This is a list of the bird species recorded in Cape Verde. The avifauna of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

include a total of 289 species, of which 5 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, and 5 have been introduced by humans. This list's

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of ''

The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

'', 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Cape Verde. The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories. * (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Cape Verde * (E)

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

- a species endemic to Cape Verde * (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Cape Verde as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl

Order:

Anseriformes Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

Family:

Anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...

Anatidae includes the

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as

geese A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...

and

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. * White-faced whistling-duck, ''Dendrocygna viduata'' *

Fulvous whistling-duck The fulvous whistling duck or fulvous tree duck (''Dendrocygna bicolor'') is a species of whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Mexico and South America, the West Indies, the southern United States, sub-Sahar ...

, ''Dendrocygna bicolor'' *

Garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

, ''Spatula querquedula'' (A) *

Blue-winged teal The blue-winged teal (''Spatula discors'') is a species of bird in the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. One of the smaller members of the dabbling duck group, it occurs in North America, where it breeds from southern Alaska to Nova Scotia ...

, ''Spatula discors'' (A) *

Northern shoveler The northern shoveler (; ''Spatula clypeata''), known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Euro ...

, ''Spatula clypeata'' (A) *

Gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...

, ''Mareca strepera'' (A) *

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy Th ...

, ''Mareca penelope'' (A) *

American wigeon The American wigeon (''Mareca americana''), also known as the baldpate, is a species of dabbling duck found in North America. Formerly assigned to ''Anas'', this species is classified with the other wigeons in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. ...

, ''Mareca americana'' (A) *

Northern pintail The pintail or northern pintail (''Anas acuta'') is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding ra ...

, ''Anas acuta'' (A) *

Green-winged teal The green-winged teal (''Anas carolinensis'') is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered Conspecificity, conspecific with the Eurasian teal (''A. crecca'') ...

, ''Anas crecca'' *

Marbled teal The marbled duck, or marbled teal (''Marmaronetta angustirostris'') is a medium-sized species of duck from southern Europe, northern Africa, and western and central Asia. The scientific name, ''Marmaronetta angustirostris'', comes from the Greek ...

, ''Marmaronetta angustirostris'' *

Common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", f ...

, ''Aythya ferina'' (A) *

Ring-necked duck The ring-necked duck (''Aythya collaris'') is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek , an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristo ...

, ''Aythya collaris'' (A) *

Ferruginous duck The ferruginous duck (''Aythya nyroca''), also known as ferruginous pochard, common white-eye or white-eyed pochard, is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurosiberia. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'' an unidentified seabird ...

, ''Aythya nyroca'' (A) *

Tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

, ''Aythya fuligula'' (A) *

Lesser scaup The lesser scaup (''Aythya affinis'') is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of ...

, ''Aythya affinis'' (A) *

Bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Anas albeola''. The genus na ...

, ''Bucephala albeola'' (A)

Guineafowl

Order:

Galliformes Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding birds that includes turkeys, chickens, quail, and other landfowl. Gallinaceous birds, as they are called, are important in their ecosystems as seed dispersers and predators, and are often ...

Family:

Numididae Guineafowl (; sometimes called "pet speckled hens" or "original fowl") are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetics, Phylogenetically, ...

Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage. * Helmeted guineafowl, ''Numida meleagris'' (I)

Pheasants, grouse, and allies

Order:

Family:

Phasianidae The Phasianidae are a family (biology), family of heavy, ground-living birds, which includes pheasants, partridges, junglefowl, chickens, Turkey bird, turkeys, Old World quail, and peafowl. The family includes many of the most popular Game (hunti ...

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...

partridge A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They a ...

snowcock The snowcocks or snowfowl are a group of bird species in the genus ''Tetraogallus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds that breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas and we ...

francolin Francolins are birds in the tribe Gallini that traditionally have been placed in the genus ''Francolinus'', but now commonly are divided into multiple genera. As previously defined, they were paraphyletic as the genus ''Pternistis'', which was ...

s, spurfowls,

tragopan ''Tragopan'' is a bird genus in the pheasant family Phasianidae. Member of the genus are commonly called "horned pheasants" because males have two brightly colored, fleshy horns on their head that can be erected during courtship displays. The ha ...

monal A monal is a bird of genus ''Lophophorus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. Description The males all have colorful, iridescent plumage. Their physique is rather plump. Their diet consists of plants such as roots and bulbs and insects. D ...

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...

s and

jungle fowl Junglefowl are the only four living species of bird from the genus ''Gallus'' in the bird order Galliformes, and occur in parts of South and Southeast Asia. They diverged from their common ancestor about 4–6 million years ago. Although origin ...

s. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings. * Common quail, ''Coturnix coturnix''

Flamingos

Order:

Phoenicopteriformes Phoenicopteriformes is a group of water birds which comprises flamingos and their extinct relatives. Flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes) and the closely related grebes ( Podicipedidae) are contained in the parent clade Mirandornithes. Fossil rec ...

Family:

Phoenicopteridae Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbean) ...

Flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of Wader, wading bird in the Family (biology), family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas ...

s are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down. *

Greater flamingo The greater flamingo (''Phoenicopterus roseus'') is the most widespread and largest species of the flamingo family. It is found in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and in southern Europe. Taxonomy The greater flamingo was desc ...

, ''Phoenicopterus roseus'' (A)

Grebes

Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae

Grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

s are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land. *

Little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

, ''Tachybaptus ruficollis''

Pigeons and doves

Order:

Columbiformes Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

Family:

Columbidae Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

Pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s and

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy

cere The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, ...

. *

Rock pigeon The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domes ...

, ''Columba livia'' *

Common wood-pigeon The common wood pigeon or common woodpigeon (''Columba palumbus''), also known as simply wood pigeon, wood-pigeon or woodpigeon, is a large species in the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae), native to the western Palearctic. It belongs to the ...

, ''Columba palumbus'' (A) *

European turtle-dove The European turtle dove (''Streptopelia turtur'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to ...

, ''Streptopelia turtur'' *

Eurasian collared-dove The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'') is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it ha ...

, ''Streptopelia decaocto'' (I) *

Red-eyed dove The red-eyed dove (''Streptopelia semitorquata'') is a dove that is a widespread and common in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. Taxonomy The red-eyed dove was formally described by the G ...

, ''Streptopelia semitorquata'' *

Laughing dove The laughing dove (''Spilopelia senegalensis'') is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. Th ...

, ''Streptopelia senegalensis'' (A) *

Namaqua dove The Namaqua dove (''Oena capensis'') is a small pigeon. It is the only species in the genus ''Oena.'' It is found over much of Sub-Saharan Africa as well as Arabia and Madagascar. Taxonomy The Namaqua dove is the only species in the monotypic g ...

, ''Oena capensis'' (A)

Cuckoos

Order:

Cuculiformes Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separa ...

Family:

Cuculidae Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

The family Cuculidae includes

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

s and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are

brood parasite Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

s. *

Great spotted cuckoo The great spotted cuckoo (''Clamator glandarius'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. It is widely spread throughout Africa and the Mediterranean Basin. It i ...

, ''Clamator glandarius'' (A) *

Common cuckoo The common cuckoo (''Cuculus canorus'') is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals. This species is a widespread summer migrant to Europe and Asia, and winters in Africa. I ...

, ''Cuculus canorus''

Nightjars and allies

Order:

Caprimulgiformes Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk tal ...

Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjar Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds in the family Caprimulgidae and order Caprimulgiformes, characterised by long wings, short legs, and very short bills. They are sometimes called goatsuckers, due to the ancient folk ta ...

s are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground. They have long wings, short legs and very short bills. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. *

Eurasian nightjar The European nightjar (''Caprimulgus europaeus''), common goatsucker, Eurasian nightjar or just nightjar, is a crepuscular and nocturnality, nocturnal bird in the nightjar family that breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic to Mongolia ...

, ''Caprimulgus europaeus'' (A)

Swifts

Order:

Family:

Apodidae The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are not closely related to any passerine species. Swifts are placed in the order Apodiformes with hummingbirds. The treeswifts are closely r ...

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

s are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang. *

Alpine swift The alpine swift (''Tachymarptis melba'') formerly ''Apus melba'', is a species of swift found in Africa, southern Europe and Asia. They breed in mountains from southern Europe to the Himalaya. Like common swifts, they are migratory; the souther ...

