The Kansas County Check-list Project

For information on the definitive book on Kansas bird life, Birds of Kansas, click here.

As birders we should all be concerned about, and respect, the welfare of birds, the environment, and each other. Please read and abide by the ABA Code of Ethics.

This is a project started in 2000 by Chuck Otte to gather as many resources as possible, i.e., KBBAT (Kansas Breeding Bird Atlas) databases, Kansas Ornithological Society (KOS) member sightings, Southwestern College Bird Sightings database, etc., and produce a Check-list for each of Kansas' 105 counties.  It does not necessarily reflect accepted records of the Kansas Bird Records Committee, or the Kansas Ornithological Society, but at least some attempt at consistency and reliability is used.  It is intended to reflect the current records of bird sightings on file, somewhere, for each county.  It is hoped that birders will print out these lists, use them in their birdwatching trips and report bird sightings not on the list to the appropriate individuals/organizations (as listed on each Check-list). Please note that KOS and these check-lists follow the taxonomy of the American Ornithological Society and as such may differ in order from the taxonomy that eBird chooses to use.

Click here for the most recent report on the Kansas County Life list totals, compiled by Kevin Groeneweg.

These Check-lists are updated generally twice a year with additional sightings.  Contact Chuck if you have questions or problems accessing the files.  At this time all files are in Adobe Acrobat PDF form.  You can obtain the Adobe Acrobat Reader software free of charge from Adobe.  If you need the files in a word processor format, they are available in Word, WordPerfect and RTF (Rich Text Format).  All 105 Check-lists in each format are in one compressed (zipped) file.  Click on the desired format name, save to your computer and then uncompress the files using the program of your choice.  If you just want a single county's Check-list in a different word processor format, please contact Chuck.  Word RTF WordPerfect (November 2023)

The species county dot map page can be accessed here. (Updated November 2023)

The current Kansas Check-list, in the same format as the county Check-lists (updated November 2023 - to reflect actions by the Kansas Bird Records Committee and to match the 64th supplement of the AOS Check-list), is available in various formats for your use.  Adobe Acrobat (PDF)  Microsoft Word  Rich Text Format (RTF)

The current Kansas Check-list with scientific names as well as order, family and subfamily divisions (updated November 2023 - to reflect actions by the Kansas Bird Records Committee and to match the 64th supplement of the AOS Check-list) is available as a Word file and an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

The Check-list as a one page front and back format, three panel, the same format as we used to print on card stock, is now available on line. One is formatted to print on 7" x 11" format (print on 8.5 x 11 and trim off the top and bottom). The other is formatted to print on standard 8.5" x 11". (These were updated November 2023 - to reflect actions by the Kansas Bird Records Committee and to match the 64th supplement of the AOS Check-list.)

Two large files (approximately 1.3 MB each) have been compiled of all 105 county lists.  They are also in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. These were updated in November, 2023.  One is formatted so that it can be printed out on a duplexing printer and each new county will start on a new page.  Individual county lists can be printed from this file as well using selective page printing.  The file is 401 pages long.  Click here to view this file.  The second file is a simple compilation of all 105 county lists with no blank pages.  For those printing out on a standard printer, just printing one side of a page, this would be the preferred file.  It is 306 pages long. Click here to view this file.

County Check-lists as fillable PDF forms. (Updated November 2023)

Please read and abide by the ABA Code of Ethics.

Maps and table updated November 2023
Page with tables of number of species on each county's Check-list. 
Color coded county map of Kansas indicating number of species on county Check-list.

Check-lists updated November 2023
Allen Finney Logan Rooks
Anderson Ford Lyon Rush
Atchison Franklin Marion Russell
Barber Geary Marshall Saline
Barton Gove McPherson Scott
Bourbon Graham Meade Sedgwick
Brown Grant Miami Seward
Butler Gray Mitchell Shawnee
Chase Greeley Montgomery Sheridan
Chautauqua Greenwood Morris Sherman
Cherokee Hamilton Morton Smith
Cheyenne Harper Nemaha Stafford
Clark Harvey Neosho Stanton
Clay Haskell Ness Stevens
Cloud Hodgeman Norton Sumner
Coffey Jackson Osage Thomas
Comanche Jefferson Osborne Trego
Cowley Jewell Ottawa Wabaunsee
Crawford Johnson Pawnee Wallace
Decatur Kearny Phillips Washington
Dickinson Kingman Pottawatomie Wichita
Doniphan Kiowa Pratt Wilson
Douglas Labette Rawlins Woodson
Edwards Lane Reno Wyandotte
Elk Leavenworth Republic
Ellis Lincoln Rice
Ellsworth Linn Riley

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