This fully bilingual (Korean and English) version of the Birds Korea Checklist (posted in May 2013) is based on version 3.3 of Gill & Donsker (January 2013) and on Moores & Park (2009). It contains all species and subspecies of birds considered by Birds Korea to have been recorded up to and including April 2013 in the Republic of Korea. A separate, less comprehensive checklist for the DPRK is also in preparation.

This checklist has been developed for Birds Korea by Nial Moores with some additional input from leading ornithologist Park Jong-Gil. Decisions on categories and status are the responsibility of the lead author alone. Layout and formatting have been developed by Andreas Kim.

The suggested citation is:
Moores, N. & A. Kim. 2013. The Birds Korea Checklist for the Republic of Korea: 2013. Accessed [date] at:

As always, we welcome additions, corrections and comments.

Birds Korea, May 2013

References

• Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2013. IOC World Bird List (v 3.3).
  Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org. Accessed in January 2013.
• Moores, N., Park J-G. 2009. The Birds Korea Checklist: 2009. Published online in August 2009.
  Accessed in May 2013 at: http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Checklist/BK-CL-Checklist-Aug-2009.shtml

Checklist Codes

Category One (Recent and Documented)
Species and subspecies of bird recorded in the Republic of Korea since 1980, supported by adequate photographs, sound recordings or specimens.

Category Two (Pre-1980 and Documented)
Species and subspecies of bird recorded in the Republic of Korea before 1980, supported by photographs or specimens, which have not been recorded after 1980 with the same level of documentation.

Category Three (Incomplete Documentation)
Species of bird and subspecies recorded in the Republic of Korea seen by multiple observers (including at least one observer with prior experience of the species), or seen on more than one date by an observer with prior experience of the species, unsupported by photographs or sound recordings.

Category Four (Incomplete Documentation)
Species of bird recorded in the Republic of Korea, either seen by an observer or observers lacking prior experience of the species, or heard by those with prior experience, unsupported by photographs or sound recordings.

Category Five (Established Exotics)
Species of bird recorded in the Republic of Korea that appear to have been introduced and are now widely established.

Category Six (Pending File)
Species reported by competent observers - in some cases supported by poor images or sound-recordings - for which inclusion or exclusion on the national list at this time requires further independent review.

English Names

The English name given for each species follows Gill & Donsker (2013), with the following exceptions and additional notes:

1. Birds Korea “Preferred Alternative” names are marked PA, e.g. Black Woodpigeon is preferred to Gill & Donsker’s Japanese Woodpigeon.

2. Names used previously in Birds Korea materials which are No Longer in use are marked NL, and these names are placed in brackets, e.g. (Kamchatka Gull).

3. Additional taxa still recognised by Birds Korea, but not yet by the IOC are denoted with an ●, e.g. Mongolian Gull Larus mongolicus, and the frontalis subspecies of Greater White-fronted Goose.

Korean Names

Finders of the first record of a species in Korea have the responsibility to create a Korean name and publish this name. Some names have yet to be coined and are left blank in the Checklist. In the case where two names are given, the first name is the one coined by the first-finder and preferred by Birds Korea.

Global Conservation Status (GCS)

Codes follow the IUCN and BirdLife International (2013):

With the addition of one further category:

Status Codes

Where data are insufficient under any of the headings, “DD” is used.

Status in the Republic of Korea (Status)

The above four letters are followed by numbers to indicate very approximate abundance:

In many species, a combination of codes is used to indicate different abundance at different times of the year, e.g. P2,W3,SV2 = Between 10,000 and 99,999 individuals present during migration; between 1,000 and 9,999 individuals present in winter; and fewer than 10 records of the species in the summer months.

Breeding (Breeds)

There are four codes used in total