This is a list of the bird species recorded in Malta. The avifauna of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 includes a total of 384 species, of which 167 are rare or accidental. Malta has a limited range of breeding birds with only 21 regular breeders and about 17 occasional breeders. However, it lies on a major migration

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 route and many more species pass through during spring and autumn.

This list's taxonomic

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of Clements

James Clements

Dr. James Franklin Clements was an ornithologist, author and very successful businessman. He was born in New York....

's 6th edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Accidental species are included in the total species counts for Malta.

The following tags have been used to highlight certain relevant categories. The commonly occurring, native, species do not fall into any of these categories.

• (A) Accidental A species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Malta.

Table of contents
Non-passerines: Loons . Grebes . Shearwaters and petrels . Storm-petrels . Pelicans . Gannets . Cormorants . Bitterns, herons and egrets . Storks . Ibises and spoonbills . Flamingos . Ducks, geese and swans . Osprey . Hawks, kites and eagles . Falcons . Pheasants and partridges . Cranes . Rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots . Bustards . Oystercatchers . Avocets and stilts . Thick-knees . Pratincoles and coursers . Plovers and lapwings . Sandpipers and allies . Gulls . Terns . Skuas and jaegers . Auks . Sandgrouse . Pigeons and doves . Cuckoos . Barn owls . Typical owls . Nightjars . Swifts . Kingfishers . Bee-eaters . Typical rollers . Hoopoes . Woodpeckers and allies .
Passerines: Larks . Swallows and martins . Wagtails and pipits . Kinglets . Waxwings . Dippers . Wrens . Accentors . Thrushes and allies . Cisticolas and allies . Old World warblers . Old World flycatchers and chats . Tits . Wallcreeper . Treecreepers . Penduline tits . Old World orioles . Shrikes . Crows, jays, ravens and magpies . Starlings . Sparrows . Vireos . Finches . Buntings and allies . Saltators, cardinals and allies .
See also       References

Loons

Order: Gaviiformes

Gaviiformes

Gaviiformes is an order of aquatic birds containing the loons or divers and their closest extinct relatives. Modern gaviiformes are found in many parts of North America and northern Eurasia , though prehistoric species were more widespread.-Classification and evolution:There are five living...

. Family: Gaviidae

Loons, known as Divers in Europe, are group of aquatic birds found in many parts of North America and northern Europe. They are the size of a large duck or small goose, which they somewhat resembles in shape when swimming, but they completely unrelated to these waterfowl. There are 5 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Red-throated Loon Gavia stellata (A)

Grebes

Order: Podicipediformes. Family: Podicipedidae

Grebe

Grebe

A grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...

s are small to medium-large sized 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. There are about 19 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Malta.

• Little Grebe
  Little Grebe
  The Little Grebe , also known as Dabchick, member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.-Description:The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed...
  
   Tachybaptus ruficollis
• Great Crested Grebe
  Great Crested Grebe
  The Great Crested Grebe is a member of the grebe family of water birds.- Description :The Great Crested Grebe is long with a wingspan. It is an excellent swimmer and diver, and pursues its fish prey underwater. The adults are unmistakable in summer with head and neck decorations...
  
   Podiceps cristatus
• Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis

Shearwaters and petrels

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Procellariidae

Procellariidae

The family Procellariidae is a group of seabirds that comprises the fulmarine petrels, the gadfly petrels, the prions, and the shearwaters. This family is part of the bird order Procellariiformes , which also includes the albatrosses, the storm-petrels, and the diving petrels.The procellariids are...

The procellariids are the main group of medium-sized 'true petrels', characterised by united nostrils with a medium septum, and a long outer functional primary. There are about 77 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Malta.

• Cory's Shearwater
  Cory's Shearwater
  The Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...
  
   Calonectris diomedea
• Sooty Shearwater
  Sooty Shearwater
  The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
  
   Puffinus griseus (A)
• Manx Shearwater
  Manx Shearwater
  The Manx Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. The scientific name of this species records a name shift: Manx Shearwaters were called Manks Puffins in the 17th century. Puffin is an Anglo-Norman word for the cured carcasses of nestling shearwaters...
  
   Puffinus puffinus (A)
• Levantine Shearwater Puffinus yelkouan
• Balearic Shearwater
  Balearic Shearwater
  The Balearic Shearwater is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. It was long regarded a subspecies of the Manx Shearwater; see there for more on the Puffinus puffinus superspecies; following an initial split it was held to be a subspecies of the "Mediterranean Shearwater"...
  
   Puffinus mauretanicus (A)

Storm-petrels

Order: Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes

Procellariiformes is an order of seabirds that comprises four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, storm petrels, and diving petrels...

. Family: Hydrobatidae

The storm-petrel

Storm-petrel

Storm petrels are seabirds in the family Hydrobatidae, part of the order Procellariiformes. These smallest of seabirds feed on planktonic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat-like.Storm petrels have a cosmopolitan...

s are relatives of the petrel

Petrel

Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...

s, and are the smallest of sea-birds. They feed on plankton

Plankton

Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...

ic crustaceans and small fish picked from the surface, typically while hovering. The flight is fluttering and sometimes bat

Bat

Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...

-like. There are about 20 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• European Storm-Petrel
  European Storm-petrel
  The European Storm Petrel or Storm Petrel is a small bird of the storm-petrel family, Hydrobatidae, part of the seabird order Procellariiformes. It is the only member of the genus Hydrobates.-Description:...
  