, ''Apus melba'' (A) *

Alexander's swift The Cape Verde swift or Alexander's swift (''Apus alexandri'') is a small bird of the swift family found only in the Cape Verde Islands. It has been recorded from all the islands except Santa Luzia although it probably breeds only on Santiago, ...

, ''Apus alexandri'' (E) *

Common swift The common swift (''Apus apus'') is a medium-sized bird, superficially similar to the barn swallow or house martin but somewhat larger, though not stemming from those passerine species, being in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between th ...

, ''Apus apus'' *

Plain swift The plain swift (''Apus unicolor'') is a medium-sized swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a barn swallow or house martin, it is not related to those passerine species. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent ev ...

, ''Apus unicolor'' (A) *

Pallid swift The pallid swift (''Apus pallidus'') is a small bird, superficially similar to a barn swallow or house martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since the swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances betwee ...

, ''Apus pallidus'' (A) *

African swift The African black swift (''Apus barbatus''), also known as the African swift or black swift, is a medium-sized bird in the swift family. It breeds in Africa discontinuously from Liberia, Cameroon, Zaire, Uganda and Kenya southwards to South Afri ...

, ''Apus barbatus'' (A) *

Little swift The little swift (''Apus affinis''), is a small species of swift found in Africa and southwestern Asia, and are vagrants and local breeders in southern Europe. They are found both in urban areas and at rocky cliffs where they build nests in a way ...

, ''Apus affinis'' (A)

Rails, gallinules, and coots

Order:

Gruiformes The Gruiformes are an order (biology), order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird family (biology), families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like". Traditionally, a number of wading and t ...

Family:

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the

rails Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

crake The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

coot Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

s and

gallinule Moorhens—sometimes called marsh hens—are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus ''Gallinula'', Latin for "little hen". They are close relatives of coots. They are of ...

s. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers. * African crake, ''Crex egregia'' (A) *

Spotted crake The spotted crake (''Porzana porzana'') is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake's breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into ...

, ''Porzana porzana'' (A) *

Lesser moorhen The lesser moorhen (''Paragallinula angulata'') is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is sometimes placed into the genus '' Gallinula''. It is the only member of the genus ''Paragallinula''. It is widely spread across Sub-Saharan Afri ...

, ''Paragallinula angulata'' (A) * Eurasian moorhen, ''Gallinula chloropus'' *

Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...

, ''Fulica atra'' (A) *

Allen's gallinule Allen's gallinule (''Porphyrio alleni''), formerly known as the lesser gallinule, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. Its former binomial name is ''Porphyrula alleni''. ''Porphyrio'' is the Latin for "swamphen", and ''alleni'', like the ...

, ''Porphyrio alleni'' (A) * Purple gallinule, ''Porphyrio martinica'' (A) *

Little crake The little crake (''Zapornia parva'') is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. ''parva'' is Latin for "small". Its breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. This species is migratory, wi ...

, ''Zapornia parva'' *

Baillon's crake Baillon's crake (''Zapornia pusilla''), also known as the marsh crake, is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. Distribution Their breeding habitat is Cyperaceae, sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across the Palearctic. They used ...

, ''Zapornia parva'' (A)

Stilts and avocets

Order:

Charadriiformes Charadriiformes (, from ''Charadrius'', the type genus of family Charadriidae) is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 390 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most charadriiform birds live near water an ...

Family:

Recurvirostridae The Recurvirostridae are a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets (one genus) and the stilts (two genera). Description Avocets and stilts range in length from and in weight from ; ...

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the

avocet The four species of avocets are a genus, ''Recurvirostra'', of waders in the same avian family as the stilts. The genus name comes from Latin , 'curved backwards' and , 'bill'. The common name is thought to derive from the Italian ( Ferrarese) w ...

s and

stilt Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates. They have extremely long legs, hence the grou ...

s. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. *

Black-winged stilt The black-winged stilt (''Himantopus himantopus'') is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae). The scientific name ''H. himantopus'' is sometimes applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan speci ...

, ''Himantopus himantopus'' *

Pied avocet The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a mig ...

, ''Recurvirostra avosetta''

Oystercatchers

Order:

Family: Haematopodidae The

oystercatcher The oystercatchers are a group of waders forming the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, ''Haematopus''. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. The e ...

s are large and noisy

plover Plovers ( , ) are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. Description There are about 66 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfa ...

-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

s. *

Eurasian oystercatcher The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widesp ...

, ''Haematopus ostralegus''

Plovers and lapwings

Order:

Family:

Charadriidae The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 68 species in all. Taxonomy The family Charadriidae was introduced (as Charadriadæ) by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the conten ...

The family Charadriidae includes the

dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...

s and

lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. A gro ...

s. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water. *

Black-bellied plover The grey plover or black-bellied plover (''Pluvialis squatarola'') is a large plover breeding in Arctic regions. It is a long-distance migrant, with a nearly worldwide coastal distribution when not breeding. Taxonomy The grey plover was forma ...

, ''Pluvialis squatarola'' *

European golden-plover The European golden plover (''Pluvialis apricaria''), also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the America ...

, ''Pluvialis apricaria'' (A) * American golden-plover, ''Pluvialis dominica'' * Pacific golden-plover, ''Pluvialis fulva'' (A) *

Northern lapwing The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. ...

, ''Vanellus vanellus'' (A) *

Spur-winged lapwing The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (''Vanellus spinosus'') is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. It is one of several species of wader supposed to be the "trochilus" bird said by Herodotus ...

, ''Vanellus spinosus'' (A) *

Kentish plover The Kentish plover (''Charadrius alexandrinus'') is a small cosmopolitan shorebird (40-44 g) of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra.Sz ...

, ''Charadrius alexandrinus'' *

Common ringed plover The common ringed plover or ringed plover (''Charadrius hiaticula'') is a small plover that breeds in Arctic Eurasia. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from ...

, ''Charadrius hiaticula'' *

Semipalmated plover The semipalmated plover (''Charadrius semipalmatus'') is a small plover. ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in ravines and ri ...

, ''Charadrius semipalmatus'' (A) *

Little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

, ''Charadrius dubius'' *

White-fronted plover The white-fronted plover or white-fronted sandplover (''Charadrius marginatus'') is a small (45-50 g) shorebird of the family Charadriidae that inhabits sandy beaches, dunes, mudflats and the shores of rivers and lakes in sub-saharan Africa and M ...

, ''Charadrius marginatus'' (A) *

Eurasian dotterel The Eurasian dotterel (''Charadrius morinellus''), also known in Europe as just dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds. The dotterel is a brown and black streaked bird with a broad white eye-stripe and an orange-red chest ban ...

, ''Charadrius morinellus'' (A)

Sandpipers and allies

Order:

Family:

Scolopacidae Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

godwit The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus ''Limosa''. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock ...

s, shanks, tattlers,

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a near ...

dowitcher The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds in the genus ''Limnodromus''. The English name "dowitchers" is from Iroquois, recorded in English by the 1830s. The OED's earliest example is from 1841, but full-text searching giv ...

s and

phalarope __NOTOC__ A phalarope is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus ''Phalaropus'' of the bird family Scolopacidae. Phalaropes are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the ''Actitis'' and Terek sandpipers, a ...

s. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. * Whimbrel, ''Numenius phaeopus'' *

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred t ...

, ''Numenius arquata'' (A) *

Bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, an ...

, ''Limosa lapponica'' *

Black-tailed godwit The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest ...

, ''Limosa limosa'' *

Ruddy turnstone The ruddy turnstone (''Arenaria interpres'') is a small cosmopolitan wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus ''Arenaria''. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plov ...

, ''Arenaria interpres'' *

Red knot The red knot or just knot (''Calidris canutus'') is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the ''Calidris'' sandpipers, second only to the ...

, ''Calidris canutus'' *

Ruff Ruff may refer to: Places *Ruff, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community *Ruff, Washington, United States, an unincorporated community Other uses *Ruff (bird) (''Calidris pugnax'' or ''Philomachus pugnax''), a bird in the wader fami ...

, ''Calidris pugnax'' *

Stilt sandpiper The stilt sandpiper (''Calidris himantopus'') is a small shorebird. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'' is a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''himanto ...

