Alberta is a landlocked province within Canada, bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the North-West Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south.[1] The northern part of the province is largely boreal forest, leading into the Great Plains in the south-east. The south-west portion of the province is generally temperate coniferous forest, bordered by the Rocky Mountains.[2] These different ecosystems, along with the border formed by the Rocky Mountains, contribute to the diversity of birds in the province. Notably, several "eastern" and "western" pairs can be seen in Alberta, such as the eastern bluebird and western bluebird.[3] The Central Flyway passes through Alberta, along with a portion of the Prairie Pothole Region, contributing to the variety of bird species which breed in, or migrate through, the province.[4][5]
Unless otherwise noted, the information provided is from the Official List of the Birds of Alberta, produced by the Alberta Bird Record Committee, which contains 438 species as of April 2023.[6] Of these, 125 are accidentals, eight were introduced to Alberta, one species is extinct, and another is possibly extinct. This list is presented in the taxonomic sequence of the Check-list of North and Middle American Birds, 7th edition through the 62nd Supplement, published by the American Ornithological Society (AOS).[7] Common and scientific names are also those of the Check-list, except that Canadian English spellings are used and the common names of families are from the Clements taxonomy because the AOS list does not include them.
The following tags are used to describe some categories of occurrence.
- (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Alberta
- (B) Breeding - a species that currently breeds or has bred in Alberta
- (E) Extinct - a recent species that no longer exists
- (Ex) Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Alberta, but populations still exist elsewhere
- (I) Introduced - a species that has been introduced to Alberta by the actions of humans, either directly or indirectly
- ^ Smith, Peter; Davidson, Robert Bruce; Harrison, Raymond O. "Alberta". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Alberta". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Foundation of Canada. 2008. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ McGillivray, W. B.; Semenchuk, G. P. (1998). The Federation of Alberta Naturalists Field Guide to Alberta Birds. Edmonton, Alberta: Nature Alberta. ISBN 0-9696134-2-3.
- ^ "Regional Ecosystems: The Prairie Pothole Region". National Biological Information Infrastructure. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Johnsgard, Paul (2012). Wings over the Great Plains: bird migrations in the central flyway. Lincoln, Nebraska: Zea Books. ISBN 978-1-60962-029-5. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Official List of the Birds of Alberta". Royal Alberta Museum Collections. Alberta Bird Record Committee. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Check-list of North and Middle American Birds". American Ornithological Society. June 29, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
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