life list

American  

noun

1. a list of species sighted and identified by a bird watcher or naturalist over a lifetime.

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Etymology

Origin of life list

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

I don’t have a life list, and I can’t tell one juvenile gull from another.

From New York Times • May 26, 2024

The first species they identified — a rufous-sided towhee with a velvety black head, bright red and white breast, and ruby eyes — was the first bird Joanne ticked off on her life list.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2023

For a slow birder — and Strassmann considers herself one — the payoff is not a longer life list, but connecting with and gaining insight into our inner circle of everyday birds.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2022

I racked up species after species on my life list, riding the wave of mystery as I clambered up mountains and through jungles to spot another avian delight.

From Slate • Oct. 27, 2021

This is his "life list" and is added to year by year.

From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America