, ''Calidris himantopus'' (A) *

Curlew sandpiper The curlew sandpiper (''Calidris ferruginea'') is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australia and New Zealand. It is a va ...

, ''Calidris ferruginea'' *

Temminck's stint Temminck's stint (''Calidris temminckii'') is a small wader. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by ...

, ''Calidris temminckii'' *

Sanderling The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloure ...

, ''Calidris alba'' *

Dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown ...

, ''Calidris alpina'' *

Purple sandpiper The purple sandpiper (''Calidris maritima'') is a small shorebird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. This is a hardy sandpiper that breeds in the arctic and subarctic regions of Eurasia and North America and winters further south on the Atlant ...

, ''Calidris maritima'' * Baird's sandpiper, ''Calidris bairdii'' (A) *

Little stint The little stint (''Calidris minuta'' or ''Erolia minuta''), is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America a ...

, ''Calidris minuta'' *

Least sandpiper The least sandpiper (''Calidris minutilla'') is the smallest shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colored waterside birds. The specific ''minutilla'' is Medieval Lat ...

, ''Calidris minutilla'' (A) *

White-rumped sandpiper The white-rumped sandpiper (''Calidris fuscicollis'') is a small shorebird that breeds in the northern tundra of Canada and Alaska. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds; these are known collectively as "pee ...

, ''Calidris fuscicollis'' (A) *

Buff-breasted sandpiper The buff-breasted sandpiper (''Calidris subruficollis'') is a small wader, shorebird. The species name ''subruficollis'' is from Latin ''subrufus'', "reddish" (from ''sub'', "somewhat", and ''rufus'', "rufous") and ''collis'', "-necked/-throated" ...

, ''Calidris subruficollis'' (A) *

Pectoral sandpiper The pectoral sandpiper (''Calidris melanotos'') is a small, migratory wader that breeds in North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick linin ...

, ''Calidris melanotos'' (A) *

Semipalmated sandpiper The semipalmated sandpiper (''Calidris pusilla'') is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''pusilla'' is Latin fo ...

, ''Calidris pusilla'' (A) *

Jack snipe The jack snipe or jacksnipe (''Lymnocryptes minimus'') is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus ''Lymnocryptes''. Features such as its sternum make it quite distinct from other snipes or woodcocks. Et ...

, ''Lymnocryptes minimus'' (A) *

Eurasian woodcock The Eurasian woodcock (''Scolopax rusticola'') is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts. Its eyes ...

, ''Scolopax rusticola'' *

Great snipe The great snipe (''Gallinago media'') is a small stocky wader in the genus ''Gallinago''. This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north-eastern Europe, including north-western Russia. Great snipes are mig ...

, ''Gallinago media'' (A) *

Common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution limit extends from Iceland ...

, ''Gallinago gallinago'' *

Wilson's snipe Wilson's snipe (''Gallinago delicata'') is a small, stocky shorebird. The genus name ''gallinago'' is New Latin for a woodcock or snipe from Latin ''gallina'', "hen" and the suffix ''-ago'', "resembling". The specific ''delicata'' is Latin for "d ...

, ''Gallinago delicata'' (A) *

Red-necked phalarope The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a ...

, ''Phalaropus lobatus'' (A) * Red phalarope, ''Phalaropus fulicarius'' *

Common sandpiper The common sandpiper (''Actitis hypoleucos'') is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (''A. macularia''), make up the genus ''Actitis''. They are parapatric and replace each other geographic ...

, ''Actitis hypoleucos'' *

Spotted sandpiper The spotted sandpiper (''Actitis macularius'') is a small shorebird. Together with its sister species the common sandpiper (''A. hypoleucos''), it makes up the genus ''Actitis''. They replace each other geographically; stray birds may settle dow ...

, ''Actitis macularius'' *

Green sandpiper The green sandpiper (''Tringa ochropus'') is a small wader (shorebird) of the Old World. The green sandpiper represents an ancient lineage of the genus ''Tringa''; its only close living relative is the solitary sandpiper (''T. solitaria''). They ...

, ''Tringa ochropus'' *

Solitary sandpiper The solitary sandpiper (''Tringa solitaria'') is a small shorebird. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'', a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbin ...

, ''Tringa solitaria'' (A) *

Spotted redshank The spotted redshank (''Tringa erythropus'') is a wader (shorebird) in the large bird family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'', a ...

, ''Tringa erythropus'' *

Greater yellowlegs The greater yellowlegs (''Tringa melanoleuca'') is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America. Taxonomy ...

, ''Tringa melanoleuca'' (A) *

Common greenshank The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas'' ...

, ''Tringa nebularia'' *

Lesser yellowlegs The lesser yellowlegs (''Tringa flavipes'') is a medium-sized shorebird. It breeds in the boreal forest region of North America. Taxonomy The lesser yellowlegs was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in ...

, ''Tringa flavipes'' *

Marsh sandpiper The marsh sandpiper (''Tringa stagnatilis'') is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given ...

, ''Tringa stagnatilis'' (A) *

Wood sandpiper The wood sandpiper (''Tringa glareola'') is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green ...

, ''Tringa glareola'' *

Common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ...

, ''Tringa totanus''

Pratincoles and coursers

Order:

Family:

Glareolidae Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The atypical Egyptian plover (''Pluvianus aegyptius''), traditionally placed in this family, is now known to be ...

Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the

pratincole The pratincoles or greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails. Description Their most unusual feature for birds classed as ...

s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the

courser The coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. Their most unusual feature for birds classed as waders is that ...

s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. *

Cream-colored courser The cream-colored courser (''Cursorius cursor'') is a wader in the pratincole and courser family, Glareolidae. Both parts of the scientific name derive from Latin ''cursor'', "runner", from ''currere'', "to run" which describes their usual habi ...

, ''Cursorius cursor'' *

Collared pratincole The collared pratincole (''Glareola pratincola''), also known as the common pratincole or red-winged pratincole, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae. As with other pratincoles, it is native to the Old World. Taxonomy The collared pr ...

, ''Glareola pratincola'' *

Black-winged pratincole The black-winged pratincole (''Glareola nordmanni'') is a wader in the pratincole bird family, Glareolidae. The genus name is a diminutive of Latin ''glarea'', "gravel", referring to a typical nesting habitat for pratincoles. The species name ...

, ''Glareola nordmanni'' (A)

Skuas and jaegers

Order:

Family: Stercorariidae The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants. *

Great skua The great skua (''Stercorarius skua''), sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken fr ...

, ''Stercorarius skua'' *

Pomarine jaeger The pomarine jaeger (''Stercorarius pomarinus''), pomarine skua, or pomatorhine skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migrant, wintering at sea in the tropical oceans. Taxonomy Its relationships are not fully resolved; i ...

, ''Stercorarius pomarinus'' *

Parasitic jaeger The parasitic jaeger (''Stercorarius parasiticus''), also known as the Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger or parasitic skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is a migratory species that breeds in Northern Scandinavia, Scotland, Iceland, ...

, ''Stercorarius parasiticus'' *

Long-tailed jaeger The long-tailed skua or long-tailed jaeger (''Stercorarius longicaudus'') is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. Etymology The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word ''Jäger'', meaning "hunter". The English word "skua" comes fr ...

, ''Stercorarius longicaudus'' (A)

Auks, murres, and puffins

Order:

Family:

Alcidae An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins and differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. *

Common murre The common murre or common guillemot (''Uria aalge'') is a large auk. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to ...

, ''Uria aalge''

Gulls, terns, and skimmers

Order:

Family:

Laridae Laridae is a family of seabirds in the order Charadriiformes that includes the gulls, terns, skimmers and kittiwakes. It includes around 100 species arranged into 22 genera. They are an adaptable group of mostly aerial birds found worldwide. T ...

Laridae is a family of medium to large

seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

s, the

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

s, and

skimmer Skimmer may refer to: Animals *Skimmer (bird), a common name for birds in the genus ''Rynchops'' *Skimmer (dragonfly), a common name for dragonflies in the family Libellulidae *Water strider or skimmer, a common name for insects in the family Ge ...

s. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. *

Black-legged kittiwake The black-legged kittiwake (''Rissa tridactyla'') is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Larus tridactylus''. The English ...