   Hydrobates pelagicus
• Leach's Storm-Petrel
  Leach's Storm-petrel
  The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....
  
   Oceanodroma leucorhoa (A)

Pelicans

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Pelecanidae

Pelican

Pelican

A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....

s are large water birds with a distinctive pouch under the beak. As with other members of the order Pelecaniformes, they have webbed feet with four toes. There are about 8 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus (A)

Gannets

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Sulidae

Sulidae

The bird family Sulidae comprises the gannets and boobies. Collectively called sulidas, they are medium-large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish and similar prey. The ten species in this family are often considered congeneric in older sources, placing all in the genus Sula...

The sulids comprise the gannet

Gannet

Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...

s and boobies

Booby

A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...

. Both groups comprise medium-to-large coastal sea-birds that plunge-dive for fish. There are about 10 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Northern Gannet
  Northern Gannet
  The Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
  
   Morus bassanus

Cormorants

Order: Pelecaniformes

Pelecaniformes

The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...

. Family: Phalacrocoracidae

The Phalacrocoracidae is a family of medium-to-large coastal, fish-eating sea-birds 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. There are about 39 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Great Cormorant
  Great Cormorant
  The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
  
   Phalacrocorax carbo
• European Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis (A)

Bitterns, herons and egrets

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Ardeidae

The family Ardeidae contains the bittern

Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

s, heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s and egret

Egret

An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...

s. Herons and egrets are medium to large sized wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Unlike other long-necked birds suck as storks, ibises and spoonbills, members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted. There are about 63 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Malta.

• Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
• Purple Heron
  Purple Heron
  The Purple Heron is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Asia. The European populations are migratory, wintering in tropical Africa; the more northerly Asian populations also migrate further south within Asia...
  
   Ardea purpurea
• Great Egret
  Great Egret
  The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
  
   Ardea alba
• Little Egret
  Little Egret
  The Little Egret is a small white heron. It is the Old World counterpart to the very similar New World Snowy Egret.-Subspecies:Depending on authority, two or three subspecies of Little Egret are currently accepted....
  
   Egretta garzetta
• Western Reef-Heron Egretta gularis (A)
• Squacco Heron
  Squacco Heron
  The Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, is a small heron, long, of which the body is , with wingspan. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Europe and the Greater Middle East.-Behaviour:...
  
   Ardeola ralloides
• Cattle Egret
  Cattle Egret
  The Cattle Egret is a cosmopolitan species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret...
  
   Bubulcus ibis (A)
• Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
• Little Bittern
  Little Bittern
  The Little Bittern is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in...
  
   Ixobrychus minutus
• Great Bittern
  Great Bittern
  The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.-Etymology:...
  
   Botaurus stellaris

Storks

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Ciconiidae

Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked, wading birds with long, stout bills. Storks are mute; bill-clattering is an important mode of stork communication at the nest. Their nests can be large and may be reused for many years. Many species are migratory. There are about 19 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Black Stork
  Black Stork
  The Black Stork Ciconia nigra is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It is a widespread, but rare, species that breeds in the warmer parts of Europe, predominantly in central and eastern regions. This is a shy and wary species, unlike the closely related White Stork. It is seen in...
  
   Ciconia nigra (A)
• White Stork
  White Stork
  The White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to end of tail, with a wingspan...
  
   Ciconia ciconia

Ibises and spoonbills

Order: Ciconiiformes

Ciconiiformes

Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...

. Family: Threskiornithidae

Threskiornithidae

The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the...

The Threskiornithidae is a family of large terrestrial and wading birds which includes the ibis

Ibis

The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....

es and spoonbill

Spoonbill

Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...

s. 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. There are about 33 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Glossy Ibis
  Glossy Ibis
  The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
  
   Plegadis falcinellus
• Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia

Flamingos

Order: Phoenicopteriformes. Family: Phoenicopteridae

Flamingo

Flamingo

Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...

s are gregarious wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (1.5 m) high, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. They are more numerous in the latter. 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 are uniquely used upside-down. There are about 6 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Greater Flamingo
  Greater Flamingo
  The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...
  
   Phoenicopterus roseus

Ducks, geese and swans

Order: Anseriformes

Anseriformes

The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three extant families: the Anhimidae , Anseranatidae , and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans.All species in the order are highly adapted for an aquatic existence at...

. Family: Anatidae

Anatidae

Anatidae is the biological family of birds that includes ducks, geese and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica and on most of the world's islands and island groups...

The family Anatidae includes the duck

Duck

Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...

s and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese

Goose

The word goose is the English name for a group of waterfowl, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than true geese, and ducks, which are smaller....

 and swan

Swan

Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...

s. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are about 159 species worldwide and 29 species which occur in Malta.

• Mute Swan
  Mute Swan
  The Mute Swan is a species of swan, and thus a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia, and the far north of Africa. It is also an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less...
  
   Cygnus olor (A)
• Bean Goose
  Bean Goose
  The Bean Goose is a medium to large goose breeding in northern Europe and Asia. It was split into two species by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2007, however it is still regarded as a single species by the British Ornithologists' Union – see below...
  
   Anser fabalis (A)
• Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons (A)
• Greylag Goose
  Greylag Goose
  The Greylag Goose , Anser anser, is a bird with a wide range in the Old World. It is the type species of the genus Anser....
  
