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List of North American birds: non-passerines

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The North American birds most closely resemble those of Eurasia, which was connected to this continent until geologically recent times.

Many groups occur throughout these northern hemisphere continents, although distinctive groups have also arisen, such as the wrens. Several common birds in North America, such as the House Sparrow, the Rock Dove, the European Starling, and the Mute Swan are introduced species, meaning that they are not native to this continent but were brought here by man from Europe or elsewhere. Introduced species are marked on this list as (Introduced). There may be species that have individual escapees or small feral populations in North America that are not on this list. This is especially true of birds that are commonly held as pets such as Parrots and Finches.

The definition of the area covered by a list of "North American birds" is somewhat subjective. The original list published by the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) in 1886 covered birds found in North America north of Mexico, Baja California, Bermuda and Greenland. In 1983 the area was expanded to included all of Mexico, Central America south through Panama, the West Indies and the Hawaiian Islands, while Greenland was dropped. This expansion more than doubled the number of birds on the AOU list. Other organizations, such as the American Birding Association (ABA) use a smaller area. The current ABA area includes the 49 continental states, Canada and the French islands St. Pierre and Miquelon, plus surrounding waters. It does not include Greenland, Bermuda, the Bahamas or the Hawaiian Islands. As most field guides for "North American" birds use the ABA area, rather than the more expansive AOU area, this list is based on the ABA checklist.

The taxonomic system used for this article is Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, which is the standard for North America. See the discussion page for further taxonomic comment.

The birds marked (Accidental) on this list are birds from other parts of the world that are occasionally found in North America, but have not established populations, and are not regular visitors. Not all accidental birds on this list are necessarily marked.

A few of the birds on this list were once native to North America, but have, unfortunately, become extinct. They are marked as (Extinct).

This list includes the non-passerine birds of North America. For the passerines see the List of North American birds: passerines.

For local birding, see also

Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae

Order: Galliformes Family: Cracidae

Order: Galliformes Family: Phasianidae

Order: Galliformes Family: Odontophoridae

Order: Gaviiformes Family: Gaviidae

Grebes Podicipedidae

Order: Podicipediformes Family: Podicipedidae

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Diomedeidae

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Procellariidae

Order: Procellariiformes Family: Hydrobatidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Phaethontidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Sulidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Pelecanidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Phalacrocoracidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Anhingidae

Order: Pelecaniformes Family: Fregatidae

Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ardeidae

Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Threskiornithidae

Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Ciconiidae

Order: Ciconiiformes Family: Cathartidae

Order: Phoenicopteriformes Family: Phoenicopteridae

Order: Falconiformes Family: Accipitridae

Order: Falconiformes Family: Falconidae

Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae

Order: Gruiformes Family: Aramidae

Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae

Stone-curlew (Thick-knees)

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Burhinidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Charadriidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Haematopodidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Recurvirostridae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Jacanidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Glareolidae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Laridae

Order: Charadriiformes Family: Alcidae

Order: Columbiformes Family: Columbidae

Order: Psittaciformes Family: Psittacidae

Order: Cuculiformes Family: Cuculidae

Order: Strigiformes Family: Tytonidae

Order: Strigiformes Family: Strigidae

Order: Caprimulgiformes Family: Caprimulgidae

Order: Apodiformes Family: Apodidae

Order: Apodiformes Family: Trochilidae

Order: Trogoniformes Family: Trogonidae

Order: Upupiformes Family: Upupidae

Order: Coraciiformes Family: Alcedinidae

Order: Piciformes Family: Picidae