Because of the large number of bird species recorded in Great Britain, this list has been split into two parts:
The British List has always been geographically rather than politically based. It was for most of its existence a British and Irish list, but is now simply the official list of birds of Great Britain as determined by the British Ornithologists' Union.
Birds records for Northern Ireland are kept by the Northern Ireland Birdwatchers’ Association and the Manx Ornithological Society (MOS) has responsibility for Isle of Man (which is not a legislative part of the UK).
Decisions relating to the British List are published by the British Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (BOURC) in its annual reports in Ibis, the journal of the BOU, and decisions relating to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man are summarised in these reports.