, ''Rissa tridactyla'' *

Sabine's gull Sabine's gull ( ) (''Xema sabini'') also known as the fork-tailed gull or xeme, is a small gull. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Xema''. It breeds in colonies on coasts and tundra, laying two or three spotted olive-brown eggs in a gr ...

, ''Xema sabini'' (A) *

Slender-billed gull The slender-billed gull (''Chroicocephalus genei'') is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean (e.g. Pakistan) on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewh ...

, ''Chroicocephalus genei'' (A) *

Black-headed gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic including Europe and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters further south, but some birds res ...

, ''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'' *

Laughing gull The laughing gull (''Leucophaeus atricilla'') is a medium-sized gull of North and South America. Named for its laugh-like call, it is an opportunistic omnivore and scavenger. It breeds in large colonies mostly along the Atlantic coast of North Am ...

, ''Leucophaeus atricilla'' (A) *

Mediterranean gull The Mediterranean gull (''Ichthyaetus melanocephalus'') is a small gull. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus ''Ichthyaetus'' is from ''ikhthus'', "fish", and ''aetos'', "eagle", and the specific ''melanocephalus'' is from ''mel ...

, ''Ichthyaetus melanocephalus'' (A) *

Audouin's gull Audouin's gull (''Ichthyaetus audouinii'') is a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Saharan Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''ikhthus'', "fish", and ''aetos'', "eagle", and t ...

, ''Ichthyaetus audouinii'' (A) *

Ring-billed gull The ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis'') is a medium-sized gull. The genus name is from Latin ''Larus'' which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific ''delawarensis'' refers to the Delaware River. Description ...

, ''Larus delawarensis'' (A) *

Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Casp ...

, ''Larus michahellis'' *

Caspian gull The Caspian gull (''Larus cachinnans'') is a large gull and a member of the herring and lesser black-backed gull complex. The scientific name is from Latin. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and ''cachinnans'' ...

, ''Larus cachinnans'' *

Lesser black-backed gull The lesser black-backed gull (''Larus fuscus'') is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common alo ...

, ''Larus fuscus'' *

Sooty tern The sooty tern (''Onychoprion fuscatus'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans, returning to land only to breed on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Taxonomy The sooty tern was described by Carl Linnaeu ...

, ''Onychoprion fuscatus'' (A) *

Little tern The little tern (''Sternula albifrons'') is a seabird of the family Laridae. It was formerly placed into the genus ''Sterna'', which now is restricted to the large white terns. The genus name is a diminutive of ''Sterna'', "tern". The specific '' ...

, ''Sternula albifrons'' *

Gull-billed tern The gull-billed tern (''Gelochelidon nilotica''), formerly ''Sterna nilotica'', is a tern in the family Laridae. It is widely distributed and breeds in scattered localities in Europe, Asia, northwest Africa, and the Americas. The Australian gull ...

, ''Gelochelidon nilotica'' *

Caspian tern The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ' ...

, ''Hydroprogne caspia'' *

Black tern The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe, Western Asia and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage. In some lights it can appear blue in the breeding se ...

, ''Chlidonias niger'' (A) *

White-winged tern The white-winged tern, or white-winged black tern (''Chlidonias leucopterus'' or ''Chlidonias leucoptera''), is a species of tern in the family Laridae. It is a small species generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across much of the wor ...

, ''Chlidonias leucopterus'' (A) *

Whiskered tern The whiskered tern (''Chlidonias hybrida'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khelidonios'', "swallow-like", from ''khelidon'', "swallow". The specific ''hybridus'' is Latin for ''hybrid''; Peter Simon Palla ...

, ''Chlidonias hybrida'' (A) *

Roseate tern The roseate tern (''Sterna dougallii'') is a species of tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and the specific ''dougallii'' refers to Scottish physician and collector Dr Peter McDoug ...

, ''Sterna dougallii'' (A) *

Common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory ...

, ''Sterna hirundo'' *

Arctic tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south a ...

, ''Sterna paradisaea'' *

West African crested tern The West African crested tern (''Thalasseus albididorsalis'') is a bird species in the family Laridae. Until 2020 it was considered a subspecies of the New World royal tern, ''Thalasseus maximus''.R. Terry Chesser, Shawn M. Billerman, Kevin J. B ...

, ''Thalasseus albididorsalis'' (A) *

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and elegan ...

, ''Thalasseus sandvicensis''

Tropicbirds

Order:

Phaethontiformes The Phaethontiformes are an order of birds. They contain one extant family, the tropicbirds (Phaethontidae), and one extinct family Prophaethontidae from the early Cenozoic. Several fossil genera have been described. The tropicbirds were tradit ...

Family:

Phaethontidae Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds. They are the sole living representatives of the order Phaethontiformes. For many years they were considered part of the Pelecaniformes, but genetics indicates they are most cl ...

Tropicbird Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds. They are the sole living representatives of the order Phaethontiformes. For many years they were considered part of the Pelecaniformes, but genetics indicates they are most cl ...

s are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings. *

White-tailed tropicbird The white-tailed tropicbird (''Phaethon lepturus'') is a tropicbird. It is the smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It is found in the tropical Atlantic, western Paci ...

, ''Phaethon lepturus'' (A) *

Red-billed tropicbird The red-billed tropicbird (''Phaethon aethereus'') is a tropicbird, one of three closely related species of seabird of tropical oceans. Superficially resembling a tern in appearance, it has mostly white plumage with some black markings on the wi ...

, ''Phaethon aethereus''

Southern storm-petrels

Order:

Procellariiformes Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, the petrels and shearwaters, and two families of storm petrels. Formerly called Tubinares and still called tubenoses in English, procellariiforms are of ...

Family:

Oceanitidae Austral storm petrels, or southern storm petrels, are seabirds in the family Oceanitidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hove ...

The southern storm-petrels are relatives of the

petrel Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. Description The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group (all except the albatross f ...

s and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

-like. *

Wilson's storm-petrel Wilson's storm petrel (''Oceanites oceanicus''), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly ...

, ''Oceanites oceanicus'' *

White-faced storm-petrel The white-faced storm petrel (''Pelagodroma marina''), also known as white-faced petrel is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Pelagodroma''. Description The white-faced ...

, ''Pelagodroma marina'' *

White-bellied storm-petrel The white-bellied storm petrel (''Fregetta grallaria'') is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae. It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, Ne ...

, ''Fregetta grallaria'' (A)

Northern storm-petrels

Order:

Family:

Hydrobatidae Northern storm petrels are seabirds in the genus ''Hydrobates'' in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. The family was once lumped with the similar austral storm petrels in the combined storm petrels, but have been split ...

Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family. *

European storm-petrel The European storm petrel, British storm petrel, or just storm petrel (''Hydrobates pelagicus'') is a seabird in the northern storm petrel family, Hydrobatidae. The small, square-tailed bird is entirely black except for a broad, white rump and ...

, ''Hydrobates pelagicus'' *

Leach's storm-petrel Leach's storm petrel or Leach's petrel (''Hydrobates leucorhous'') is a small seabird of the tubenose order. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek. ''Hydrobates'' is from ...

, ''Hydrobates leucorhous'' * Swinhoe's storm-petrel, ''Hydrobates monorhis'' (A) * Band-rumped storm-petrel, ''Hydrobates castro'' * Cape Verde storm-petrel, ''Hydrobates jabejabe'' (E)

Shearwaters and petrels

Order:

Family:

Procellariidae The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the diving petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes (or tubenoses), which also ...

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary. *

Trindade petrel The Trindade petrel (''Pterodroma arminjoniana'') is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. The bird is in size, with an wingspan. The petrel has various color morphs: dark and light, as well as intermediates between the two. ...

, ''Pterodroma arminjoniana'' (A) *

Fea's petrel The Fea's petrel (''Pterodroma feae'') is a small seabird in the gadfly petrel genus, '' Pterodroma''. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the soft-plumaged petrel (''P. mollis''), but they are actually not closely related at al ...

, ''Pterodroma feae'' *

Black-capped petrel The black-capped petrel (''Pterodroma hasitata''), also known as the diablotín, is a small seabird native to the West Indies in the genus '' Pterodroma''. It is a long-winged petrel with a grey-brown back and wings, with a white nape and rump. ...

, ''Pterodroma hasitata'' (A) *

Atlantic petrel The Atlantic petrel (''Pterodroma incerta'') is a gadfly petrel endemic to the South Atlantic Ocean. It breeds in enormous colonies on Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island, and ranges at sea from Brazil to Namibia, with most records at sea being to ...

