Birds of Switzerland

Over 400 birds live in Switzerland. The country has a temperate climate, warm summers and cool winters, and broadleaf and mixed forests. These environments suit the various avifauna that live here.

Some notable birds living there include the Alpine Chough, the European Robin, and the Barn Swallow.

Birds of Switzerland

List of Common Birds Found in Switzerland

Native Birds

  • Alpine Accentor
  • Alpine Chough
  • Alpine Swift
  • Arctic Tern
  • Baillon’s Crake
  • Barn Swallow
  • Black-headed Gull
  • Black Kite
  • Black-necked Grebe
  • Black Redstart
  • Black Tern
  • Black Woodpecker
  • Blue Tit
  • Bohemian Waxwing
  • Eurasian Bullfinch
  • Caspian Gull
  • Coal Tit
  • Common Blackbird
  • Common Buzzard
  • Common Chaffinch 
  • Common Crane
  • Common Cuckoo
  • Common Eider
  • Common Goldeneye
  • Common Gull
  • Common Kestrel
  • Common Kingfisher
  • Common Moorhen
  • Common Nightingale
  • Common Pochard
  • Common Redshank
  • Common Redstart
  • Common Sandpiper
  • Common Scoter
  • Common Snipe
  • Common Swift
  • Common Teal
  • Common Tern
  • Common Wood Pigeon 
  • Crested Lark
  • Crested Tit
  • Dunnock
  • Eurasian Blackbird
  • Eurasian Blackcap
  • Eurasian Collared Dove
  • Eurasian Coot
  • Eurasian Hobby
  • Eurasian Hoopoe
  • Eurasian Jackdaw
  • Eurasian Jay
  • Eurasian Nuthatch
  • Eurasian Siskin
  • Eurasian Skylark
  • Eurasian Sparrowhawk
  • Eurasian Woodcock
  • Eurasian Wren
  • Eurasian Wryneck
  • European Dipper
  • European Goldfinch
  • European Green Woodpecker
  • European Honey-buzzard
  • European Robin
  • European Serin
  • European Starling
  • European Stonechat
  • European Turtle Dove
  • Gadwall
  • Gray-faced Woodpecker
  • Gray Heron
  • Gray Wagtail
  • Great Cormorant
  • Great Crested Grebe
  • Great Spotted Woodpecker
  • Great Tit
  • Greenfinch
  • Green Sandpiper
  • Green Shank
  • Hawfinch
  • Hen Harrier
  • Herring Gull
  • House Sparrow
  • Lesser Black-backed Gull
  • Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
  • Little Crake
  • Little Grebe
  • Long-tailed Tit
  • Eurasian Magpie
  • Mallard
  • Marsh Tit
  • Meadow Pipit
  • Merlin
  • Middle Spotted Woodpecker
  • Montagu’s Harrier
  • Mute Swan
  • Northern Goshawk
  • Northern House Martin
  • Northern Pintail
  • Northern Wheatear
  • Peregrine Falcon
  • Pied Wagtail
  • Red-breasted Merganser
  • Red-crested Pochard
  • Red Kite
  • Red-throated Pipit
  • Ring Ouzel
  • Rock Ptarmigan
  • Ruff
  • Sand Martin
  • Snow Bunting
  • Spotted Crake
  • Stock Dove
  • Tawny Pipit
  • Tree Pipit
  • Tufted Duck
  • Water Pipit
  • Water Rail
  • Western Marsh Harrier
  • Whinchat
  • Whiskered Tern
  • White-backed Woodpecker
  • White Stork
  • White-throated Dipper
  • White Wagtail
  • White-winged Tern
  • Willow Tit 
  • Willow Warbler
  • Winter Wren
  • Wood Lark
  • Wood Sandpiper
  • Yellow-billed Chough
  • Yellowhammer 
  • Yellow-legged Gull

Non-native Birds

Some of the best birding sites in Switzerland include Swiss National Park, Lake Geneva, and the natural amphitheater Creux du Van. The peak birding season in Switzerland generally corresponds to the spring and early summer months when many bird species are actively migrating to their breeding grounds and establishing territories.

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