This report is the thirteenth of a series and presents the results of a comprehensive literature screening in search for new bird taxa described in 2017, namely new genera, species and subspecies worldwide. We tracked names of four new genera, eight species and eight subspecies new to science, which were correctly described according to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The new genera are within Trochilidae, Leiotrichidae, Muscicapidae, and Thraupidae. One each of the new species refer to Trochilidae, Strigidae, Psittacidae, Pipridae, Rhinocryptidae, Meliphagidae, Muscicapidae, and Thraupidae; three belong to Passeriformes, the remainder to Non-Passeriformes. New
subspecies were named within Apodidae (2), Accipitridae (1), Psittacidae (3), Paradisaeidae (1) and Aegithalidae (1). One new genus (Remsenornis, Thraupidae) fell in synonymy immediately after publication and another new genus name (Elliotia, Trochilidae) is preoccupied by an older genus name for a beetle und thus not available. The description of one new parrot species (Amazona, Psittacidae) most probably is based on aviary-bred hybrids. In several cases, the populations in question now considered to represent a new species were known since long (in genera Megascops, Myzomela, Sholicola). However, only substantial studies of type specimens of related species, songs, genetics and/or ecology led to description of new formerly unrecognized species. The descriptions of most new taxa concern the Neotropics (two genera, five species, three subspecies), Indo-Malaya (two genera and species each) and Austral-Papua (three new subspecies). The distributional areas of new species often are minute, consequently also the size of the populations concerned. Due to their limited ranges, species new to science are often already endangered when detected or newly defined. In a sequence by genus/species/subspecies, the newly described taxa have the following origins: Palaearctic (-/-/1), Neotropics (2/6/3), Indo-Malaya (2/2/1), and Austral-Papua (-/-/3). Multiple splits of widely distributed species refer to Southeast Asian swifts (Collocalia) and Atlantic/Pacific terns (Thalasseus). We suggest possible flaws in new descriptions
and certain splits regardless of the species concept addressed.