, ''Pterodroma incerta'' (A) *

Bulwer's petrel Bulwer's petrel (''Bulweria bulwerii'') is a small petrel in the family Procellariidae that is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is named after the English naturalist James Bulwer. Taxonomy ...

, ''Bulweria bulwerii'' *

Cory's shearwater Cory's shearwater (''Calonectris borealis'') is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially of rocky islands in the eastern Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. It was formerly ...

, ''Calonectris diomedea'' *

Cape Verde shearwater The Cape Verde shearwater (''Calonectris edwardsii''), or cagarra locally, is a medium-large shearwater, a seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago of Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean, off the co ...

, ''Calonectris edwardsii'' *

Great shearwater The great shearwater (''Ardenna gravis'') is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It breeds colonially on rocky islands in the south Atlantic. Outside the breeding season it ranges widely in the Atlantic. Taxonomy The great s ...

, ''Ardenna gravis'' *

Sooty shearwater The sooty shearwater (''Ardenna grisea'') is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name , and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (''A. pacificus' ...

, ''Ardenna griseus'' (A) *

Manx shearwater The Manx shearwater (''Puffinus puffinus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx shearwaters were called Manks puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an ...

, ''Puffinus puffinus'' *

Balearic shearwater The Balearic shearwater (''Puffinus mauretanicus'') is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family ''Procellariidae''. ''Puffinus'' is a New Latin loanword based on the English "puffin" and its variants, that referred to the cured carcass of ...

, ''Puffinus mauretanicus'' *

Boyd's shearwater Egg of ''Puffinus boydi''(coll. MHNT) Boyd's shearwater (''Puffinus boydi''), also known as the Cape Verde little shearwater, is a small shearwater which breeds in the Cape Verde archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean some 570 km off the coast ...

, ''Puffinus boydi'' *

Tropical shearwater The tropical shearwater (''Puffinus bailloni'') is a seabird in the family Procellariidae formerly considered conspecific with Audubon's shearwater (''Puffinus lherminieri''). Subspecies There are five listed subspecies of the tropical shearw ...

, ''Puffinus bailloni''

Storks

Order:

Ciconiiformes Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

Family: Ciconiidae Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute, but bill-clattering is an important mode of communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory. *

Black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

, ''Ciconia nigra'' (A) *

White stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

, ''Ciconia ciconia'' (A)

Frigatebirds

Order:

Suliformes The order Suliformes (, dubbed "Phalacrocoraciformes" by ''Christidis & Boles 2008'') is an order recognised by the International Ornithological Congress, International Ornithologist's Union. In regard to the recent evidence that the traditional ...

Family:

Fregatidae Frigatebirds are a Family (biology), family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, l ...

Frigatebird Frigatebirds are a family of seabirds called Fregatidae which are found across all tropical and subtropical oceans. The five extant species are classified in a single genus, ''Fregata''. All have predominantly black plumage, long, deeply forked ...

s are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week. *

Ascension frigatebird The Ascension frigatebird (''Fregata aquila'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae which breeds on Boatswain Bird Island and Ascension Island in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The Ascension frigatebird is a large lightly built se ...

, ''Fregata aquila'' (A) *

Magnificent frigatebird The magnificent frigatebird (''Fregata magnificens'') is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of and wingspan of it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, betw ...

, ''Fregata magnificens''

Boobies and gannets

Order:

Family:

Sulidae The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulids, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The 10 species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sou ...

The sulids comprise the

gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. Gannets are large white birds with yellowish heads; black-tipped wings; and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the Nor ...

s and

boobies A booby is a seabird in the genus ''Sula'', part of the family Sulidae. Boobies are closely related to the gannets (''Morus''), which were formerly included in ''Sula''. Systematics and evolution The genus ''Sula'' was introduced by the Frenc ...

. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. *

Masked booby The masked booby (''Sula dactylatra''), also called the masked gannet or the blue-faced booby, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. First described by the French naturalist René-Primevère Lesson in 1831, the masked bo ...

, ''Sula dactylatra'' (A) *

Brown booby The brown booby (''Sula leucogaster'') is a large seabird of the booby family Sulidae, of which it is perhaps the most common and widespread species. It has a pantropical range, which overlaps with that of other booby species. The gregarious brow ...

, ''Sula leucogaster'' *

Red-footed booby The red-footed booby (''Sula sula'') is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. Adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are f ...

, ''Sula sula'' (A) *

Northern gannet The northern gannet (''Morus bassanus'') is a seabird, the largest species of the gannet family, Sulidae. It is native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, breeding in Western Europe and Northeastern North America. It is the largest seabird in t ...

, ''Morus bassanus'' (A)

Cormorants and shags

Order:

Family:

Phalacrocoracidae Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful. *

Long-tailed cormorant The reed cormorant (''Microcarbo africanus''), also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some se ...

, ''Microcarbo africanus'' (A) *

Great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

, ''Phalacrocorax carbo'' (A)

Pelicans

Order:

Pelecaniformes The Pelecaniformes are an order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such ...

Family:

Pelecanidae The Pelecanidae is a family of pelecaniformes, pelecaniform birds within the Pelecani that contains two genera: the extinct ''Eopelecanus'' and the extant ''Pelecanus''. The family was monotypy, monotypic until the description of ''Eopelecanus'' ...

Pelicans are very large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. Like other birds in the order Pelecaniformes, they have four webbed toes. *

Great white pelican The great white pelican (''Pelecanus onocrotalus'') also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes. ...

, ''Pelecanus onocrotalus'' (A)

Herons, egrets, and bitterns

Order:

Family:

Ardeidae The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

The family Ardeidae contains the

bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

s and

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises and spoonbills. *

Great bittern The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris'') is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (''B. s. stellaris'') breeding in parts of Europe and ...

, ''Botaurus stellaris'' (A) *

Little bittern The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "sm ...

, ''Ixobrychus minutus'' (A) *

Dwarf bittern The dwarf bittern (''Ixobrychus sturmii'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. Distribution It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Repu ...

, ''Ixobrychus sturmii'' (A) *

Great blue heron The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...

, ''Ardea herodias'' (A) *

Gray heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern ...

, ''Ardea cinerea'' *

Black-headed heron The black-headed heron (''Ardea melanocephala'') is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy sea ...

, ''Ardea melanocephala'' (A) * Purple heron, ''Ardea purpurea'' *

Great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and ...

, ''Ardea alba'' (A) *

Intermediate egret The intermediate egret, median egret, smaller egret, or yellow-billed egret (''Ardea intermedia'') is a medium-sized heron. Some taxonomists put the species in the genus ''Egretta'' or ''Mesophoyx''. It is a resident breeder from east Africa a ...

, ''Ardea intermedia'' * Little egret, ''Egretta garzetta'' * Western reef-heron, ''Egretta gularis'' *

Snowy egret The snowy egret (''Egretta thula'') is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, , which is a diminutive of , 'heron'. The species name ''thula'' is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, app ...

, ''Egretta thula'' (A) *

Black heron The black heron (''Egretta ardesiaca''), also known as the black egret, is an African heron. It is well known for its habit of using its wings to form a canopy when fishing. Description The black heron is a medium-sized (42.5–66 cm ...

, ''Egretta ardesiaca'' (A) *

Cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard it ...

, ''Bubulcus ibis'' *

Squacco heron The squacco heron (''Ardeola ralloides'') is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East. Behaviour The squacco heron is a migrant, wintering ...

, ''Ardeola ralloides'' *

Striated heron The striated heron (''Butorides striata'') also known as mangrove heron, little green heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly sedentary and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. The ...

, ''Butorides striata'' (A) *

Black-crowned night-heron The black-crowned night heron (''Nycticorax nycticorax''), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and ...

, ''Nycticorax nycticorax''

Ibises and spoonbills

Order:

Family:

Threskiornithidae The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and hav ...

Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...

es and

spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...

s. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers. *

Glossy ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...

, ''Plegadis falcinellus'' *

Northern bald ibis The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or waldrapp (''Geronticus eremita'') is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This glossy black ibis, which, unlike many members of the ibis family, i ...

