 2020; checked November 3, 2026.
- Species of Greatest Conservation Need (Priority Species), SC State Wildlife Action Plan. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 2015 plan list; checked November 3, 2026.
- SC State Wildlife Action Plan 2025, Chapter 4: Overview of the Taxonomic Groups. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“As of 2024, 445 species of birds have been documented in South Carolina.”
- GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.