   Anser anser (A)
• Red-breasted Goose
  Red-breasted Goose
  The Red-breasted Goose is an endangered species of goose in the genus Branta. It is sometimes separated in Rufibrenta but appears close enough to the Brent Goose to make this unnecessary, despite its distinct appearance.- Description :All the species of the Branta genus are distinguished by their...
  
   Branta ruficollis (A)
• Egyptian Goose
  Egyptian Goose
  The Egyptian Goose is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae, and is the only extant member of the genus Alopochen...
  
   Alopochen aegyptiacus (A)
• Ruddy Shelduck
  Ruddy Shelduck
  The Ruddy Shelduck, Tadorna ferruginea, is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae...
  
   Tadorna ferruginea (A)
• Common Shelduck
  Common Shelduck
  The Common Shelduck is a waterfowl species shelduck genus Tadorna. It is widespread and common in Eurasia, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb...
  
   Tadorna tadorna
• Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
• Falcated Duck
  Falcated Duck
  The Falcated Duck or Falcated Teal is a Gadwall-sized dabbling duck.-Distribution and habitat:The Falcated duck breeds in eastern Asia...
  
   Anas falcata (A)
• Gadwall
  Gadwall
  The Gadwall is a common and widespread duck of the family Anatidae.- Description :The Gadwall is 46–56 cm long with a 78–90 cm wingspan. The male is slightly larger than the female, weighing on average 990 g against her 850 g...
  
   Anas strepera
• Baikal Teal
  Baikal Teal
  The Baikal Teal , also called the Bimaculate Duck or Squawk Duck, is a dabbling duck that breeds in eastern Russia and winters in East Asia.- Description :...
  
   Anas formosa (A)
• Eurasian Teal Anas crecca
• Mallard
  Mallard
  The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
  
   Anas platyrhynchos
• Northern Pintail
  Northern Pintail
  The Pintail or Northern Pintail is a widely occurring duck which breeds in the northern areas of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator...
  
   Anas acuta
• Garganey
  Garganey
  The Garganey is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India Santragachi and Australasia in winter, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Linnaeus in 1758...
  
   Anas querquedula
• Northern Shoveler
  Northern Shoveler
  The Northern Shoveler , Northern Shoveller in British English, sometimes known simply as the Shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and Asia and across most of North America, and is a rare vagrant to Australia...
  
   Anas clypeata
• Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris (A)
• Red-crested Pochard
  Red-crested Pochard
  The Red-crested Pochard is a large diving duck.Their breeding habitat is lowland marshes and lakes in southern Europe and southern and central Asia. They are somewhat migratory, and northern birds winter further south and into north Africa.The adult male is unmistakable. It has a rounded orange...
  
   Netta rufina (A)
• Common Pochard Aythya ferina
• Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca
• Tufted Duck
  Tufted Duck
  The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...
  
   Aythya fuligula (A)
• Greater Scaup
  Greater Scaup
  The Greater Scaup , just Scaup in Europe, or colloquially known as "Bluebill", for its bright blue bill, is small compared to other diving ducks, however it is larger than the closely related Lesser Scaup...
  
   Aythya marila (A)
• Black Scoter
  Common Scoter
  The Common Scoter is a large sea duck, 43-54 cm in length, which breeds over the far north of Europe and Asia east to the Olenyok River. The American/E Siberian M. americana is sometimes considered a subspecies of M. nigra.It winters further south in temperate zones, on the coasts of Europe as...
  
   Melanitta nigra (A)
• Common Goldeneye
  Common Goldeneye
  The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Their closest relative is the similar Barrow's Goldeneye....
  
   Bucephala clangula (A)
• Smew
  Smew
  The Smew is a small duck, which is somewhat intermediate between the typical mergansers and the goldeneyes . It is the only member of the genus Mergellus; sometimes included in Mergus, this genus is distinct and might actually be a bit closer to the goldeneyes...
  
   Mergellus albellus (A)
• Red-breasted Merganser
  Red-breasted Merganser
  The Red-breasted Merganser is a diving duck.-Taxonomy:The Red-breasted Merganser was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th-century work, Systema Naturae.-Description:...
  
   Mergus serrator
• Common Merganser
  Common Merganser
  The Common Merganser or Goosander Mergus merganser is a large duck, of rivers and lakes of forested areas of Europe, northern and central Asia, and North America. It eats fish and nests in holes in trees...
  
   Mergus merganser (A)
• White-headed Duck
  White-headed Duck
  The White-headed Duck is a small stiff-tailed duck.Adult males have a grey and reddish body, a blue bill and a largely white head with a black cap and neck. Adult females have a grey-brown body with a white face and a darker bill, cap and a cheek stripe.This duck breeds in Spain and North Africa,...
  
   Oxyura leucocephala (A)

Osprey

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Pandionidae

The Pandionidae family contains only one species, the Osprey. The Osprey is a medium large raptor

Bird of prey

Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....

 which is a specialist fish-eater with a worldwide distribution.

• Osprey
  Osprey
  The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
  
   Pandion haliaetus

Hawks, kites and eagles

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Accipitridae

Accipitridae

The Accipitridae, one of the two major families within the order Accipitriformes , are a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a...

Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey and include hawk

Hawk

The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...

s, eagle

Eagle

Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...

s, kites

Kite (bird)

Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....