, ''Geronticus eremita'' (A) *

Eurasian spoonbill The Eurasian spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The genus name ''Platalea'' is from Latin and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the b ...

, ''Platalea leucorodia''

Osprey

Order:

Accipitriformes The Accipitriformes (; from Latin ''accipiter''/''accipitri-'' "hawk", and New Latin ''-formes'' "having the form of") are an order of birds that includes most of the diurnal birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, vultures, and kites, but not f ...

Family:

Pandionidae ''Pandion'' is a genus of birds of prey, known as ospreys, the only genus of family Pandionidae. Most taxonomic treatments have regarded this genus as describing a single extant species, separated to subspecies or races, while some treatments rec ...

The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution. *

Osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, ''Pandion haliaetus''

Hawks, eagles, and kites

Order:

Family:

Accipitridae The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

kites A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...

, harriers and

Old World vulture Old World vultures are vultures that are found in the Old World, i.e. the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, and which belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks. Old World vultures are not clos ...

s. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight. *

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture and the only member of the genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and ...

, ''Neophron percnopterus'' *

Booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

, ''Hieraaetus pennatus'' (A) * Eurasian marsh-harrier, ''Circus aeruginosus'' *

Hen harrier The hen harrier (''Circus cyaneus'') is a bird of prey. It breeds in Eurasia. The term "hen harrier" refers to its former habit of preying on free-ranging fowl. It migrates to more southerly areas in winter. Eurasian birds move to southern Eur ...

, ''Circus cyaneus'' (A) *

Pallid harrier The pale or pallid harrier (''Circus macrourus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'', referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fli ...

, ''Circus macrourus'' (A) *

Montagu's harrier Montagu's harrier (''Circus pygargus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu. Taxonomy The first formal description of Montagu's harrier was by the Swedish na ...

, ''Circus pygargus'' *

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

, ''Accipiter nisus'' (A) *

Red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species currently breeds in the Western Palearctic region o ...

, ''Milvus milvus'' *

Black kite The black kite (''Milvus migrans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have ...

, ''Milvus migrans *

Common buzzard The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across ...

, ''Buteo buteo'' *

Long-legged buzzard The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...

, ''Buteo rufinus'' (A)

Barn-owls

Order: StrigiformesFamily:

Tytonidae Barn-owls (family Tytonidae) are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls or typical owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with po ...

Barn-owls are medium to large owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. *

Barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

, ''Tyto alba''

Owls

Order: StrigiformesFamily:

Strigidae The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

The

typical owl The true owls or typical owls (family Strigidae) are one of the two generally accepted families of owls, the other being the barn owls (Tytonidae). This large family comprises 230 living or recently extinct species in 24 genera. The typical owl ...

s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. *

Short-eared owl The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...

, ''Asio flammeus''

Hoopoes

Order:

Bucerotiformes Bucerotiformes is an order of birds that contains the hornbills, ground hornbills, hoopoes and wood hoopoes. These birds were previously classified as members of Coraciiformes. The clade is distributed in Africa, Asia, Europe and Melanesia. ...

Family:

Upupidae Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head. *

Eurasian hoopoe The Eurasian hoopoe (''Upupa epops'') is the most widespread species of the genus ''Upupa''. It is a distinctive cinnamon coloured bird with black and white wings, a tall erectile crest, a broad white band across a black tail, and a long narrow ...

, ''Upupa epops'' (A)

Kingfishers

Order:

Coraciiformes The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colourful birds including the kingfishers, the bee-eaters, the rollers, the motmots, and the todies. They generally have syndactyly, with three forward-pointing toes (and toes 3 & 4 fused at their base) ...

Family: Alcedinidae Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs and stubby tails. * Gray-headed kingfisher, ''Halcyon leucocephala'' *

Pied kingfisher The pied kingfisher (''Ceryle rudis'') is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well a ...

, ''Ceryle rudis'' (A)

Bee-eaters

Order:

Family:

Meropidae The bee-eaters are a group of non-passerine birds in the family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by ...

The bee-eaters are a group of

near passerine Near passerines and higher land-bird assemblage are terms of traditional, pre-cladistic taxonomy that have often been given to tree-dwelling birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) owing to mor ...

birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. *

Blue-cheeked bee-eater The blue-cheeked bee-eater (''Merops persicus'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. The genus name ''Merops'' is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and ''persicus'' is Latin for "Persian". It breeds in Northern Africa, and ...

, ''Merops persicus'' (A) *

European bee-eater The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African populatio ...

, ''Merops apiaster'' (A)

Rollers

Order:

Family:

Coraciidae Coraciidae is a family of Old World birds, which is known as rollers because of the aerial acrobatics some of these birds perform during courtship or territorial flights. Rollers resemble crows in size and build, and share the colourful appearan ...

Rollers resemble

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifical ...

s in size and build, but are more closely related to the

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

s and

bee-eater The bee-eaters are a group of non-passerine birds in the family Meropidae, containing three genera and thirty species. Most species are found in Africa and Asia, with a few in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by ...

s. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not. *

European roller The European roller (''Coracias garrulus'') is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Maghreb. The European roller is found in a wide variety of ha ...

, ''Coracias garrulus'' (A) *

Broad-billed roller The broad-billed roller (''Eurystomus glaucurus'') is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and south ...

, ''Eurystomus glaucurus'' (A)

Woodpeckers

Order:

Piciformes Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes , the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives. The Piciformes contain about 71 living genera with a little over 450 species, of ...

Family:

Picidae Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...

Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. *

Eurasian wryneck The Eurasian wryneck or northern wryneck (''Jynx torquilla'') is a species of wryneck in the woodpecker family. This species mainly breeds in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. Most populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and ...

, ''Jynx torquilla'' (A)

Falcons and caracaras

Order:

Falconiformes The order Falconiformes () is represented by the extant family Falconidae (falcons and caracaras) and a handful of enigmatic Paleogene species. Traditionally, the other bird of prey families Cathartidae (New World vultures and condors), Sagitt ...

Family:

Falconidae The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae (representing all extant species in the order Falconiformes). The family is divided into three subfamilies, Herpetotherinae, which inclu ...

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons. *

Lesser kestrel The lesser kestrel (''Falco naumanni'') is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across Afghanistan and Central Asia, to China and Mongolia. It is a summer bird migration, migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometim ...

, ''Falco naumanni'' (A) *

Eurasian kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no ...

, ''Falco tinnunculus'' *

Amur falcon The Amur falcon (''Falco amurensis'') is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern and East Africa. ...

, ''Falco amurensis'' (A) *

Eleonora's falcon Eleonora's falcon (''Falco eleonorae'') is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus ''Hypotriorchis''. The sooty falcon is sometimes considered its closest re ...

, ''Falco eleonorae'' (A) *

Lanner falcon The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A l ...

, ''Falco biarmicus'' (A) *

Peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

, ''Falco peregrinus''

Old World parrots

Order: PsittaciformesFamily:

Psittaculidae Psittaculidae is a family containing Old World parrots. It consists of five subfamilies: Agapornithinae, Loriinae, Platycercinae, Psittacellinae and Psittaculinae. This family has been accepted into ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World' ...

Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed

zygodactyl In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger". Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is used ...

feet. Many parrots are vividly colored, and some are multi-colored. In size they range from to in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand. *

Rose-ringed parakeet The rose-ringed parakeet (''Psittacula krameri''), also known as the ring-necked parakeet (more commonly known as the Indian ringneck parrot), is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula, of the family Psittacidae. It has disjunct native ran ...

, ''Psittacula krameri'' (A)

Old World orioles

Order:

Passeriformes A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

Family: Oriolidae The Old World orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles. *

Eurasian golden oriole The Eurasian golden oriole (''Oriolus oriolus'') also called the common golden oriole, is the only member of the Old World oriole family of passerine birds breeding in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. It is a summer bird migration, migrant ...

, ''Oriolus oriolus''

Shrikes

Order:

Family: Laniidae Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey. * Red-backed shrike, ''Lanius collurio'' (A) *

Great gray shrike The great grey shrike (''Lanius excubitor'') is a large and predatory songbird species in the shrike family (Laniidae). It forms a superspecies with its parapatric southern relatives, the Iberian grey shrike (''L. meridionalis''), the Chinese ...

