This is a list of the bird species recorded in Réunion. The avifauna of Réunion include a total of 161 species, of which 17 are endemic, and 27 have been introduced.
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 Réunion.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. 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 Réunion (E) Endemic - a species endemic to Réunion (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Réunion as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions (Ex) Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Réunion although populations exist elsewhere (X) Extinct - a species formerly found on Réunion, but no longer exists alive globally
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) Fulvous whistling duck, Dendrocygna bicolor (A) Knob-billed duck, Sarkidiornis melanotos (A) Egyptian goose, Alopochen aegyptiaca (A) Réunion sheldgoose, Alopochen kervazoi (X) Meller's duck, Anas melleri (I) Garganey, Spatula querquedula Mauritius duck, Anas theodori (X)
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.
Ring-necked pheasant, Phasianus colchicus (I) Red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (I) Gray francolin, Ortygornis pondicerianus (I) Chinese francolin, Francolinus pintadeanus (Ex) Blue-breasted quail, Synoicus chinensis (I) Madagascar partridge, Margaroperdix madagarensis (I) Common quail, Coturnix coturnix (I) Jungle bush-quail, Perdicula asiatica (I)
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)
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 (I) Reunion pink pigeon, Nesoenas mayeri duboisi (X) Malagasy turtle-dove, Nesoenas picturatus Zebra dove, Geopelia striata (I)
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.
Madagascar cuckoo, Cuculus rochii (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.
Mascarene swiftlet, Aerodramus francicus
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.
Reunion rail, Dryolimnas augusti (X) Eurasian moorhen, Gallinula chloropus Mascarene coot, Fulica newtonii (X) Reunion gallinule, Porphyrio caerulescens (X) African swamphen, Porphyrio madagascariensis (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 (A) Greater sand-plover, Charadrius leschenaultii Common ringed plover, Charadrius hiaticula (A) Oriental plover, Charadrius veredus (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.
Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata (A) Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica (A) Ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres Ruff, Calidris pugnax (A) Sharp-tailed sandpiper, Calidris acuminata (A) Curlew sandpiper, Calidris ferruginea Red-necked stint, Calidris ruficollis (A) Sanderling, Calidris alba Little stint, Calidris minuta (A) Pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos (A) Terek sandpiper, Xenus cinereus (A) Common sandpiper, Actitis hypoleucos (A) Common greenshank, Tringa nebularia Wood sandpiper, Tringa glareola (A)
Buttonquails Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Turnicidae
The buttonquails are small, drab, running birds which resemble the true quails. The female is the brighter of the sexes and initiates courtship. The male incubates the eggs and tends the young.
Madagascar buttonquail, Turnix nigricollis
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.
Oriental pratincole, Glareola maldivarum (A) 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) Brown skua, Stercorarius antarctica (A) Pomarine jaeger, Stercorarius pomarinus (A) Parasitic jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus (A) Long-tailed jaeger, Stercorarius longicaudus (A)
Gulls, terns, and skimmers Order: CharadriiformesFamily: Laridae
Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls 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. 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.
Gray-hooded gull, Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus (A) Kelp gull, Larus dominicanus (A) Brown noddy, Anous stolidus Lesser noddy, Anous tenuirostris (A) Black noddy, Anous minutus White tern, Gygis alba (A) Sooty tern, Onychoprion fuscatus (A) Bridled tern, Onychoprion anaethetus (A) Little tern, Sternula albifrons (A) Saunders's tern, Sternula saundersi (A) White-winged tern, Chlidonias leucopterus (A) Whiskered tern, Chlidonias hybrida (A) Roseate tern, Sterna dougallii (A) Common tern, Sterna hirundo (A) Great crested tern, Thalasseus bergii (A) Lesser crested tern, Thalasseus bengalensis (A)
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
Penguins Order: SphenisciformesFamily: Spheniscidae
The penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Most penguins feed on krill, fish, squid and other forms of sealife caught while swimming underwater.
Southern rockhopper penguin, Eudyptes chrysocome (A)
Albatrosses Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Diomedeidae
The albatrosses are among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses from the genus Diomedea have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.
Yellow-nosed albatross, Thalassarche chlororhynchos (A) White-capped albatross, Thalassarche cauta (A) Salvin's albatross, Thalassarche salvini (A) Black-browed albatross, Thalassarche melanophris (A) Sooty albatross, Phoebetria fusca (A) Light-mantled albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata (A) Wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans
Southern storm-petrels Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Oceanitidae
The southern storm-petrels are relatives of the petrels and are the smallest seabirds. They feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.
Wilson's storm-petrel, Oceanites oceanicus (A) White-faced storm-petrel, Pelagodroma marina (A) White-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta grallaria (A) Black-bellied storm-petrel, Fregetta tropica (A)
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.
Matsudaira's storm-petrel, Hydrobates matsudairae (A)
Shearwaters and petrels Order: ProcellariiformesFamily: Procellariidae
The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized "true petrels", characterised by united nostrils with medium septum and a long outer functional primary.
Southern giant-petrel, Macronectes giganteus (A) Northern giant-petrel, Macronectes halli (A) Cape petrel, Daption capense (A) Great-winged petrel, Pterodroma macroptera Soft-plumaged petrel, Pterodroma mollis (A) Barau's petrel, Pterodroma baraui Broad-billed prion, Pachyptila vittata (A) Slender-billed prion, Pachyptila belcheri (A) Bulwer's petrel, Bulweria bulwerii Jouanin's petrel, Bulweria fallax (A) Mascarene petrel, Pseudobulweria aterrima Gray petrel, Procellaria cinerea (A) White-chinned petrel, Procellaria aequinoctialis (A) Spectacled petrel, Procellaria conspicillata (A) Streaked shearwater, Calonectris leucomelas (A) Cory's shearwater, Calonectris diomedea (A)