Bird Study Merit Badge History

Earned through 2020612,616

Best year194516,758 earned

All-time popularity#61official, as of 2020#62by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1914. Peak year 1945 with 16,758. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

191436 earned#45 of 58

1915162 earned#23 of 58

1916231 earned#21 of 56

1917434 earned#22 of 58

1918532 earned#22 of 58

19191,366 earned#22 of 59

19201,227 earned#21 of 59

19212,273 earned#21 of 61

19222,736 earned#21 of 61

19233,216 earned#20 of 63

19243,415 earned#20 of 64

19255,015 earned#19 of 64

19266,616 earned#20 of 65

19277,500 earned#19 of 68

19288,068 earned#23 of 88

19299,913 earned#20 of 89

193010,246 earned#21 of 92

193112,726 earned#20 of 96

193212,799 earned#19 of 98

193312,635 earned#21 of 101

193411,550 earned#20 of 101

193512,437 earned#20 of 101

193611,525 earned#19 of 101

193711,513 earned#18 of 102

193813,223 earned#18 of 105

193914,954 earned#18 of 106

194014,695 earned#19 of 106

194112,960 earned#18 of 106

194211,997 earned#18 of 110

194313,143 earned#18 of 112

194416,297 earned#18 of 111

194516,758 earned#19 of 111

194614,639 earned#19 of 111

194713,057 earned#17 of 111

194812,729 earned#17 of 111

194914,182 earned#16 of 111

195014,817 earned#19 of 111

195116,117 earned#19 of 111

195216,216 earned#18 of 120

19534,614 earned#45 of 105

19544,393 earned#52 of 103

19554,550 earned#52 of 100

19564,700 earned#52 of 100

19573,969 earned#53 of 100

19583,897 earned#56 of 101

19594,072 earned#55 of 101

19604,913 earned#53 of 100

19614,951 earned#56 of 101

19624,908 earned#54 of 101

19634,849 earned#56 of 102

19644,855 earned#58 of 107

19654,835 earned#57 of 109

19663,688 earned#62 of 110

19673,016 earned#70 of 112

19682,694 earned#76 of 112

19692,693 earned#80 of 113

19702,750 earned#79 of 113

19712,409 earned#80 of 113

19722,888 earned#86 of 124

19733,046 earned#88 of 122

19743,480 earned#93 of 121

19753,783 earned#90 of 128

19763,937 earned#87 of 130

19773,298 earned#87 of 130

19782,668 earned#88 of 131

19791,873 earned#91 of 132

19801,241 earned#89 of 132

19811,792 earned#91 of 134

1982No data available

1983No data available

1984No data available

1985No data available

1986No data available

1987No data available

1988No data available

1989No data available

1990No data available

1991No data available

1992No data available

19931,521 earned#106 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

19961,481 earned#104 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

20002,481 earned#98 of 128

20013,097 earned#89 of 129

20024,534 earned#82 of 129

20035,010 earned#77 of 130

20045,451 earned#71 of 121

20055,357 earned#72 of 121

20065,260 earned#70 of 121

20075,327 earned#74 of 121

20085,681 earned#74 of 121

20096,268 earned#76 of 122

20106,668 earned#73 of 125

20116,881 earned#63 of 129

20126,952 earned#60 of 132

20136,405 earned#50 of 129

20145,641 earned#80 of 136

20155,587 earned#83 of 138

20165,199 earned#84 of 138

20174,965 earned#88 of 139

20185,101 earned#86 of 139

20195,629 earned#83 of 139

20203,950 earned#87 of 137

2021No data available#73 of 137

2022No data available#80 of 138

2023No data available#86 of 138

2024No data available#79 of 138

2025No data available#86 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#86 of 141" means the badge was number 86 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.

