This is a list of the bird species recorded in the Comoros. The avifauna of the Comoros include a total of 166 species, of which 17 are endemic, and 12 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 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 Comoros.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.
(A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Comoros (E) Endemic - a species endemic to the Comoros (I) Introduced - a species introduced to the Comoros 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.
White-faced whistling duck, Dendrocygna viduata (A) Knob-billed duck, Sarkidiornis melanotos (A)
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.
Common quail, Coturnix coturnix Harlequin quail, Coturnix delegorguei (A)
Flamingos Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually 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 (A) Lesser flamingo, Phoenicopterus minor (A)
Grebes Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
Little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis
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 dove, Columba livia (I) Comoro olive pigeon, Columba pollenii European turtle dove, Streptopelia turtur (A) Ring-necked dove, Streptopelia capicola (I) Malagasy turtle dove, Nesoenas picturatus (I) Tambourine dove, Turtur tympanistria (I) Comoro green pigeon, Treron griveaudi (E) Comoro blue pigeon, Alectroenas sganzini
Cuckoos Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae
The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs.
Malagasy coucal, Centropus toulou Madagascar cuckoo, Cuculus rochii (A) Common cuckoo, Cuculus canorus (A)
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.
Madagascar spinetail, Zoonavena grandidieri Mottled spinetail, Telacanthura ussheri Common swift, Apus apus (A) African swift, Apus barbatus Malagasy swift, Apus balstoni Malagasy palm-swift, Cypsiurus gracilis
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.
Common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus Allen's gallinule, Porphyrio alleni (A) Striped crake, Amaurornis marginalis (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.
Grey plover, Pluvialis squatarola Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva (A) Senegal lapwing, Vanellus lugubris (A) Lesser sand plover, Charadrius mongolus Greater sand plover, Charadrius leschenaultii Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula Three-banded plover, Charadrius tricollaris (A) White-fronted plover, Charadrius marginatus (A)
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. There are 16 species which occur in the Comoros.
Eurasian whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus Slender-billed curlew, Numenius tenuirostris (A) Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica Black-tailed godwit, Limosa limosa Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres Ruff, Calidris pugnax Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea Sanderling, Calidris alba Little stint, Calidris minuta Pin-tailed snipe, Gallinago stenura (A) Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia Marsh sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis (A) Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola (A)
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.
Madagascar pratincole, Glareola ocularis (A)
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)
Gulls, terns, and skimmers Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. They are typically grey 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 grey 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.
Grey-headed gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (A) Lesser black-backed gull, Larus fuscus Brown noddy, Anous stolidus Lesser noddy, Anous tenuirostris (A) White tern, Gygis alba Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus Little tern, Sternula albifrons Saunders's tern, Sternula saundersi (A) Gull-billed tern, Gelochelidon nilotica (A) Caspian tern, Hydroprogne caspia Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii (A) Black-naped tern, Sterna sumatrana Common tern, Sterna hirundo Great crested tern, Thalasseus bergii Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis
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-tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda
Shearwaters and petrels Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized shearwaters and petrels, characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Wedge-tailed shearwater, Ardenna pacificus (A) Tropical shearwater, Puffinus bailloni Persian shearwater, Puffinus persicus
Frigatebirds Order: SuliformesFamily: Fregatidae
Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black-and-white or completely black, 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 to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish. There are 9 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in the Comoros.
Masked booby, Sula dactylatra Brown booby, Sula leucogaster (A) Red-footed booby, Sula sula (A)
Anhingas Order: SuliformesFamily: Anhingidae
Darters are often called "snake-birds" because of their long thin neck, which gives a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged. The males have black and dark-brown plumage, an erectile crest on the nape and a larger bill than the female. The females have much paler plumage especially on the neck and underparts. The darters have completely webbed feet and their legs are short and set far back on the body. Their plumage is somewhat permeable, like that of cormorants, and they spread their wings to dry after diving.
African darter, Anhinga melanogaster
Cormorants and shags Order: SuliformesFamily: Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium to large coastal, fish-eating seabirds that includes cormorants and shags. Plumage colouration varies, with the majority having mainly dark plumage, some species being black-and-white and a few being colourful.
Long-tailed cormorant, Microcarbo africanus (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.
Grey heron, Ardea cinerea Humblot's heron, Ardea humbloti (A) Great egret, Ardea alba Little egret, Egretta garzetta (A) Western reef heron, Egretta gularis Cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis Squacco heron, Ardeola ralloides Malagasy pond heron, Ardeola idae Little heron, Butorides atricapilla Black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nycticorax (A)
Hawks, eagles, and kites