Birds of Turkmenistan

Over 400 species of birds live in Turkmenistan. Despite the nation’s mostly semi-desert and desert environments, many avian species have adapted to the climate. Some notable avifauna include the Steppe Eagle, the Houbara Bustard, and the Great Bustard.

Birds of Turkmenistan

List of Common Birds Found in Turkmenistan

Native Birds

  • Barn Swallow
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
  • Bearded Reedling
  • Black-bellied Sandgrouse
  • Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Black-headed Bunting
  • Black Kite
  • Black Stork
  • Black Vulture
  • Black-winged Stilt
  • Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
  • Booted Eagle
  • Calandra Lark
  • Caspian Reed Warbler
  • Caspian Snowcock
  • Caspian Tern
  • Chukar Partridge
  • Citrine Wagtail
  • Collared Flycatcher
  • Collared Pratincole
  • Common Chaffinch 
  • Common Chiffchaff
  • Common Cuckoo
  • Common Myna
  • Common Redshank
  • Common Rosefinch
  • Crested Lark
  • Dalmatian Pelican
  • Demoiselle Crane
  • Desert Finch
  • Desert Warbler
  • Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler
  • Eastern Imperial Eagle
  • Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
  • Eastern Orphean Warbler
  • Eastern Rock Nuthatch
  • Egyptian Vulture
  • Eurasian Collared Dove
  • Eurasian Griffon Vulture
  • Eurasian Hoopoe
  • Eurasian Kestrel
  • Eurasian Magpie
  • Eurasian Penduline Tit
  • Eurasian Pygmy Owl
  • Eurasian Spoonbill
  • Eurasian Stone-curlew
  • European Bee-eater
  • European Golden Plover
  • European Greenfinch
  • European Honey Buzzard
  • European Nightjar
  • European Roller
  • European Serin
  • European Shag
  • European Turtle Dove
  • Fire-fronted Serin
  • Gray-necked Bunting
  • Great Bustard
  • Greater Flamingo
  • Greater Sand Plover
  • Great Gray Shrike
  • Great Reed Warbler
  • Houbara Bustard
  • House Sparrow
  • Isabelline Shrike
  • Isabelline Wheatear
  • Laughing Dove
  • Lesser Kestrel
  • Little Bittern
  • Little Bustard
  • Little Crake
  • Little Egret
  • Little Grebe
  • Little Owl
  • Little Tern
  • Long-legged Buzzard
  • Macqueen’s Bustard
  • Mallard
  • Marbled Teal
  • Meadow Pipit
  • Menetries’s Warbler
  • Mongolian Finch
  • Northern Wheatear
  • Paddyfield Warbler
  • Pallas’s Sandgrouse
  • Pallid Scops Owl
  • Persian Wheatear
  • Pied Avocet
  • Pied Kingfisher
  • Pied Wheatear
  • Purple Heron
  • Purple Swamphen
  • Red-crested Pochard
  • Red-fronted Serin
  • Red-headed Bunting
  • Rock Bunting
  • Ruddy Shelduck
  • Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush
  • Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
  • Saker Falcon
  • Sedge Warbler
  • Short-eared Owl
  • Short-toed Snake Eagle
  • Slender-billed Gull
  • Sociable Lapwing
  • Spotted Flycatcher
  • Spur-winged Lapwing
  • Steppe Eagle
  • Steppe Gray Shrike
  • Syrian Woodpecker
  • Turkestan Tit
  • Western Marsh Harrier
  • Western Osprey
  • Western Reef Heron
  • White-crowned Penduline Tit
  • White-eyed Gull
  • White-headed Duck
  • White Stork
  • White-tailed Lapwing
  • White-throated Robin
  • White Wagtail
  • White-winged Scoter
  • White-winged Woodpecker
  • Yellow-breasted Tit
  • Yellow-eyed Dove
  • Yellow Wagtail

Non-native Birds

  • Great Spotted Cuckoo
  • Hill Pigeon
  • Ibisbill
  • Little Swift
  • Red Knot
  • Siberian Crane
  • Spotted Sandgrouse
  • Swan Goose

Some of the best birding sites in Turkmenistan include Repetek Biosphere Reserve, Koytendag Nature Reserve, and Garabogazköl Salt Lake. The peak birding season in Turkmenistan generally occurs during the spring and autumn months when migratory birds pass through the country.

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