, harriers

Harrier (bird)

A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds....

 and Old World vultures. These birds have powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. There are about 240 species worldwide and 18 species which occur in Malta.

• European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus
• Red Kite
  Red Kite
  The Red Kite is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harriers. The species is currently endemic to the Western Palearctic region in Europe and northwest Africa, though formerly also occurred just...
  
   Milvus milvus (A)
• Black Kite
  Black Kite
  The Black Kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. Unlike others of the group, they are opportunistic hunters and are more likely to scavenge. They spend a lot of time soaring and gliding in thermals in search of food. Their...
  
   Milvus migrans
• White-tailed Eagle
  White-tailed Eagle
  The White-tailed Eagle , also known as the Sea Eagle, Erne , or White-tailed Sea-eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which includes other raptors such as hawks, kites, and harriers...
  
   Haliaeetus albicilla (A)
• Egyptian Vulture
  Egyptian Vulture
  The Egyptian Vulture is a small Old World vulture, found widely distributed from southwestern Europe and northern Africa to southern Asia. It is the only living member of the genus Neophron. It has sometimes also been known as the White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken...
  
   Neophron percnopterus
• Eurasian Griffon Gyps fulvus (A)
• Short-toed Eagle
  Short-toed Eagle
  The Short-toed Snake Eagle also known as Short-toed Eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers.-Range and habitat:...
  
   Circaetus gallicus
• Western Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus
• Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
• Pallid Harrier
  Pallid Harrier
  The Pale or Pallid Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. It breeds in southern parts of eastern Europe and central Asia and winters mainly in India and southeast Asia...
  
   Circus macrourus
• Montagu's Harrier
  Montagu's Harrier
  The Montagu's Harrier is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. Its common name commemorates the British naturalist George Montagu.-Plumage:...
  
   Circus pygargus
• Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
• Eurasian Buzzard Buteo buteo
• Long-legged Buzzard
  Long-legged Buzzard
  The Long-legged Buzzard is a bird of prey.-Description:It is similar in appearance to the Rough-legged Buzzard , but larger and more robust. There are many different colour forms, but usually Long-leggeds have a clear orange tint to the plumage, red or orange tail, pale head and largely white...
  
   Buteo rufinus (A)
• Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus (A)
• Lesser Spotted Eagle
  Lesser Spotted Eagle
  The Lesser Spotted Eagle is a large Eastern European bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...
  
   Aquila pomarina
• Golden Eagle
  Golden Eagle
  The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
  
   Aquila chrysaetos (A)
• Booted Eagle
  Booted Eagle
  The Booted Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey. It is about in length and has a wingspan of . Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae....
  
   Aquila pennatus

Falcons

Order: Falconiformes

Falconiformes

The order Falconiformes is a group of about 290 species of birds that comprises the diurnal birds of prey. Raptor classification is difficult and the order is treated in several ways.- Classification problems :...

. Family: Falconidae

Falconidae

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamiles, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets.-Description:Falcons and...

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 feet. There are about 64 species worldwide and 12 species which occur in Malta.

• Lesser Kestrel
  Lesser Kestrel
  The Lesser Kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across southern central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European...
  
   Falco naumanni
• Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
• American Kestrel
  American Kestrel
  The American Kestrel , sometimes colloquially known as the Sparrow Hawk, is a small falcon, and the only kestrel found in the Americas. It is the most common falcon in North America, and is found in a wide variety of habitats. At long, it is also the smallest falcon in North America...
  
   Falco sparverius (A)
• Red-footed Falcon
  Red-footed Falcon
  The Red-footed Falcon , formerly Western Red-footed Falcon, is a bird of prey. It belongs to the family Falconidae, the falcons. This bird is found in eastern Europe and Asia although its numbers are dwindling rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting. It is migratory, wintering in Africa...
  
   Falco vespertinus
• Eleonora's Falcon
  Eleonora's Falcon
  Eleonora's Falcon is a medium-sized falcon. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis. The Sooty Falcon is sometimes considered its closest relative, but while they certainly belong to the same lineage, they do not seem...
  
   Falco eleonorae
• Sooty Falcon
  Sooty Falcon
  The Sooty Falcon is a medium-sized falcon breeding from northeastern Africa to the southern Persian Gulf region. It belongs to the hobby group, a rather close-knit number of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis...
  
   Falco concolor (A)
• Merlin
  Merlin (bird)
  The Merlin is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the Merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter.-European and North American...
  
   Falco columbarius
• Eurasian Hobby
  Eurasian Hobby
  The Eurasian Hobby , or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.-Description:...
  
   Falco subbuteo
• Lanner Falcon
  Lanner Falcon
  The Lanner Falcon is a large bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season.-Description:...
  
   Falco biarmicus (A)
• Saker Falcon
  Saker Falcon
  The Saker Falcon is a very large falcon. This species breeds from eastern Europe eastwards across Asia to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia, the Arabian peninsula, northern Pakistan and western China...
  
   Falco cherrug
• Barbary Falcon
  Barbary Falcon
  The Barbary Falcon is a medium-sized falcon about the size of a crow. This bird of prey breeds in the Canary Islands and on the coasts of north Africa. It is mainly resident.-Description:...
  
   Falco pelegrinoides (A)
• Peregrine Falcon
  Peregrine Falcon
  The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
  
   Falco peregrinus

Pheasants and partridges

Order: Galliformes

Galliformes

Galliformes are an order of heavy-bodied ground-feeding domestic or game bird, containing turkey, grouse, chicken, New and Old World Quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and the Cracidae. Common names are gamefowl or gamebirds, landfowl, gallinaceous birds or galliforms...