191436#45 of 58

1915162#23 of 58

1916231#21 of 56

1917434#22 of 58

1918532#22 of 58

19191,366#22 of 59

19201,227#21 of 59

19212,273#21 of 61

19222,736#21 of 61

19233,216#20 of 63

19243,415#20 of 64

19255,015#19 of 64

19266,616#20 of 65

19277,500#19 of 68

19288,068#23 of 88

19299,913#20 of 89

193010,246#21 of 92

193112,726#20 of 96

193212,799#19 of 98

193312,635#21 of 101

193411,550#20 of 101

193512,437#20 of 101

193611,525#19 of 101

193711,513#18 of 102

193813,223#18 of 105

193914,954#18 of 106

194014,695#19 of 106

194112,960#18 of 106

194211,997#18 of 110

194313,143#18 of 112

194416,297#18 of 111

194516,758#19 of 111

194614,639#19 of 111

194713,057#17 of 111

194812,729#17 of 111

194914,182#16 of 111

195014,817#19 of 111

195116,117#19 of 111

195216,216#18 of 120

19534,614#45 of 105

19544,393#52 of 103

19554,550#52 of 100

19564,700#52 of 100

19573,969#53 of 100

19583,897#56 of 101

19594,072#55 of 101

19604,913#53 of 100

19614,951#56 of 101

19624,908#54 of 101

19634,849#56 of 102

19644,855#58 of 107

19654,835#57 of 109

19663,688#62 of 110

19673,016#70 of 112

19682,694#76 of 112

19692,693#80 of 113

19702,750#79 of 113

19712,409#80 of 113

19722,888#86 of 124

19733,046#88 of 122

19743,480#93 of 121

19753,783#90 of 128

19763,937#87 of 130

19773,298#87 of 130

19782,668#88 of 131

19791,873#91 of 132

19801,241#89 of 132

19811,792#91 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

19931,521#106 of 123

1994—

1995—

19961,481#104 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

20002,481#98 of 128

20013,097#89 of 129

20024,534#82 of 129

20035,010#77 of 130

20045,451#71 of 121

20055,357#72 of 121

20065,260#70 of 121

20075,327#74 of 121

20085,681#74 of 121

20096,268#76 of 122

20106,668#73 of 125

20116,881#63 of 129

20126,952#60 of 132

20136,405#50 of 129

20145,641#80 of 136

20155,587#83 of 138

20165,199#84 of 138

20174,965#88 of 139

20185,101#86 of 139

20195,629#83 of 139

20203,950#87 of 137

2021—#73 of 137

2022—#80 of 138

2023—#86 of 138

2024—#79 of 138

2025—#86 of 141

Grand total through 2020:

This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.

