Birds of Uruguay

Uruguay is home to about 500 bird species. Despite its relatively small size, enough diverse habitats exist in the country to support this wide variety of avifauna.

The national bird of Uruguay is the Southern Lapwing. Other notable avian species include the Rufous Hornero, the Greater Rhea, and the Southern Screamer.

Birds of Uruguay

List of Common Birds Found in Uruguay

Native Birds

  • American Kestrel
  • American Oystercatcher 
  • Bananaquit 
  • Bare-faced Ibis
  • Bay-capped Wren-Spinetail
  • Bay-winged Hawk
  • Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch
  • Black-bellied Whistling Duck
  • Black-capped Warbling Finch
  • Black-chinned Sapphire
  • Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Black-headed Duck
  • Black-necked Swan
  • Black Skimmer
  • Black Vulture
  • Blue-and-white Swallow
  • Blue-and-yellow Tanager
  • Brazilian Teal
  • Brown-chested Martin
  • Buff-necked Ibis
  • Burrowing Owl
  • Capped Seedeater
  • Cattle Egret
  • Cattle Tyrant
  • Chalk-browed Mockingbird 
  • Chestnut Seedeater
  • Chilean Flamingo
  • Chimango Caracara
  • Cocoi Heron
  • Common Miner
  • Coscoroba Swan
  • Double-collared Seedeater
  • Eared Dove
  • Fawn-breasted Wren
  • Firewood-gatherer
  • Fork-tailed Flycatcher
  • Fork-tailed Woodnymph
  • Freckle-breasted Thornbird
  • Giant Antshrike
  • Giant Wood Rail
  • Glittering-bellied Emerald
  • Golden-crowned Warbler
  • Grassland Yellow Finch
  • Gray-breasted Seedsnipe
  • Gray-fronted Dove
  • Great Egret
  • Greater Rhea
  • Greater Thornbird
  • Great Kiskadee 
  • Great Pampa-finch
  • Green Heron
  • Guira Cuckoo
  • Kelp Gull 
  • Lake Duck
  • Long-tailed Mockingbird
  • Long-tailed Reed Finch
  • Long-tailed Tyrant
  • Maguari Stork
  • Many-colored Rush Tyrant
  • Marsh Seedeater
  • Monk Parakeet 
  • Narrow-billed Woodcreeper
  • Neotropic Cormorant 
  • Ochre-breasted Pipit
  • Picazuro Pigeon
  • Picui Ground Dove
  • Pied-billed Grebe
  • Planalto Tyrannulet
  • Plumbeous Rail
  • Red-crested Cardinal 
  • Red-winged Tinamou
  • Ringed Teal
  • Roadside Hawk
  • Ruddy Ground Dove 
  • Rufous-bellied Thrush 
  • Rufous-capped Antshrike
  • Rufous-coll
  • Rufous Hornero
  • Rufous-sided Warbling Finch
  • Rusty-collared Seedeater
  • Saffron-cowled Blackbird
  • Saffron Finch
  • Savanna Hawk
  • Sayaca Tanager
  • Screaming Cowbird
  • Shiny Cowbird
  • Short-billed Canastero
  • Silver Teal
  • Small-billed Elaenia
  • Smooth-billed Ani 
  • Snowy Egret
  • Southern Caracara
  • Southern House Wren
  • Southern Lapwing
  • Southern Pochard
  • Southern Screamer
  • Spectacled Owl
  • Spectacled Thrush
  • Spectacled Tyrant
  • Spot-billed Ground Tyrant
  • Spotted Nothura
  • Spot-winged Pigeon
  • Striated Heron
  • Swainson’s Flycatcher
  • Tawny-bellied Hermit
  • Toco Toucan
  • Tropical Kingbird 
  • Turkey Vulture
  • Vermillion Flycatcher 
  • Warbling Doradito
  • Wattled Jacana 
  • Whistling Heron
  • White-backed Stilt
  • White-cheeked Pintail
  • White-collared Foliage-gleaner
  • White-crested Tyrannulet
  • White-eyed Foliage-gleaner
  • White-faced Ibis
  • White-headed Marsh Tyrant
  • White Monjita
  • White-rumped Monjita
  • White-rumped Swallow
  • White-tailed Hawk
  • White-throated Hummingbird
  • White-tufted Grebe
  • White-winged Swallow
  • Wren-like Rushbird
  • Yellow-billed Pintail
  • Yellow-billed Teal
  • Yellow-browed Tyrant
  • Yellow-chinned Spinetail
  • Yellowish Pipit

Non-native Birds

Some of the best birding sites in Uruguay include Laguna de Rocha, Santa Teresa National Park, and Esteros de Farrapos National Park. The peak birding season in Uruguay generally corresponds to the austral spring and summer months, from September to February. The weather is milder during this time, and the country experiences more significant bird activity.

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