List of birds of the British Indian Ocean Territory

This is a list of the bird species recorded in the British Indian Ocean Territory. The avifauna of the British Indian Ocean Territory include a total of 136 species, of which 6 have been introduced by humans.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for the British Indian Ocean Territory. The British Indian Ocean Territory consists of islands of the Chagos Archipelago, the largest of which is Diego Garcia which has a military base on it. The public is not allowed on any of the islands.

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories, but not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.


 * (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in British Indian Ocean Territory
 * (I) Introduced - a species introduced to British Indian Ocean Territory as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions

Ducks, geese, and waterfowl
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae

Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.


 * Australian shelduck, Tadorna tadornoides
 * Cotton pygmy-goose, Nettapus coromandelianus (A)
 * Garganey, Spatula querquedula
 * Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
 * Northern pintail, Anas acuta

Guineafowl
Order: GalliformesFamily: Numididae

Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage.


 * Helmeted guineafowl, Numida meleagris (I)

Pheasants, grouse, and allies
Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.


 * Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (I)

Flamingos
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 ft tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.


 * Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus

Pigeons and doves
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae

Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.


 * Rock pigeon, Columba livia
 * Malagasy turtle-dove, 'Nesoenas picturatus
 * Zebra dove, Geopelia striata (I)

Swifts
Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Apodidae

Swifts are small birds which spend the majority of their lives flying. These birds have very short legs and never settle voluntarily on the ground, perching instead only on vertical surfaces. Many swifts have long swept-back wings which resemble a crescent or boomerang.


 * White-throated needletail, Hirundapus caudacutus
 * Common swift, Apus apus
 * Pacific swift, Apus pacificus (A)

Rails, gallinules and coots
Order: GruiformesFamily: Rallidae

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers.


 * Eurasian moorhen, Gallinula chloropus (A)
 * Watercock, Gallicrex cinerea
 * White-breasted waterhen, Amaurornis phoenicurus

Stilts and avocets
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocets and stilts. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills.


 * Black-winged stilt, Himantopus himantopus (A)

Plovers and lapwings
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Charadriidae

The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide, mostly in habitats near water.


 * Black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola
 * Pacific golden-plover, Pluvialis fulva
 * Lesser sand-plover, Charadrius mongolus
 * Greater sand-plover, Charadrius leschenaultii
 * Kentish plover, Charadrius alexandrinus
 * Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula
 * Little ringed plover, Charadrius dubius
 * Oriental plover, Charadrius veredus

Sandpipers and allies
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enables multiple species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.


 * Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus
 * Far Eastern curlew, Numenius madagascariensis
 * Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata
 * Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica
 * Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa
 * Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres
 * Ruff, Calidris pugnax
 * Sharp-tailed sandpiper, Calidris acuminata
 * Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea
 * Temminck's stint, Calidris temminckii
 * Long-toed stint, Calidris subminuta
 * Red-necked stint, Calidris ruficollis
 * Sanderling, Calidris alba
 * Dunlin, Calidris alpina
 * Little stint, Calidris minuta
 * Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos
 * Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago
 * Pin-tailed snipe, Gallinago stenura
 * Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus
 * Red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus
 * Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos
 * Green sandpiper, Tringa ochropus
 * Gray-tailed tattler, Tringa brevipes
 * Spotted redshank, Tringa erythropus
 * Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia
 * Marsh sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis
 * Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola
 * Common redshank, Tringa totanus

Crab plover
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Dromadidae

The crab plover is related to the waders. It resembles a plover but with very long grey legs and a strong heavy black bill similar to a tern. It has black-and-white plumage, a long neck, partially webbed feet and a bill designed for eating crabs.


 * Crab-plover, Dromas ardeola

Pratincoles and coursers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Glareolidae

Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincoles, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the coursers, which have long legs, short wings and long, pointed bills which curve downwards.


 * Collared pratincole, Glareola pratincola
 * Oriental pratincole, Glareola maldivarum

Skuas and jaegers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Stercorariidae

The family Stercorariidae are, in general, medium to large birds, typically with grey or brown plumage, often with white markings on the wings. They nest on the ground in temperate and arctic regions and are long-distance migrants.


 * South Polar skua, Stercorarius maccormicki (A)
 * Pomarine jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus
 * Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus

Gulls, terns, and skimmers
Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns and skimmers. Gulls are typically gray or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with gray or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water. Terns are generally long-lived birds, with several species known to live in excess of 30 years. Skimmers are a small family of tropical tern-like birds. They have an elongated lower mandible which they use to feed by flying low over the water surface and skimming the water for small fish.


 * Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus (A)
 * Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus
 * Brown noddy, Anous stolidus
 * Lesser noddy, Anous tenuirostris
 * White tern, Gygis alba
 * Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus
 * Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus
 * Little tern, Sternula albifrons
 * Saunders's tern Sternula saundersi
 * Gull-billed tern Gelochelidon nilotica
 * Black tern, Chlidonias niger
 * White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus
 * Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida (A)
 * Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii
 * Black-naped tern, Sterna sumatrana
 * Common tern, Sterna hirundo
 * Arctic tern, Sterna paradisaea
 * White-cheeked tern, Sterna repressa
 * Great crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis
 * Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bergii

Tropicbirds
Order: PhaethontiformesFamily: Phaethontidae

Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.