, ''Lanius excubitor'' (A) *

Woodchat shrike The woodchat shrike (''Lanius senator'') is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It can be identified by its red-brown crown and nape. It is mainly insectivorous and favours open wooded areas with scattered trees such as orchards, particularl ...

, ''Lanius senator'' (A)

Crows, jays, and magpies

Order:

Family:

Corvidae Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, 13 ...

The family Corvidae includes

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

jay A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family (biology), family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For examp ...

chough There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yellow- ...

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

treepie The treepies (known also as crypsirinines from the subfamily's name, ''Crypsirininae'') comprise four closely related genera (''Dendrocitta, Crypsirina, Temnurus'' and ''Platysmurus'') of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae. There ...

nutcracker A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells. A decorative version portrays a person w ...

s and

ground jay The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus ''Podoces'' of the crow family Corvidae. They inhabit high altitude semi-desert areas from central Asia to Mongolia. Ground jays show adapt ...

s. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence. *

Brown-necked raven The brown-necked raven (''Corvus ruficollis'') is a larger bird (52–56 cm in length) than the carrion crow though not as large as the common raven. It has similar proportions to the common raven but the bill is not so large or deep and the ...

, ''Corvus ruficollis''

Larks

Order:

Family:

Alaudidae Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occu ...

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. *

Greater hoopoe-lark The greater hoopoe-lark (''Alaemon alaudipes'') is a passerine bird which is a breeding resident of arid, desert and semi-desert regions from the Cape Verde Islands across much of northern Africa, through the Arabian peninsula, Syria, Afghanista ...

, ''Alaemon alaudipes'' *

Thick-billed lark The thick-billed lark (''Ramphocoris clotbey'') or Clotbey lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. Taxonomy and systematics It was named after Antoine Clot. It was originally described as belonging to the genus ''Melanocorypha'' and ...

, ''Ramphocoris clotbey'' (A) *

Bar-tailed lark The bar-tailed lark or bar-tailed desert lark (''Ammomanes cinctura'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. Two other species, the rufous-tailed lark and the Cape clapper lark are both also sometimes referred to using the name bar-tai ...

, ''Ammomanes cincturus'' * Black-crowned sparrow-lark, ''Eremopterix nigriceps'' *

Greater short-toed lark The greater short-toed lark (''Calandrella brachydactyla'') is a small passerine bird. The current scientific name is from Ancient Greek. The genus name, ''Calandrella'', is a diminutive of ''kalandros'', the calandra lark, and ''brachydactila'' ...

, ''Calandrella brachydactyla'' (A) *

Eurasian skylark The Eurasian skylark (''Alauda arvensis'') is a passerine bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It is a widespread species found across Europe and the Palearctic with introduced populations in New Zealand, Australia and on the Hawaiian Islands. ...

, ''Alauda arvensis'' (A) * Razo skylark, ''Alauda razae'' (E)

Reed warblers and allies

Order:

Family:

Acrocephalidae The Acrocephalidae (the reed warblers, marsh- and tree-warblers, or acrocephalid warblers) are a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea. The species in this family are usually rather large "warblers". Most are rather pla ...

The members of this family are usually rather large for "warblers". Most are rather plain olivaceous brown above with much yellow to beige below. They are usually found in open woodland, reedbeds, or tall grass. The family occurs mostly in southern to western Eurasia and surroundings, but it also ranges far into the Pacific, with some species in Africa. *

Booted warbler The booted warbler (''Iduna caligata'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler group. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with Sykes's warbler, but the two are now usually both afforded species status. Booted warbler itself breeds ...

, ''Iduna caligata'' *

Eastern olivaceous warbler The eastern olivaceous warbler (''Iduna pallida'') is a small passerine bird with drab plumage tones, that is native to the Old World. For the most part it breeds in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and adjacent western Asia, and winters in t ...

, ''Iduna pallida'' (A) *

Western olivaceous warbler The western olivaceous warbler (''Iduna opaca''), also known as isabelline warbler, is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warbl ...

, ''Iduna opaca'' (A) *

Melodious warbler The melodious warbler (''Hippolais polyglotta'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. This small passerine bird is ...

, ''Hippolais polyglotta'' (A) *

Icterine warbler The icterine warbler (''Hippolais icterina'') is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus ''Hippolais''. It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, the melodious warbler. It is migr ...

, ''Hippolais icterina'' (A) *

Sedge warbler The sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing ...

, ''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus'' (A) * Cape Verde swamp warbler, ''Acrocephalus brevipennis'' (E)

Grassbirds and allies

Order:

Family:

Locustellidae Locustellidae is a newly recognized family of small insectivorous songbirds ("warblers"), formerly placed in the Old World warbler "wastebin" family. It contains the grass warblers, grassbirds, and the ''Bradypterus'' "bush warblers". These bird ...

Locustellidae are a family of small insectivorous songbirds found mainly in Eurasia, Africa, and the Australian region. They are smallish birds with tails that are usually long and pointed, and tend to be drab brownish or buffy all over. *

Savi's warbler Savi's warbler (''Locustella luscinioides'') is a species of Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus ''Locustella''. It breeds in Europe and the western Palearctic. It is migratory, wintering in northern and sub-Saharan Africa. This small p ...

, ''Locustella luscinioides'' (A) * Common grasshopper-warbler, ''Locustella naevia'' (A)

Swallows

Order:

Family:

Hirundinidae The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae, are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. * Plain martin, ''Riparia paludicola'' (A) *

Bank swallow The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the w ...

, ''Riparia riparia'' * Eurasian crag-martin, ''Ptyonoprogne rupestris'' (A) *

Rock martin The rock martin (''Ptyonoprogne fuligula'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family that is resident in central and southern Africa. It breeds mainly in the mountains, but also at lower altitudes, especially in rocky areas and around town ...

, ''Ptyonoprogne fuligula'' (A) *

Barn swallow The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

, ''Hirundo rustica'' *

Red-rumped swallow The red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis daurica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The India ...

, ''Cecropis daurica'' (A) * Preuss's swallow, ''Petrochelidon preussi'' (A) * Common house-martin, ''Delichon urbicum'' (A)

Leaf warblers

Order:

Family:

Phylloscopidae Leaf warblers are small insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Phylloscopus''. Leaf warblers were formerly included in the Old World warbler family but are now considered to belong to the family Phylloscopidae, introduced in 20 ...

Leaf warblers are a family of small insectivorous birds found mostly in Eurasia and ranging into Wallacea and Africa. The species are of various sizes, often green-plumaged above and yellow below, or more subdued with grayish-green to grayish-brown colors. *

Western Bonelli's warbler The western Bonelli's warbler (''Phylloscopus bonelli'') is a warbler in the leaf warbler genus '' Phylloscopus''. It was formerly regarded as the western subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic deve ...

, ''Phylloscopus bonelli'' (A) *

Yellow-browed warbler The yellow-browed warbler (''Phylloscopus inornatus'') is a leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae) which breeds in the east Palearctic. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical South Asia and South-east Asia, but also in s ...

, ''Phylloscopus inornatus'' (A) *

Willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

, ''Phylloscopus trochilus'' *

Common chiffchaff The common chiffchaff (''Phylloscopus collybita''), or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic. It is a migratory passerine which ...

, ''Phylloscopus collybita'' (A)

Sylviid warblers, parrotbills, and allies

Order:

Family:

Sylviidae Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers and a number of babblers formerly placed within the Old World babbler family. They are found in Eurasia and Africa. Taxonomy and systematics The scientific name Sylviid ...

The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. *

Eurasian blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...

, ''Sylvia atricapilla'' *

Garden warbler The garden warbler (''Sylvia borin'') is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white ...

, ''Sylvia borin'' (A) *

Lesser whitethroat The lesser whitethroat (''Curruca curruca'') is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in the western and central Palearctic. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, winteri ...

, ''Curruca curruca'' (A) * African desert warbler, ''Curruca deserti'' (A) *

Sardinian warbler The Sardinian warbler (''Curruca melanocephala'') is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region. Like most ''Curruca'' species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has a grey back, whitish underpart ...

, ''Curruca melanocephala'' (A) *

Western subalpine warbler The western subalpine warbler (''Curruca iberiae'') is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and north-western Africa. Like most ''Curruca'' species, it has distinct male and female plumages. The adult male has ...