Bird Study: workbook data

Printings (108)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	HC	Notes
c	1919		1B-2							Address of President Woodrow Wilson to the National Council on page ii, followed by and introduction on pages iii and iv. Pages v, vi, vii, viii and ix present information for Applications, Local Authorities, The Examination, Court of Honor Procedure, Presentation of Awards, and Special Scout Awards. Page x list the merit badge requirements
x	1919		1B-2							1A HB 20th Edition reference
x	1919		2							15c Radio
	1920	not made
	1921	not made
	1922		2
c	1923		2							15c Radio
c	1924		2							20c Radio
	1925		2
x	1925		3A	back-3			3282
x	1926		3A	back-3			3282
c	1927		3A	back-3			3282
x	1928		3B	back-3			3282
x	1928		3B	back-3			3282			with pasted 1929 requirements
x	1929		3B	back-3			3282
x	1929	December	3B	back-3			3282
c	1930	January	3B	back-3			3282
x	1930	May	3B	back-3			3282
x	1930	July	3B	back-3			3282
x	1931	February	3B	back-3			3282
x	1932	March	3B	back-3	4M		3282
x	1932	August	3B	back-3	4M		3282
c	1933	May	3B	back-3	2M		3282
x	1934	March	3B	back-3	2M		3282
c	1934	June	3C	back-3	1M		3282
x	1935	March	3B	back-3	1M		3282
x	1935	May	3B	back-3	2M		3282
x	1936	February	3B	back-3	3M		3282
x	1937	March	3C	back-3	3M		3282
x	1937	March	3C	back-3	3M		3282			with revised Jan 1938 requirements
x	1938	March	3D	back-3	3M		3282
x	1938	May	3D	back-3	2M	1938	3282
x	1939	January	3D	back-3	3M	1938	3282
	1939	August	3D	back-3	5M	1938	3282
x	1939	August	4	back-4	5M	1938	3282
x	1940	December	4	back-4	4M	1938	3282
x	1941	December	4	back-4	4M	1938	3282		HCB
x	1942	October	4	back-4	4M	1938	3282
x	1943	September	4	back-4	5M	1938	3282
x	1944	April	5A	back-5a	3M	1938	3282
x	1944	December	5B-1	blank	6M	1938	3282
x	1945	April	5B-1	blank	3.5M	1938	3282
x	1945	September	5B-1	blank	7M	1938	3282		HCD
x	1946	March	5B-1	blank	10M	1938	3282
x	1947	April	5B-2	blank	7M	1938	3282
x	1948	August	5B-3	blank	7M	1938	3282			bird is flying up to left
x	1949	September	5B-3	blank	8M	1938	3282			bird is flying up to left
x	1950	August	5B-2	blank	8M	1938	3282
x	1951	June	5B-2	back-6a	5M	1938	3282
x	1951	August	5B-2	back-6a	12M	1938	3282
x	1952	November	6	back-6b-1	5M	1938	3282		HCI
	1953	not made
x	1954	January	6	back-6b-1	5M	1938	3282		HCI
x	1954	August	6	back-6b-2	8M	1938	3282
x	1955	February	6	back-6b-2	10M	1938	3282
x	1956	April	6	back-6b-2	10M	1938	3282		HCJ
x	1957	January	6	back-6b-2	10M	1938	3282
x	1957	October	6	back-6b-2	13M	1938	3282		HCJV1
	1958	not made
x	1959	October	6	back-6c-2	9M	1938	3282
x	1960	May	6	back-6d	10M	1938	3282		HCJV2
x	1961	September	6	back-6E	8M	1938	3282		HCJ
x	1962	May	6	back-6F	10M	1938	3282		HCJV2
x	1963	July	6	back-6G	9M		3282		HCK
x	1964	November	6	back-6H	9M		3282		HCK
x	1965	October	6	back-6I	11M		3282
	1966	not made
x	1967	June	7A-1	back-7	9M		3282		HCL
x	1967	November	7A-1	back-7	10M	1967	3282
x	1968	August	7A-1	back-7	10M	1967	3282
x	1969	October	7A-1	back-7	12M	1967	3282		HCN
	1970	not made
x	1971	January	7A-2	back-7	10M	1967	3282		HCM, HCR
x	1972	February	7A-2	back-7	10M	1967	3282
x	1973	May	8	back-8a	8M	1967	3282		HCT
x	1974	February	8	back-8a	15M	1967	3282		HCT
	1975	not made
x	1976	February	8	back-8c-1	7.5M	1967	3282
x	1977	April	8	back-8c-2	6M	1967	3282
x	1978	July	8	back-8d	4.8M	1967	3282
	1979	not made
x	1980	March	9A	back-9a	4M	1967	3282
x	1981	April	9A	back-9a	4.5M	1967	3282
x	1982	June	9A	back-9a	4M	1967	3282
x	1983	May	9A	back-9a	4M	1967	3282
x	1984	October	9A		4M	1967	3282
x	1985	September	9A	back-9b-2	3.5M	1967	3282
x	1986	April	9A	back-9b-2	5M	1967	3282
