Guangdong is the southernmost province in continental China, bordered to the north by the Nanling mountains and to the south by the South China Sea. As a result of heterogeneous ecological conditions, a diverse avifauna has developed. However, the lack of a modern checklist of birds has hampered wildlife conservation management and scientific research in the province. To redress this situation, we provide a checklist of the birds of Guangdong which follows a modern taxonomy and is based on original bird records from Chinese and foreign publications as well as previously unpublished records. Only species which have been reliably recorded are included. For each species and subspecies, a reference is given to the first record for the province involving a bird or birds of known wild origins. Among the total of 596 taxa listed here for Guangdong are 547 species and 33 subspecies considered to be of wild occurrence and 16 species of ex-captive origins, eight of which may have self-sustaining populations. Of 297 breeding species, except 26 unknown realm species, 211 species (78%) belong to the Oriental realm, 25 species (9%) to the Palearctic realm, 35 species (13%) are widely distributed; migratory species accoint for 69% and resident species only 25 % of the total.