 * White-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon lepturus
 * Red-billed tropicbird, Phaethon aethereus
 * Red-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda

Southern storm-petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae

The southern storm-petrels are the smallest seabirds, relatives of the petrels, feeding on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. Their flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.


 * Wilson's storm-petrel, Oceanites oceanicus
 * White-faced storm-petrel, Pelagodroma marina
 * Black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica

Northern storm-petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Hydrobatidae

Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.


 * Swinhoe's storm-petrel, Hydrobates monorhis
 * Matsudaira's storm-petrel, Hydrobates matsudairae

Shearwaters and petrels
Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium nasal septum, and a long outer functional primary flight feather.


 * Southern giant-petrel, Macronectes giganteus (A)
 * Bulwer's petrel, Bulweria bulwerii
 * Jouanin's petrel, Bulweria fallax
 * Tahiti petrel, Pseudobulweria rostrata
 * Flesh-footed shearwater, Ardenna carneipes
 * Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacificus
 * Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni
 * Persian shearwater, Puffinus persicus (A)

Frigatebirds
Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae

Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black, or black-and-white, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. Having the largest wingspan-to-body-weight ratio of any bird, they are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for more than a week.


 * Lesser frigatebird, Fregata ariel
 * Great frigatebird, Fregata minor

Boobies and gannets
Order: SuliformesFamily: Sulidae

The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.


 * Masked booby, Sula dactylatra
 * Brown booby, Sula leucogaster
 * Red-footed booby, Sula sula
 * Abbott's booby, Papasula abbotti (A)

Herons, egrets, and bitterns
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted, unlike other long-necked birds such as storks, ibises, and spoonbills.


 * Yellow bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis
 * Cinnamon bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
 * Grey heron, Ardea cinerea
 * Purple heron, Ardea purpurea
 * Great egret, Ardea alba
 * Intermediate egret, Ardea intermedia
 * Little egret, Egretta garzetta
 * Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis (A)
 * Indian pond-heron, 	Ardeola grayii
 * Striated heron, Butorides striatus
 * Black-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax

Ibises and spoonbills
Order: PelecaniformesFamily: Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibises and spoonbills. They have long, broad wings with 11 primary and about 20 secondary feathers. They are strong fliers and despite their size and weight, very capable soarers.


 * Glossy ibis, Plegadis falcinellus

Osprey
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Pandionidae

The family Pandionidae contains only one species, the osprey. The osprey is a medium-large raptor which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.


 * Osprey, Pandion haliaetus

Hawks, eagles, and kites
Order: AccipitriformesFamily: Accipitridae

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons and keen eyesight.


 * European honey-buzzard, Pernis apivorus
 * Pied harrier, Circus melanoleucos
 * White-bellied sea-eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster

Hoopoes
Order: BucerotiformesFamily: Upupidae

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.


 * Eurasian hoopoe, Upupa epops

Bee-eaters
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa but others occur in southern Europe, Madagascar, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers. All are colourful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar.


 * Blue-cheeked bee-eater, Merops persicus

Rollers
Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Coraciidae

Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters. They share the colourful appearance of those groups with blues and browns predominating. The two inner front toes are connected, but the outer toe is not.


 * European roller, Coracias garrulus

Falcons and caracaras
Order: FalconiformesFamily: Falconidae

Falconidae is a family of diurnal birds of prey. They differ from hawks, eagles, and kites in that they kill with their beaks instead of their talons.


 * Lesser kestrel, Falco naumanni
 * Amur falcon, Falco amurensis
 * Lanner falcon, Falco biarmicus (A)
 * Peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus

Crows, jays, and magpies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Corvidae

The family Corvidae includes crows, ravens, jays, choughs, magpies, treepies, nutcrackers and ground jays. Corvids are above average in size among the Passeriformes, and some of the larger species show high levels of intelligence.


 * House crow, Corvus splendens

Swallows
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae

The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base.


 * Bank swallow, Riparia riparia
 * Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica
 * Common house-martin, Delichon urbicum

Bulbuls
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Pycnonotidae

Bulbuls are medium-sized songbirds. Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Some species have distinct crests.


 * Mauritius bulbul, Hypsipetes olivaceus (A)

Starlings
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Sturnidae

Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds. Their flight is strong and direct and they are very gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country. They eat insects and fruit. Plumage is typically dark with a metallic sheen.


 * Rosy starling, Pastor roseus
 * Common myna, Acridotheres tristis (I)

Weavers and allies
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Ploceidae

The weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches. They are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills. The males of many species are brightly colored, usually in red or yellow and black, though some species show variation in color only in the breeding season.


 * Red fody, Foudia madagascariensis (I)

Order: PasseriformesFamily: Passeridae

Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or gray birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed eaters, but they also consume small insects.


 * House sparrow, Passer domesticus (I)

Wagtails and pipits
Order: PasseriformesFamily: Motacillidae

Motacillidae is a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. They include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. They are slender, ground feeding insectivores of open country.


 * Grey wagtail, Motacilla cinerea
 * Western yellow wagtail, Motacilla flava