Birds of North Korea

There are close to 400 birds in North Korea. These birds can be seen in the country’s forests, which include mixed and deciduous forests.

The national bird of North Korea is the Northern Goshawk. Some notable species include the Azure-winged Magpie, the Coal Tit, and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

List of Common Birds Found in North Korea

Native Birds

Azure-winged Magpie
Baer’s Pochard
Baikal Teal
Barn Swallow
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-billed Capercaillie
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black Drongo
Black-faced Bunting
Black-headed Gull
Black Kite
Black-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Gull
Black Woodpecker
Blue-and-white Flycatcher
Blue Whistling Thrush
Brambling
Brown Dipper
Brown-eared Bulbul
Brown Hawk-owl
Buff-bellied Pipit
Carrion Crow
Caspian Tern
Chestnut-eared Bunting
Chinese Blackbird
Chinese Penduline Tit
Chinese Sparrowhawk
Coal Tit
Common Greenshank
Common Kingfisher
Common Merganser
Common Myna
Common Pheasant
Common Pochard
Common Rosefinch
Common Snipe
Common Tern
Daurian Redstart
Dusky Thrush
Eastern Buzzard
Eastern Great Tit
Eastern Marsh Harrier
Eastern Spot-billed Duck
Eurasian Bullfinch
Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Hobby
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Jackdaw
Eurasian Jay
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Nutcracker
Eurasian Nuthatch
Eurasian Skylark
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Treecreeper
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Eurasian Wren
Eurasian Wryneck
Far Eastern Curlew
Gadwall
Gray-backed Thrush
Gray-faced Buzzard
Gray-headed Woodpecker
Gray Heron
Gray Wagtail
Greater Scaup
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Hawfinch
Indian Peafowl
Japanese Grosbeak
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker
Japanese Quail
Japanese Sparrowhawk
Japanese Tit
Japanese White-eye
Korean Magpie
Light-vented Bulbul
Little Bunting
Little Egret
Long-tailed Tit
Mandarin Duck
Marsh Tit
Meadow Bunting
Meadow Pipit
Mongolian Gull
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Narcissus Flycatcher
Northern Goshawk
Northern Shoveler
Olive-backed Pipit
Oriental Cuckoo
Oriental Greenfinch
Oriental Magpie
Oriental Reed Warbler
Oriental Stork
Oriental Turtle Dove
Osprey
Pale Thrush
Pallas’s Bunting
Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler
Pallas’s Reed Bunting
Red-billed Starling
Red Crossbill
Red-crowned Crane
Red-flanked Bluetail
Red-throated Thrush
Reed Bunting
Rock Bunting
Rook
Rufous-tailed Robin
Rustic Bunting
Siberian Accentor
Siberian Rubythroat
Smew
Spot-billed Duck
Taiga Bean Goose
Terek Sandpiper
Tristram’s Bunting
Varied Tit
Whiskered Tern
White’s Thrush
White-naped Crane
White Wagtail
Willow Tit
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow-breasted Bunting
Yellow-throated Bunting
Yellow Wagtail

Non-native Birds

Baillon’s Crake
Common Ringed Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Little Curlew
Pallas’s Sandgrouse
Pied Avocet
Rock Pigeon
Western Sandpiper

Potential birding sites in North Korea include Mount Myohyang, Mount Kumgang, and Mount Chilbo. The peak season for birdwatching in North Korea typically falls during the spring and autumn when migratory birds pass through or reside in the country. However, North Korea is a totalitarian dictatorship, so it may not be ideal for visitors.