Birds of Kazakhstan

There are over 500 species of avifauna that live in Kazakhstan. These mostly live in the nation’s national parks and reserves and thrive in the extreme continental climate of the country.

The Steppe Eagle is the national bird of Kazakhstan. It is even depicted on the country’s flag. Other notable avian species include the Caspian Tern, the Bearded Tit, and the Demoiselle Crane.

List of Common Birds Found in Kazakhstan

Native Birds

Arctic Loon
Barbary Falcon
Bar-headed Goose
Barnacle Goose
Barn Swallow
Bean Goose
Bearded Tit
Bewick’s Swan
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-headed Penduline Tit
Black Kite
Black Lark
Black-necked Grebe
Black Scoter
Black Stork
Black-winged Stilt
Booted Eagle
Caspian Tern
Cattle Egret
Cinereous Vulture
Common Buzzard
Common Chaffinch
Common Chiffchaff
Common Goldeneye
Common Myna
Common Pochard
Common Rosefinch
Common Shelduck
Common Sparrowhawk
Common Teal
Crested Honey-buzzard
Crested Lark
Dalmatian Pelican
Dark-bellied Brent Goose
Demoiselle Crane
Desert Finch
Eastern Buzzard
Eastern Imperial Eagle
Egyptian Vulture
Eurasian Bittern
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Hobby
Eurasian Honey-buzzard
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Kestrel
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Wigeon
Ferruginous Duck
Fire-fronted Serin
Gadwall
Garganey
Glossy Ibis
Golden Eagle
Goosander
Gray Heron
Graylag Goose
Great Cormorant
Great Crested Grebe
Greater Flamingo
Greater Scaup
Greater Spotted Eagle
Greater White-fronted Goose
Great Gray Owl
Great Tit
Great White Egret
Great White Pelican
Griffon Vulture
Harlequin Duck
Hen Harrier
Himalayan Snowcock
Himalayan Vulture
Hooded Crow
House Sparrow
Ibisbill
Indian Pond Heron
Lammergeier
Laughing Dove
Lesser Flamingo
Lesser White-fronted Goose
Levant Sparrowhawk
Little Bittern
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Long-legged Buzzard
Long-tailed Duck
MacQueen’s Bustard
Mallard
Montagu’s Harrier
Mute Swan
Northern Goshawk
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Northern Wheatear
Osprey
Pallas’s Gull
Pallas’s Sandgrouse
Pallas’s Sea-eagle
Pallid Harrier
Peregrine Falcon
Pied Avocet
Pine Bunting
Purple Heron
Pygmy Cormorant
Red-breasted Goose
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-crested Pochard
Red-headed Bunting
Red-necked Grebe
Red-throated Loon
Rock Bunting
Rough-legged Buzzard
Ruddy Shelduck
Saker Falcon
Saxaul Sparrow
Shikra
Short-toed Snake-eagle
Slavonian Grebe
Smew
Squacco Heron
Steppe Eagle
Tufted Duck
Upland Buzzard
Velvet Scoter
Western Marsh-harrier
White-browed Tit-warbler
White-headed Duck
White Stork
White-tailed Sea Eagle
White Wagtail
White-winged Lark
White-winged Scoter
Whooper Swan
Yellow-breasted Bunting

Non-native Birds

Ashy Drongo
Baikal Teal
Bonelli’s Eagle
European Shag
Herring Gull
Hooded Crane
Lesser Flamingo
Masked Shrike
Red Knot
Saunders’s Tern
Woodchat Shrike
Yelkouan Shearwater

Kazakhstan’s best birding sites include Almaty Region and Tian Shan Mountains, Tengiz-Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve, and Altyn-Emel National Park. The peak season for birding in Kazakhstan generally falls within the spring and early summer months, specifically from late April to early June.