List of birds of Europe

More than 900 species of birds have been observed in Europe. The avifauna of Europe is broadly similar to that of Asia north of the Himalayas and North Africa, both of which also belong to the Palearctic realm. There are also many groups shared with North America. On the other hand, many groups characteristic of the Afrotropical and Indomalayan realms are entirely absent from Europe, including jacanas, darters, trogons, hornbills, honeyguides, barbets (families Lybiidae in Africa and Megalaimidae in Asia), parrots, pittas, cuckooshrikes, broadbills (families Calyptomenidae and Eurylaimidae), drongos, monarch flycatchers, white-eyes, and waxbills (although parrots and waxbills have been introduced to Europe by humans).

Three species that occurred in the European region until recently (post 1800), the great auk, the Canary Islands oystercatcher, and the slender-billed curlew, are now globally extinct, the last being concluded to be extinct in 2025. In addition, the common buttonquail has become extinct in Europe, but survives in Africa and Asia. In total, 71 bird species are considered threatened in Europe.

The following tags have been used to indicate the status of species in Europe. The commonly occurring native species do not fall into any of these categories.

  • (A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Europe
  • (E) Endemic - a species endemic to Europe
  • (Ext) Extinct - a species that no longer exists
  • (Ex) Regionally extinct - a species that is extinct in the wild in Europe
  • (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Europe as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions

Records up to and including 2015 are based on Mitchell (2017). The taxonomic order follows the AviList version v2025.

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