x	1987	February	9A	back-9b-2	5M	1967	3282
x	1988	June	9A	back-9b-2	5M	1967	3282
x	1989	January	9A	back-9b-2	5M	1967	3282
x	1990	January	9A	back-9b-2	6M	1967	3282
	1991	not made
x	1992	April	9A	back-9c-2	5M	1967	33282	730176332826
x	1993	June	9A	back-9d	4M		33282	730176332826
x	1994	November	9A	back-9d	3.5M		33300	730176333007
	1995	not made
	1996	not made
x	1997	September	9A	back-9d			33300	730176333007		front says Revised 1994 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 -back states 9-1-96
x	1998		9A	back-9e			33300	730176333007		front says Revised 1994 10 9 8 7 6 5 -back states January 1998
x	1999		9B	back-9f			33300A	730176333007
x	2000		9B	back-9f			33300A	730176333007
x	2000		9B	back-9f			33300A	730176333007		2nd printing
x	2001		9B	back-9f			33300A	730176333007
	2002	not made
x	2003		9B	back-9g			33300A	730176333007
x	2004		9B	back-9g			33300A	730176333007
x	2005		9C	back-9g			33300B	730176333007
x	2006		9C	back-9g			33300B	730176333007
x	2006		9C	back-9g			33300B	730176333007		2nd printing
	2007	not made
x	2008		10A	back-1008b3			35865	730176358659
	2009	not made
x	2010		10C-1A	back-1010b3			35865	730176358659
x	2011		10C-1A	back-1010b3			35865	730176358659
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C-1B	back-1010b3			35865	730176358659
x	2014		10C-1B	back-1013b3			35865	730176358659		01268-al
	2015	not made
	2016	not made
x	2017		10D-1	back-1016b1			35865	730176358659		358
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D-1	back-1019b1			649738	730176350196		358
	2020	not made
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D-2	back-1019b1			641254	730176346779		358
x	2023		10D-2	back-1019b1			659875	730176659850		358
x	2024		10D-2	back-1019b1			661586	7301766615860		00358n
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1914	36	45	58
1915	162	23	58
1916	231	21	56
1917	434	22	58
1918	532	22	58
1919	1,366	22	59
1920	1,227	21	59
1921	2,273	21	61
1922	2,736	21	61
1923	3,216	20	63
1924	3,415	20	64
1925	5,015	19	64
1926	6,616	20	65
1927	7,500	19	68
1928	8,068	23	88
1929	9,913	20	89
1930	10,246	21	92
1931	12,726	20	96
1932	12,799	19	98
1933	12,635	21	101
1934	11,550	20	101
1935	12,437	20	101
1936	11,525	19	101
1937	11,513	18	102
1938	13,223	18	105
1939	14,954	18	106
1940	14,695	19	106
1941	12,960	18	106
1942	11,997	18	110
1943	13,143	18	112
1944	16,297	18	111
1945	16,758	19	111
1946	14,639	19	111
1947	13,057	17	111
1948	12,729	17	111
1949	14,182	16	111
1950	14,817	19	111
1951	16,117	19	111
1952	16,216	18	120
1953	4,614	45	105
1954	4,393	52	103
1955	4,550	52	100
1956	4,700	52	100
1957	3,969	53	100
1958	3,897	56	101
1959	4,072	55	101
1960	4,913	53	100
1961	4,951	56	101
1962	4,908	54	101
1963	4,849	56	102
1964	4,855	58	107
1965	4,835	57	109
1966	3,688	62	110
1967	3,016	70	112
1968	2,694	76	112
1969	2,693	80	113
1970	2,750	79	113
1971	2,409	80	113
1972	2,888	86	124
1973	3,046	88	122
1974	3,480	93	121
1975	3,783	90	128
1976	3,937	87	130
1977	3,298	87	130
1978	2,668	88	131
1979	1,873	91	132
1980	1,241	89	132
1981	1,792	91	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	1,521	106	123
1994
1995
1996	1,481	104	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	2,481	98	128
2001	3,097	89	129
2002	4,534	82	129
2003	5,010	77	130
2004	5,451	71	121
2005	5,357	72	121
2006	5,260	70	121
2007	5,327	74	121
2008	5,681	74	121
2009	6,268	76	122
2010	6,668	73	125
2011	6,881	63	129
2012	6,952	60	132
2013	6,405	50	129
2014	5,641	80	136
2015	5,587	83	138
2016	5,199	84	138
2017	4,965	88	139
2018	5,101	86	139
2019	5,629	83	139
2020	3,950	87	137
2021		73	137
2022		80	138
2023		86	138
2024		79	138
2025		86	141