. Family: Phasianidae

Phasianidae

The Phasianidae is a family of birds which consists of the pheasants and partridges, including the junglefowl , Old World Quail, francolins, monals and peafowl. The family is a large one, and is occasionally broken up into two subfamilies, the Phasianinae, and the Perdicinae...

The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds which consists of quail

Quail

Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...

s, partridge

Partridge

Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...

s, snowcock

Snowcock

The snowcocks are a group of bird species in the genus Tetraogallus of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds which breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas and western China. The Himalayan Snowcock has been introduced...

s, francolin

Francolin

Francolins are birds that traditionally have been placed in the genus Francolinus, but now commonly are divided into multiple genera , although some of the major taxonomic listing sources have yet to divide them. They are members of the pheasant family, Phasianidae...

s, spurfowls, tragopan

Tragopan

Tragopan is a genus of bird in the family Phasianidae. These birds are commonly called "horny pheasants" because of two brightly-colored, fleshy horns on their heads that they can erect during courtship displays...

s, monal

Monal

A Monal is a bird of genus Lophophorus of the Pheasant family, Phasianidae. There are three species and several sub-species within the genus Lophophorus:* Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus* Sclater's Monal Lophophorus sclateri...

s, pheasant

Pheasant

Pheasants refer to some members of the Phasianinae subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have...

s, peafowl

Peafowl

Peafowl are two Asiatic species of flying birds in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae, best known for the male's extravagant eye-spotted tail, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen, and the offspring peachicks. The adult female...

s and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they may vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings. There are about 155 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Common Quail
  Common Quail
  The Common Quail, Coturnix coturnix, is a small bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is widespread and is found in parts of Europe, .- Description :It is a small rotund bird, essentially streaked brown with...
  
   Coturnix coturnix

Cranes

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Gruidae

Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or "dances". There are about 15 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Demoiselle Crane
  Demoiselle Crane
  The Demoiselle Crane, Anthropoides virgo, is a species of crane that breeds in Central Asia and winters in India, with a few found in Cyprus and eastern Turkey as well. The crane annually migrates to Africa and South Asia in winter...
  
   Anthropoides virgo (A)
• Common Crane
  Common Crane
  The Common Crane , also known as the Eurasian Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes.It is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane at 100–130 cm long, with a 180–240 cm wingspan and a weight of 4.5–6 kg...
  
   Grus grus

Rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Rallidae

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coot

Coot

Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water...

s, and gallinule

Rallidae

The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...

s. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are about 135 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Malta.

• Water Rail
  Water Rail
  The Water Rail is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range...
  
   Rallus aquaticus
• Corn Crake
  Corn Crake
  The Corn Crake, Corncrake or Landrail is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the winter...
  
   Crex crex
• Little Crake
  Little Crake
  The Little Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in reed vegetation, laying 4-7 eggs...
  
   Porzana parva
• Baillon's Crake
  Baillon's Crake
  The Baillon's Crake is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae.-Distribution:Their breeding habitat is sedge beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and across Asia. They used to breed in Great Britain up to the mid-19th century, but the western European population declined through drainage....
  
   Porzana pusilla
• Spotted Crake
  Spotted Crake
  The Spotted Crake is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Their breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6-15 eggs...
  
   Porzana porzana
• Allen's Gallinule
  Allen's Gallinule
  The Allen's Gallinule , formerly known as the Lesser Gallinule is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. Its former binomial name is Porphyrula alleni....
  
   Porphyrio alleni (A)
• Purple Gallinule
  American Purple Gallinule
  The American Purple Gallinule is a "swamp hen" in the rail family Rallidae.A medium-sized rail with big yellow feet, purple-blue plumage with a green back, and red and yellow bill. It has a pale blue forehead shield and white undertail.Juveniles are brown overall with a brownish olive back...
  
   Porphyrio martinica (A)
• Common Moorhen
  Common Moorhen
  The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to...
  
   Gallinula chloropus
• Red-knobbed Coot
  Red-knobbed Coot
  The Red-knobbed Coot or Crested Coot, , is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 8...
  
   Fulica cristata (A)
• Eurasian Coot
  Eurasian Coot
  The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...
  
   Fulica atra

Bustards

Order: Gruiformes

Gruiformes

The Gruiformes are an order containing a considerable number of living and extinct bird families, with a widespread geographical diversity. Gruiform means "crane-like"....

. Family: Otididae

Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World

Old World

The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....

. They are omnivorous and nest on the ground. They walk steadily on strong legs and big toes, pecking for food as they go. They have long broad wings with "fingered" wingtips, and striking patterns in flight. Many have interesting mating displays. There are about 26 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Malta.

• Great Bustard
  Great Bustard
  The Great Bustard is in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Otis. It breeds in southern and central Europe, where it is the largest species of bird, and across temperate Asia...
  
   Otis tarda (A)
• Houbara Bustard
  Houbara Bustard
  The Houbara Bustard, Chlamydotis undulata, is a large bird in the bustard family.-Description:The Houbara Bustard is a small to mid-sized bustard. It measures in length and spans across the wings. It is brown above and white below, with a black stripe down the sides of its neck. In flight, the...
  
