This is a list of the bird species recorded in Spain. The area covered by this list is mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, and three small Spanish enclaves on the North African shore. The avifauna of Spain included a total of 638 species recorded in the wild by 2022 according to Sociedad Española de Ornitología (SEO/BirdLife).[1][2] Taxonomy follows the IOC World Bird List.
The following tags have been used to highlight some categories of occurrence.
(R) Rarity – a species that only occurs rarely anywhere in Spain, and requires submission of evidence to the Comité de Rarezas de SEO (Spanish Rarities Committee) for acceptance.
(E) Endemic – a species found only in Spain, with the location appended.
(B) Category B - species which have not been recorded in Spain since 1950.
(C) Category C - species introduced to Spain as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions and that has an established population.
Note that Category D (species for which there are reasonable doubts as to their wild origin) do not form part of the Spanish list, and are not included here.
An additional note such as (Canary Islands only) means that the species has been recorded solely in that locality. Species without a note of that type have been recorded at a minimum in mainland Spain.
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. 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.
Nightjars 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.
Swifts 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.
Chimney swift (vencejo de chimenea), Chaetura pelagica (R)
Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays.
Great bustard (avutarda euroasiática), Otis tarda vulnerable
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. The Old World cuckoos are brood parasites.
Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes.
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. 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.
Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances".
Grebes 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 (zampullín común), Tachybaptus ruficollis
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 4.9ft) tall, found in both the Western and eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shrimps 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.
The buttonquail are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young.
The stone-curlews and thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow-black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats.
The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. They are long-lived birds, with some species known to live in excess of 40 years.
Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the stilts and avocets. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.
The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. 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.
Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. 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.
Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, including the gulls and terns. Gulls are typically medium sized to large, 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 smaller to medium size seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head; most hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Gulls and terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years.
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.
Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white plumage, 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.
Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their long wings have black markings, as does the head.
Divers, known as loons in North America, are a group of aquatic birds found widely in northern Eurasia and North America. They are roughly the size of cormorants, which they somewhat resemble when swimming, but to which they are completely unrelated.
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 hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
The albatrosses are among the largest flying birds, with long, narrow wings for gliding. The majority are found in the Southern Hemisphere with only vagrants occurring in the North Atlantic.
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.
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized petrels and shearwaters, characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wetland 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.
Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have red 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.
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.
Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. 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.
The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons and egrets. 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.
Pelicans are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under their beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes.
The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.
The typical owls 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.
Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. 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.
The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine 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.
Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Most species have feet with two toes pointing forward and two backward, while a few species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks.
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. In size they range from 8cm (3.1in) to 1m (3.3ft) in length. Most of the more than 150 species in the family are found in the New World. They are popular as cagebirds and some have established feral populations away from their native ranges.
Characteristic features of parrots include a strong curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. In size they range from 8cm (3.1in) to 1m (3.3ft) in length. Old World parrots are found from Africa east across south and southeast Asia and Oceania to Australia and New Zealand. They are popular as cagebirds and some have established feral populations away from their native ranges.
Bushshrikes are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush. Although similar in build to the shrikes, these tend to be either colourful species or largely black; some species are quite secretive.
Black-crowned tchagra (chagra del Senegal), Tchagra senegalus (R except for North African enclaves)
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 shrike's beak is hooked, like that of a typical bird of prey.
Brown shrike (alcaudón pardo), Lanius cristatus (R)
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World and Southeast Asia; a few species are recorded as transatlantic vagrants to western Europe.
The waxwings are a group of birds with soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and cedar waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter.
The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects.
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.
Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests.
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.
Long-tailed tits are a group of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They make woven bag nests in trees. Most eat a mixed diet which includes insects.
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 greyish-green to greyish-brown colours.
The members of this family 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.
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.
The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub
The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. They mainly occur as breeding species in Europe, Asia and Africa. Some are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive head patterns, and musical songs.
The crests, also called kinglets in North America, are a small group of birds formerly often included in the Old World warblers, but now given family status because they are genetically distant.
The wrens are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs. These birds have short wings and thin down-turned bills. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous.
Nuthatches are small woodland birds. They have the unusual ability to climb down trees head first, unlike other birds which can only go upwards. Nuthatches have big heads, short tails and powerful bills and feet.
Treecreepers are small woodland birds, brown above and white below. They have thin pointed down-curved bills, which they use to extricate insects from bark. They have stiff tail feathers, like woodpeckers, which they use to support themselves on vertical trees.
The mimids are a family of New World passerine birds related to starlings; a few species have been recorded as transatlantic vagrants in Europe. The species tend towards dull greys and browns in their appearance.
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 strong iridescence.
The thrushes are a group of passerine birds with a global distribution. They are plump, soft plumaged, medium-sized insectivores and frugivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs.
White's thrush (zorzal dorado de Siberia), Zoothera aurea (R)
Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small insectivores. The appearance of these birds is highly varied; some have weak songs but others (notably the nightingales) have among the most complex and varied songs of all birds.
Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements.
The weavers are small passerine birds related to the sparrows, native to Africa and southern Asia. They are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The males of many species are brightly coloured, usually in red or yellow and black, some species show variation in colour only in the breeding season. They are popular as cagebirds and some have established feral populations away from their native ranges.
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. 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. They are popular as cagebirds and several have established feral populations away from their native ranges.
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.
The accentors are in the only bird family, Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic. They are small, fairly drab species superficially similar to sparrows.
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.
Finches 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.
The Calcariidae are a group of passerine birds which had been traditionally grouped with the buntings, but differ in a number of respects and are usually found in open grassy areas.
The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with distinctively shaped bills. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.
The New World sparrows (or American sparrows) are a large family of seed-eating passerine birds with distinctively bunting-like bills and formerly included with them in the Emberizidae. Several species have been recorded as transatlantic vagrants in Europe.
Icterids make up a family of small- to medium-sized, often colourful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage colour, often enlivened by yellow, orange or red. The species in the family vary widely in size, shape, behaviour and colour. A few species have been recorded as transatlantic vagrants in Europe.
The New World warblers are a group of small often colourful passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores. Several species have been recorded as transatlantic vagrants in Europe.
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Greylag geese, Tablas de Daimiel National Park, Ciudad Real
Mute swan, with mallards, Castelló d'Empúries, Catalonia
Egyptian goose, Retiro Park, Madrid
Common shelduck, Estany del Cortalet, Los Aiguamolls del' Empordà, Castelló d'Empúries, Catalonia
Garganey, Estanque de San Lázaro, Trujillo, Spain
Northern shoveler, Castelló d'Empúries, Catalonia
Gadwall, Castelló d'Empúries, Catalonia
Eurasian teal, Aiguamolls de l'Empordà, Catalonia
Marbled teal, Clot-de-Galvany, Alicante
Common pochard, Alicante
Tufted ducks, Tablas de Daimiel National Park, Ciudad Real
Lesser scaup (vagrant), Gran Canaria
White-headed duck, Andalusia
