Birds of Qatar

Qatar is home to about 350 species of birds. Despite the harsh environments, these birds have adapted to the desert conditions.

Some notable species in Qatar include the Saker Falcon, the Houbara Bustard, and the Spur-winged Plover.

List of Common Birds Found in Qatar

Native Birds

Arabian Babbler
Arabian Partridge
Arabian Warbler
Barn Owl
Barn Swallow
Black-crowned Sparrow Lark
Black Kite
Black Redstart
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Bonelli’s Eagle
Booted Eagle
Bridled Tern
Brown Dipper
Brown-necked Raven
Caspian Tern
Clamorous Reed Warbler
Collared Flycatcher
Common Chiffchaff
Common Hoopoe
Common House Martin
Common Kestrel
Common Nightingale
Common Redstart
Common Rosefinch
Common Sandpiper
Common Stonechat
Crag Martin
Cream-colored Courser
Crested Lark
Curlew Sandpiper
Desert Finch
Desert Lark
Desert Sparrow
Desert Warbler
Desert Wheatear
Desert Whitethroat
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Egyptian Nightjar
Eurasian Collared Dove
Eurasian Hoopoe
Eurasian Kestrel
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Scops Owl
Eurasian Wren
European Bee-eater
European Roller
Graceful Prinia
Graceful Warbler
Greater Sand Plover
Greater Spotted Eagle
Greater Whitethroat
Great Snipe
Green Sandpiper
Grey Heron
Gull-billed Tern
Houbara Bustard
House Sparrow
Hume’s Whitethroat
Imperial Eagle
Indian Nightjar
Indian Roller
Indian Silverbill
Isabelline Shrike
Isabelline Wheatear
Kentish Plover
Lanner Falcon
Laughing Dove
Lesser Sand Plover
Lesser Whitethroat
Little Egret
Little Ringed Plover
Little Tern
Long-legged Buzzard
Marsh Sandpiper
Masked Shrike
Menetries’s Warbler
Merlin
Montagu’s Harrier
Oriental Skylark
Osprey
Pallid Harrier
Pallid Swift
Pied Kingfisher
Purple Heron
Purple Sunbird
Red-breasted Flycatcher
Red-necked Phalarope
Red-rumped Swallow
Red-tailed Wheatear
Red-throated Pipit
Red-wattled Lapwing
Rock Martin
Rosy Starling
Ruff
Rufous Bush Chat
Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
Saker Falcon
Sand Martin
Sandwich Tern
Saunders’s Tern
Sedge Warbler
Semi-collared Flycatcher
Short-toed Snake Eagle
Slender-billed Gull
Spur-winged Plover
Squacco Heron
Steppe Eagle
Steppe Grey Shrike
Tawny Pipit
Tristram’s Starling
Upcher’s Warbler
Western Orphean Warbler
Western Reef Heron
Whiskered Tern
White-cheeked Tern
White-eared Night Heron
White-throated Kingfisher
White Wagtail
White-winged Tern
Wood Sandpiper
Yellow-legged Gull
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Yellow Wagtail

Non-native Birds

African Swamphen
Alexandrine Parakeet
Black-breasted Weaver
Common Myna
Egyptian Goose
Gray Francolin
House Crow
Indian Silverbill
Namaqua Dove
Red-necked Ostrich
Red-vented Bulbul
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Streaked Weaver
White-eared Bulbul
Zebra Dove

Some of the best places to go birding in Qatar include Al Thakira Mangroves, Dukhan Beach, and the tidal flats of Al Khor. The peak season for birding in Qatar typically occurs during the migratory periods when many birds pass through the country. Qatar is a crucial stopover and wintering ground for many migratory bird species traveling along the East Atlantic and West Asian flyways.