A dataset of bird distributions in zoogeographical regions of China

China, the largest country in Asia, has a land area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometres. There are 1481 bird species (following the taxonomy of IOC World Bird List version 12.1) recorded in two zoogeographical realms, seven regions and 19 subregions in the country. From 1955 to 2017, six authoritative monographs were published, which recorded the distribution area for all bird species in China and were widely quoted by research papers and field guides. This massive amount of data could be used to address many hot topics in ornithology, biogeography and ecology. However, rapid changes in the taxonomic status and different schemes of zoogeographical regionalisation in these six monographs provided limits to the utilisation of these valuable data.
 By integrating the data from the six monographs, we presented an open-access dataset on the occurrences and residence types of all Chinese bird species in zoogeographical regions over the past 60 years. The taxonomic statuses for these species were determined following the IOC World Bird List version 12.1 and the zoogeographical regions were based on the updated scheme. These data provide valuable information for the research in bird ecology and conservation biology.