   Chlamydotis undulata (A)
• Little Bustard
  Little Bustard
  The Little Bustard is a large bird in the bustard family, the only member of the genus Tetrax. It breeds in southern Europe and in western and central Asia. Southernmost European birds are mainly resident, but other populations migrate further south in winter...
  
   Tetrax tetrax (A)

Oystercatchers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Haematopodidae

The oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

The oystercatchers are a group of waders; they form the family Haematopodidae, which has a single genus, Haematopus. They are found on coasts worldwide apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia...

s are large and noisy plover

Plover

Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

-like birds, with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs. There are about 11 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Eurasian Oystercatcher
  Eurasian Oystercatcher
  The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
  
   Haematopus ostralegus

Avocets and stilts

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae

Recurvirostridae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts .-Description and diet:...

Recurvirostridae is a family of large wading birds, which includes the avocet

Avocet

The four species of Avocets are a genus, Recurvirostra, of waders in the same avian family as the stilts.Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer...

s and the stilt

Stilt

Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates....

s. The avocets have long legs and long up-curved bills. The stilts have extremely long legs and long, thin, straight bills. There are about 10 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Black-winged Stilt
  Black-winged Stilt
  The Black-winged Stilt or Common Stilt is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family . Opinions differ as to whether the birds treated under the scientific name H. himantopus ought to be treated as a single species and if not, how many species to recognize...
  
   Himantopus himantopus
• Pied Avocet
  Pied Avocet
  The Pied Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta, is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia...
  
   Recurvirostra avosetta

Thick-knees

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Burhinidae

The thick-knees are a group of largely tropical waders in the family Burhinidae. They are found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia. They are medium to large waders with strong black or yellow black bills, large yellow eyes and cryptic plumage. Despite being classed as waders, most species have a preference for arid or semi-arid habitats. There are about 9 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus

Pratincoles and coursers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Glareolidae

Glareolidae

Glareolidae is a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadri. It contains two distinct groups, the pratincoles and the coursers. The coursers include the atypical Egyptian Plover, Pluvianus aegyptius, which has sometimes been placed in its own family...

Glareolidae is a family of wading birds comprising the pratincole

Pratincole

The Pratincoles or Greywaders are a group of birds which together with the coursers and Egyptian Plover make up the family Glareolidae. They have short legs, very long pointed wings and long forked tails....

s, which have short legs, long pointed wings and long forked tails, and the courser

Courser

The Coursers are a group of birds which together with the pratincoles make up the family Glareolidae. They have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards...

s, which have long legs, short wings and long pointed bills which curve downwards. There are about 17 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Cream-colored Courser Cursorius cursor (A)
• Collared Pratincole
  Collared Pratincole
  The Collared Pratincole or Common Pratincole, Glareola pratincola, is a wader in the pratincole family, Glareolidae.Pratincoles are unusual among waders in that they typically hunt their insect prey on the wing like swallows, although they can also feed on the ground.The Collared Pratincole is a...
  
   Glareola pratincola (A)

Plovers and lapwings

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Charadriidae

Charadriidae

The bird family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings, about 64 to 66 species in all.- Morphology :They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings, but most species of lapwing may have more rounded wings...

The family Charadriidae includes the plover

Plover

Plovers are a widely distributed group of wading birds belonging to the subfamily Charadriinae. There are about 40 species in the subfamily, most of them called "plover" or "dotterel". The closely related lapwing subfamily, Vanellinae, comprises another 20-odd species.Plovers are found throughout...

s, dotterels, and lapwing

Lapwing

Vanellinae are any of various crested plovers, family Charadriidae, noted for its slow, irregular wingbeat in flight and a shrill, wailing cry. Its length is 10-16 inches. They are a subfamily of medium-sized wading birds which also includes the plovers and dotterels. The Vanellinae are...

s. 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, although there are some exceptions. There are about 66 species worldwide and 13 species which occur in Malta.

• Northern Lapwing
  Northern Lapwing
  The Northern Lapwing , also known as the Peewit, Green Plover or just Lapwing, is a bird in the plover family. It is common through temperate Eurasia....
  
   Vanellus vanellus
• Spur-winged Plover
  Spur-winged Plover
  The Spur-winged Lapwing or Spur-winged Plover is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae....
  
   Vanellus spinosus (A)
• Sociable Lapwing
  Sociable Lapwing
  The Sociable Lapwing or Sociable Plover is a wader in the lapwing family of birds.It breeds on open grassland in Russia and Kazakhstan. Three to five eggs are laid in a ground nest...
  
   Vanellus gregarius (A)
• White-tailed Lapwing
  White-tailed Lapwing
  The White-tailed Lapwing or White-tailed Plover is a wader in the lapwing genus.It breeds semi-colonially on inland marshes in Iraq, Iran and southern Russia. Four eggs are laid in a ground nest. The Iraqi and Iranian breeders are mainly residents, but Russian birds migrate south in winter to...
  
   Vanellus leucurus (A)
• Pacific Golden-Plover Pluvialis fulva (A)
• European Golden-Plover Pluvialis apricaria
• Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola
• Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula
• Little Ringed Plover
  Little Ringed Plover
  The Little Ringed Plover is a small plover. Adults have a grey-brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with one black neckband. They have a brown cap, a white forehead, a black mask around the eyes with white above and a short dark bill...
  
