All birds that are BOU Category A, B or C that have been recorded (and accepted by the relevant committee) are listed below. The county list (as at February 2023) stands at 447. The contact for this page is [email protected]. The last year of occurrence is given for some of the rarer species. The various letters and symbols accompanying the species names refer to their status on a county and national level as outlined below:

National Rarities as defined by BBRC are indicated by †

Cornwall description species:

• (F) FULL DESCRIPTION – Cornwall rarity, all records required, with full supporting notes and photographs
• (P) PARTIAL DESCRIPTION – All records required with brief supporting notes and photographs, or the names of two other known observers
• (N) NO DESCRIPTION – All records required but descriptions not normally necessary unless for a record outside the expected location, date or count for that species

BOU species categories (see their website for full details):

• A  – Recorded in an apparently natural state at least once since 1950
• B  – Species recorded in an apparently natural state at least once between 1 January 1800 and 31 December 1949, but have not been recorded subsequently
• C  – Species that, although introduced, now derive from the resulting self-sustaining populations.
• C1 – Naturalised introduced species: species that have occurred only as a result of introduction (e.g. Egyptian Goose)
• C2 – Naturalised established species: species with established populations resulting from introduction by man, but which also occur in an apparently natural state (e.g. Greylag Goose)
• C3 – Naturalised re-established species: species with populations successfully re-established by man in areas of former occurrence (e.g. Red Kite)
• C4 – Naturalised feral species: domesticated species with populations established in the wild (e.g. Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon)
• C5 – Vagrant naturalised species: species from established naturalised populations abroad (e.g. possibly some Ruddy Shelduck occurring in Britain). There are currently no species in category C5.
• C6 – Former naturalised species: species formerly placed in C1 whose naturalised populations are either no longer self-sustaining or are considered extinct (e.g. Lady Amherst’s Pheasant)
• D – Species that would otherwise appear in Category A except that there is reasonable doubt that they have ever occurred in a natural state
• E – Species recorded as introductions, human-assisted transportees or escapees from captivity and whose breeding populations (if any) are thought not to be self-sustaining. Species in Category E that have bred in the wild in Britain are designated as E*.

In addition to these full species, there are a number of subspecies that have been recorded in Cornwall. A list summarising some of these records is below, but this remains a work in progress and is far from an exhaustive list due to taxonomic complexities with races and subspecies.

Finally, there are a number of species close to entering the county list, but do not appear in the list. Such reasons include: (i) awaiting BBRC acceptance, (ii) not being accepted to species level or (iii) being accepted to have occurred but there is doubt if the origins were wild. These records are summarised below.