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.

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

African Sacred Ibis
Black Swan
Egyptian Goose
Mandarin Duck
Northern Bald Ibis
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Pigeon
Ruddy Duck
Ruddy Shelduck
Wood Duck

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.