   Charadrius dubius
• Snowy Plover
  Snowy Plover
  The Snowy Plover is a small wader in the plover bird family. It breeds in Ecuador, Peru, Chile, the southern and western USA and the Caribbean...
  
   Charadrius alexandrinus
• Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii (A)
• Caspian Plover
  Caspian Plover
  The Caspian Plover is a wader in the plover family of birds.It breeds on open grassland in central Asia, mainly to the north and east of the Caspian Sea. This bird breeds in loose colonies, with three eggs being laid in a ground nest. These birds migrate south in winter to east Africa, usually...
  
   Charadrius asiaticus (A)
• Eurasian Dotterel
  Eurasian Dotterel
  The Eurasian Dotterel , or in Europe just Dotterel, is a small wader in the plover family of birds.It breeds in the Arctic tundra of northern Eurasia, from Norway to eastern Siberia, and on suitable mountain plateaus such as the Scottish highlands and the Alps...
  
   Charadrius morinellus

Sandpipers and allies

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Scolopacidae

Scolopacidae

The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...

The Scolopacidae are a large diverse family of small to medium sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlew

Curlew

The curlews , genus Numenius, are a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. They are one of the most ancient lineages of scolopacid waders, together with the godwits which look similar but have straight bills...

s, godwit

Godwit

The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory wading birds of the genus Limosa. They form large flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter....

s, shanks

Tringa

Tringa is a genus of waders, containing the shanks and tattlers. They are mainly freshwater birds, often with brightly coloured legs as reflected in the English names of six species, as well as the specific names of two of these and the Green Sandpiper. They are typically associated with northern...

, tattler

Tattler (bird)

The tattlers are the two very similar bird species in the shorebird genus Tringa. They formerly had their own genus, Heteroscelus. The old genus name means "different leg" in Greek, referring to the leg scales that differentiate the tattlers from their close relatives, the shanks.The species are:*...

s, woodcock

Woodcock

The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...

s, snipe

Snipe

A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis plumage. The Gallinago snipes have a nearly worldwide distribution, the Lymnocryptes Jack Snipe is restricted to Asia and Europe and the...

s, dowitcher

Dowitcher

The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related...

s and phalarope

Phalarope

A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...

s. The majority of species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Variation in length of legs and bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food. There are about 89 species worldwide and 32 species which occur in Malta.

• Eurasian Woodcock
  Eurasian Woodcock
  The Eurasian Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola, is a medium-small wading bird found in temperate and subarctic Eurasia. It has cryptic camouflage to suit its woodland habitat, with reddish-brown upperparts and buff-coloured underparts...
  
   Scolopax rusticola
• Jack Snipe
  Jack Snipe
  The Jack Snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus is a small stocky wader. It is the smallest snipe, and the only member of the genus Lymnocryptes...
  
   Lymnocryptes minimus
• Great Snipe
  Great Snipe
  The Great Snipe, Gallinago media is a small stocky wader in the genus Gallinago.This bird's breeding habitat is marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in north-eastern Europe including north-western Russia. Great Snipes are migratory, wintering in Africa...
  
   Gallinago media
• Common Snipe
  Common Snipe
  The Common Snipe is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia...
  
   Gallinago gallinago
• Black-tailed Godwit
  Black-tailed Godwit
  The Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carolus Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the Limosa genus, the godwits...
  
   Limosa limosa
• Bar-tailed Godwit
  Bar-tailed Godwit
  The Bar-tailed Godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World...
  
   Limosa lapponica (A)
• Whimbrel
  Whimbrel
  The Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the mostwidespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic North America, Europe and Asia as far south as Scotland....
  
   Numenius phaeopus
• Slender-billed Curlew
  Slender-billed Curlew
  The Slender-billed Curlew, Numenius tenuirostris, is a bird in the wader family Scolopacidae. It breeds in marshes and peat bogs in the taiga of Siberia, and is migratory, formerly wintering in shallow freshwater habitats around the Mediterranean...
  
   Numenius tenuirostris (A)
• Eurasian Curlew
  Eurasian Curlew
  The Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia...
  
   Numenius arquata
• Upland Sandpiper
  Upland Sandpiper
  The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...
  
   Bartramia longicauda (A)
• Terek Sandpiper
  Terek Sandpiper
  The Terek Sandpiper is a small migratory Palearctic wader species, the only member of the genus Xenus.- Description and systematics :...
  
   Xenus cinereus (A)
• Common Sandpiper
  Common Sandpiper
  The Common Sandpiper is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the Spotted Sandpiper , make up the genus Actitis. They are parapatric and replace each other geographically; stray birds of either species may settle down with breeders of the other and hybridize...
  
   Actitis hypoleucos
• Green Sandpiper
  Green Sandpiper
  The Green Sandpiper is a small wader of the Old World. It represents an ancient lineage of the genus Tringa; its only close living relative is the Solitary Sandpiper . They both have brown wings with little light dots and a delicate but contrasting neck and chest pattern...
  
   Tringa ochropus
• Spotted Redshank
  Spotted Redshank
  The Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus, is a wader in the large bird family Scolopacidae. It breeds across northern Scandinavia and northern Asia and migrates south to the Mediterranean, the southern British Isles, France, tropical Africa, and tropical Asia for the winter...
  
   Tringa erythropus
• Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia
• Marsh Sandpiper
  Marsh Sandpiper
  The Marsh Sandpiper, Tringa stagnatilis, is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to central Asia....
  