, ''Curruca iberiae'' (A) * Greater whitethroat, ''Curruca communis'' (A) *

Spectacled warbler The spectacled warbler (''Curruca conspicillata'') is a species in the typical warbler genus, ''Curruca''. The specific ''conspicillata'' is from Latin ''conspicillum'', a place to look from, equivalent to "spectacled". It breeds in northwest ...

, ''Curruca conspicillata''

Starlings

Order:

Family: Sturnidae Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen. *

European starling The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage ...

, ''Sturnus vulgaris'' (A) *

Rosy starling The rosy starling (''Pastor roseus'') is a passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae, also known as the rose-coloured starling or rose-coloured pastor. The species was recently placed in its own monotypic genus, ''Pastor'', and split fro ...

, ''Pastor roseus'' (A)

Thrushes and allies

Order:

Family:

Turdidae The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...

The

thrushes The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycat ...

are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. *

Song thrush The song thrush (''Turdus philomelos'') is a Thrush (bird), thrush that breeds across the West Palearctic. It has brown upper-parts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies. Its distinctive Birdsong, song, ...

, ''Turdus philomelos'' (A) *

Redwing The redwing (''Turdus iliacus'') is a bird in the thrush family, Turdidae, native to Europe and the Palearctic, slightly smaller than the related song thrush. Taxonomy and systematics This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his ...

, ''Turdus iliacus'' (A)

Old World flycatchers

Order:

Family:

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Norther ...

Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. *

Spotted flycatcher The spotted flycatcher (''Muscicapa striata'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is decli ...

, ''Muscicapa striata'' (A) *

European robin The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in len ...

, ''Erithacus rubecula'' (A) *

Common nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is no ...

, ''Luscinia megarhynchos'' (A) *

Bluethroat The bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It, and similar small Europea ...

, ''Luscinia svecica'' (A) *

European pied flycatcher The European pied flycatcher (''Ficedula hypoleuca'') is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. One of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers, it bird hybrid, hybridizes to a limited extent with th ...

, ''Ficedula hypoleuca'' (A) *

Common redstart The common redstart (''Phoenicurus phoenicurus''), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be ...

, ''Phoenicurus phoenicurus'' (A) *

Black redstart The black redstart (''Phoenicurus ochruros'') is a small passerine bird in the genus ''Phoenicurus''. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscic ...

, ''Phoenicurus ochruros'' (A) *

Whinchat The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycat ...

, ''Saxicola rubetra'' (A) *

Northern wheatear The northern wheatear or wheatear (''Oenanthe oenanthe'') is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae. It is the ...

, ''Oenanthe oenanthe'' (A) * Isabelline wheatear, ''Oenanthe isabellina'' (A) *

Desert wheatear The desert wheatear (''Oenanthe deserti'') is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher (Muscicapidae). It is a mig ...

, ''Oenanthe deserti'' (A) *

White-crowned wheatear The white-crowned wheatear, or white-crowned black wheatear (''Oenanthe leucopyga'') is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old Wor ...

, ''Oenanthe leucopyga'' (A)

Waxbills and allies

Order:

Family:

Estrildidae Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

The

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

es are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short thick but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but have wide variation in plumage colours and patterns. *

Common waxbill The common waxbill (''Estrilda astrild''), also known as the St Helena waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and n ...

, ''Estrilda astrild'' (I) *

Red-billed firefinch The red-billed firefinch or Senegal firefinch (''Lagonosticta senegala'') is a small seed-eating bird in the family Estrildidae. This is a resident breeding bird in most of Sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,00 ...

, ''Lagonosticta senegala''

Old World sparrows

Order:

Family:

Passeridae Old World sparrows are a group of small passerine birds forming the family Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, a name also used for a particular genus of the family, ''Passer''. They are distinct from both the New World sparrows, i ...

Old World sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects. *

House sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, a ...

, ''Passer domesticus'' (I) *

Spanish sparrow The Spanish sparrow or willow sparrow (''Passer hispaniolensis'') is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and south-west and central Asia. It is very similar to the closely related house spa ...

, ''Passer hispaniolensis'' * Cape Verde sparrow, ''Passer iagoensis'' (E) *

Sudan golden sparrow The Sudan golden sparrow (''Passer luteus'') is a small species of bird in the sparrow family found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a famous cage bird, and in aviculture, it is known as the golden song sparrow. The Arabian golden sparrow and this s ...

, ''Passer luteus'' (A)

Wagtails and pipits

Order:

Family:

Motacillidae The wagtails, longclaws, and pipits are a family, Motacillidae, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Around 70 species occur in five genera. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominan ...

Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country. *

Grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted t ...

, ''Motacilla cinerea'' (A) *

Western yellow wagtail The western yellow wagtail (''Motacilla flava'') is a small passerine in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is resident in the milder parts ...

, ''Motacilla flava'' (A) *

Citrine wagtail The citrine wagtail (''Motacilla citreola'') is a small songbird in the family Motacillidae. Etymology The term ''citrine'', and the specific name ''citreola'', refers to its yellowish colouration. Taxonomy Its systematics, phylogeny and taxon ...

, ''Motacilla citreola'' (A) *

White wagtail The white wagtail (''Motacilla alba'') is a small passerine bird in the family Motacillidae, which also includes pipits and longclaws. The species breeds in much of Europe and the Asian Palearctic and parts of North Africa. It has a toehold in ...

, ''Motacilla alba'' *

Tawny pipit The tawny pipit (''Anthus campestris'') is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of the central Palearctic from northwest Africa and Portugal to Central Siberia and on to Inner Mongolia. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropic ...

, ''Anthus campestris'' (A) *

Meadow pipit The meadow pipit (''Anthus pratensis'') is a small passerine bird, which breeds in much of the Palearctic, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; an isol ...

, ''Anthus pratensis'' (A) *

Tree pipit The tree pipit (''Anthus trivialis'') is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and the Palearctic as far East as the East Siberian Mountains. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia. The sc ...

, ''Anthus trivialis'' *

Red-throated pipit The red-throated pipit (''Anthus cervinus'') is a small passerine bird,which breeds in the far north of Europe and the Palearctic, with a foothold in northern Alaska. It is a long-distance migrant, moving in winter to Africa, South and East Asia ...

, ''Anthus cervinus''

Finches, euphonias, and allies

Order:

Family:

Fringillidae The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

es are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have twelve tail feathers and nine primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. *

Trumpeter finch The trumpeter finch (''Bucanetes githagineus'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is mainly a desert species which is found in North Africa and Spain through to southern Asia. It has occurred as a vagrant in areas no ...

, ''Bucanetes githaginea'' (A) *

European goldfinch The European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia. It has been introduced to other areas, including Austral ...

, ''Carduelis carduelis'' (I)

Old World buntings

Order:

Family:

Emberizidae The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills. Taxonomy The family Emberizid ...

The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. In Europe, most species are called buntings. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns. *

Striolated bunting The striolated bunting (''Emberiza striolata'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. Distribution and habitat It is a resident breeder of dry count ...

, ''Emberiza striolata'' (A)

References

* * {{Africa topic, List of birds of

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl

Guineafowl

Pheasants, grouse, and allies

Flamingos

Grebes

Pigeons and doves

Cuckoos

Nightjars and allies

Swifts

Rails, gallinules, and coots

Stilts and avocets

Oystercatchers

Plovers and lapwings

Sandpipers and allies

Pratincoles and coursers

Skuas and jaegers

Auks, murres, and puffins

Gulls, terns, and skimmers

Tropicbirds

Southern storm-petrels

Northern storm-petrels

Shearwaters and petrels

Storks

Frigatebirds

Boobies and gannets

Cormorants and shags

Pelicans

Herons, egrets, and bitterns

Ibises and spoonbills

Osprey

Hawks, eagles, and kites

Barn-owls

Owls

Hoopoes

Kingfishers

Bee-eaters

Rollers

Woodpeckers

Falcons and caracaras

Old World parrots

Old World orioles

Shrikes

Crows, jays, and magpies

Larks

Reed warblers and allies

Grassbirds and allies

Swallows

Leaf warblers

Sylviid warblers, parrotbills, and allies

Starlings

Thrushes and allies

Old World flycatchers

Waxbills and allies

Old World sparrows

Wagtails and pipits

Finches, euphonias, and allies

Old World buntings

See also

References