eBird Scraper

Scrape bird observation data from eBird (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) — the world's largest citizen science bird observation database with over 1 billion records. Extract species taxonomy, recent bird sightings by region, birding hotspots, and observations at specific hotspot locations.

What data can you extract?

• Species Taxonomy: Full Cornell Lab taxonomy database with 17,000+ species — scientific names, common names, family classifications, banding codes. Works without any API key.
• Recent Observations: Latest bird sightings in any US state, country, or sub-national region (requires free API key).
• Birding Hotspots: Popular birding locations in any region with GPS coordinates and species counts (requires free API key).
• Hotspot Sightings: Recent observations at a specific birding hotspot like Central Park or Point Reyes (requires free API key).

Getting a Free eBird API Key

Most modes require a free eBird API key:

1. Create a free account at ebird.org
2. Visit ebird.org/api/keygen
3. Request an API key (usually granted instantly)
4. Enter the key in the apiKey input field

The Taxonomy mode works without any API key.

Input

Field	Type	Required	Description
mode	Select	Yes	What to fetch: taxonomy, recentObservations, hotspots, byHotspot
apiKey	String	No*	Free eBird API key (*required for all modes except taxonomy)
speciesQuery	String	No	Search term for bird name (taxonomy mode)
speciesCode	String	No	Filter taxonomy to specific species code (e.g. amerob)
category	Select	No	Taxonomy category filter: species, hybrid, slash, etc.
orderFilter	String	No	Filter taxonomy to a specific taxonomic order (e.g. Passeriformes, Anseriformes)
familyFilter	String	No	Filter taxonomy to a specific bird family by name or family code (e.g. Anatidae, anatid1)
order	Select	No	Taxonomy sort order: taxon (Cornell Lab taxonomic order, default) or comName (alphabetical by common name)
regionCode	String	No	eBird region code: US-NY, GB-ENG, CA-ON, AU-NSW, etc.
locationId	String	No	Hotspot location ID (e.g. L109516 for Central Park)
backDays	Integer	No	Days to look back for recent observations (1-30, default: 7)
includeProvisional	Boolean	No	Include unreviewed records (default: true)
onlyHotspots	Boolean	No	Only return observations at designated hotspots
locale	String	No	Language locale for common names (en, es, fr, de, etc.)
maxItems	Integer	No	Maximum records to return (1-10000, default: 50)

Output

Taxonomy Record (recordType: "taxonomy")

Field	Type	Description
speciesCode	String	eBird species code (e.g. amerob)
commonName	String	Common English name (e.g. American Robin)
scientificName	String	Scientific name (e.g. Turdus migratorius)
category	String	Taxonomy category (species, hybrid, slash, etc.)
taxonOrder	Float	Cornell Lab taxonomic order number
order	String	Taxonomic order (e.g. Passeriformes)
familyCode	String	eBird family code
familyCommonName	String	Family common name (e.g. Thrushes and Allies)
familySciName	String	Family scientific name (e.g. Turdidae)
bandingCodes	Array	Official banding codes (e.g. ["AMRO"])
comNameCodes	Array	Common name abbreviation codes
sciNameCodes	Array	Scientific name abbreviation codes
sourceUrl	String	eBird species page URL
scrapedAt	String	ISO timestamp when record was scraped
recordType	String	"taxonomy"

Observation Record (recordType: "observation")

Field	Type	Description
speciesCode	String	eBird species code
commonName	String	Common name
scientificName	String	Scientific name
locationId	String	eBird location ID (e.g. L109516)
locationName	String	Location name
countryCode	String	Country code (e.g. US)
countryName	String	Country name (e.g. United States)
subnational1Code	String	State/province code (e.g. US-NY)
subnational1Name	String	State/province name (e.g. New York)
subnational2Code	String	County/district code
subnational2Name	String	County/district name
userDisplayName	String	Observer display name
obsId	String	eBird observation ID
exoticCategory	String	Exotic classification for non-native sightings (e.g. N, P, X)
obsDt	String	Observation date/time
howMany	Integer	Count of individuals observed
lat	Float	Latitude
lng	Float	Longitude
obsValid	Boolean	Whether observation was marked valid
obsReviewed	Boolean	Whether observation was reviewed
locationPrivate	Boolean	Whether location is private
subId	String	eBird checklist submission ID
checklistUrl	String	URL to full checklist
regionCode	String	Region queried (recentObservations mode)
hotspotId	String	Hotspot location ID queried (byHotspot mode)
sourceUrl	String	eBird species page URL
scrapedAt	String	ISO timestamp
recordType	String	"observation"

Hotspot Record (recordType: "hotspot")

Field	Type	Description
locationId	String	eBird location ID
locationName	String	Hotspot name
countryCode	String	Country code (e.g. US)
subnational1Code	String	State/province code (e.g. US-NY)
subnational2Code	String	County/district code
lat	Float	Latitude
lng	Float	Longitude
latestObsDt	String	Date of most recent observation
numSpeciesAllTime	Integer	Total species ever recorded at this hotspot
regionCode	String	Region queried
sourceUrl	String	eBird hotspot page URL
scrapedAt	String	ISO timestamp
recordType	String	"hotspot"

Example Use Cases

• Birdwatchers: Find what birds were recently seen in your area before heading out
• Research: Download taxonomy data for analysis or labeling ML datasets
• Travel planning: Discover top birding hotspots in regions you plan to visit
• Citizen science: Monitor bird population trends by region

Region Code Examples

Code	Region
US-NY	New York State, USA
US-CA	California, USA
GB-ENG	England, UK
CA-ON	Ontario, Canada
AU-NSW	New South Wales, Australia
IN	India
MX	Mexico
ZA	South Africa

FAQs

Q: Do I need an API key? A: The Taxonomy mode works without any key. For Recent Observations, Hotspots, and Observations at Hotspot modes you need a free eBird API key from ebird.org/api/keygen.

Q: How current is the observation data? A: The backDays input controls how many days back to look (1-30 days). Real-time data from eBird's citizen science community.

Q: What region codes does eBird use? A: eBird uses standard ISO codes: country level (US, GB, IN), state/province (US-NY, GB-ENG), and even county level (US-NY-061). Find your region code at ebird.org/explore.

Q: How many species are in the taxonomy? A: The full eBird taxonomy includes approximately 17,000+ taxonomic entries covering 11,000+ species.

Q: Is there a rate limit? A: eBird's free API has reasonable rate limits for normal use. This scraper includes retry logic for temporary errors.