   Tringa stagnatilis
• Wood Sandpiper
  Wood Sandpiper
  The Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola, is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   Tringa glareola
• Common Redshank
  Common Redshank
  The Common Redshank or simply Redshank is an Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae.- Description and systematics :...
  
   Tringa totanus
• Ruddy Turnstone
  Ruddy Turnstone
  The Ruddy Turnstone is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae...
  
   Arenaria interpres
• Red Knot
  Red Knot
  The Red Knot, Calidris canutus , is a medium sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers, second only to the Great Knot...
  
   Calidris canutus (A)
• Sanderling
  Sanderling
  The Sanderling is a small wader. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia...
  
   Calidris alba
• Little Stint
  Little Stint
  The Little Stint, Calidris minuta , is a very small wader. It breeds in arctic Europe and Asia, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to Africa and south Asia...
  
   Calidris minuta
• Temminck's Stint
  Temminck's Stint
  Temminck's Stint, Calidris or Erolia temminckii, is a small wader.This stint's breeding habitat is bogs and marshes in the taiga of Arctic northern Europe and Asia. It will breed in southern Scandinavia and occasionally Scotland. It has a distinctive hovering display flight. It nests in a scrape...
  
   Calidris temminckii
• Pectoral Sandpiper
  Pectoral Sandpiper
  The Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, is a small wader. It is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in Erolia. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic Curlew Sandpiper , the type species of Erolia...
  
   Calidris melanotos (A)
• Curlew Sandpiper
  Curlew Sandpiper
  The Curlew Sandpiper is a small wader that breeds on the tundra of Arctic Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering mainly in Africa, but also in south and southeast Asia and in Australasia...
  
   Calidris ferruginea
• Dunlin
  Dunlin
  The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
  
   Calidris alpina
• Purple Sandpiper
  Purple Sandpiper
  The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris, Arquatella or Erolia maritima is a small shorebird.Adults have short yellow legs and a medium thin dark bill with a yellow base. The body is dark on top with a slight purplish gloss and mainly white underneath. The breast is smeared with grey and the rump is black...
  
   Calidris maritima (A)
• Broad-billed Sandpiper
  Broad-billed Sandpiper
  The Broad-billed Sandpiper is a small wading bird. It is the only member of the genus Limicola; some have proposed that it should be placed in the genus Erolia with the "stint" sandpipers, but more recent research suggests that it is should rather go into the genus Philomachus with the ruff and...
  
   Limicola falcinellus (A)
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  The Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Tryngites subruficollis, is a small shorebird. It is a calidrid sandpipers and currently considered to be the only member of the genus Tryngites. Indeed, it probably belongs in the genus Calidris itself, or more precisely with the small species thereof which should be...
  
   Tryngites subruficollis (A)
• Ruff Philomachus pugnax
• Red-necked Phalarope
  Red-necked Phalarope
  The Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans....
  
   Phalaropus lobatus (A)
• Red Phalarope
  Red Phalarope
  The Red Phalarope , Phalaropus fulicarius, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia...
  
   Phalaropus fulicarius (A)

Gulls

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Laridae

Laridae is a family of medium to large birds seabirds and includes gull

Gull

Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...

s and kittiwake

Kittiwake

The kittiwakes are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae, the Black-legged Kittiwake and the Red-legged Kittiwake . The epithets "Black-legged" and "Red-legged" are used to distinguish the two species in North America, but in Europe, where R...

s. They are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills and webbed feet. There are about 56 species worldwide and 12 species which occur in Malta.

• Mew Gull
  Common Gull
  The Common Gull or Mew Gull Larus canus is a medium-sized gull which breeds in northern Asia, northern Europe and northwestern North America. It migrates further south in winter...
  
   Larus canus (A)
• Audouin's Gull
  Audouin's Gull
  The Audouin's Gull is a large gull restricted to the Mediterranean and the western coast of Saharan Africa. It breeds on small islands colonially or alone, laying 2-3 eggs on a ground nest...
  
   Larus audouinii
• Glaucous Gull
  Glaucous Gull
  The Glaucous Gull is a large gull which breeds in the Arctic regions of the northern hemisphere and the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans as far south as the British Isles and northernmost states of the USA, also on the Great...
  
   Larus hyperboreus (A)
• Herring Gull Larus argentatus (A)
• Lesser Black-backed Gull
  Lesser Black-backed Gull
  The Lesser Black-backed Gull is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa...
  
   Larus fuscus
• Yellow-legged Gull
  Yellow-legged Gull
  The Yellow-legged Gull , sometimes referred to as Western Yellow-legged Gull , is a large gull of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species...
  
   Larus michahellis
• Great Black-headed Gull
  Great Black-headed Gull
  The Pallas's Gull or Great Black-headed Gull, Ichthyaetus ichthyaetus, is a large gull. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus....
  
   Larus ichthyaetus (A)
• Black-headed Gull
  Black-headed Gull
  The Black-headed Gull is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory, wintering further south, but some birds in the milder westernmost areas of Europe are resident...
  
   Larus ridibundus
• Slender-billed Gull
  Slender-billed Gull
  The Slender-billed Gull, Chroicocephalus genei, is a mid-sized gull which breeds very locally around the Mediterranean and the north of the western Indian Ocean on islands and coastal lagoons. Most of the population is somewhat migratory, wintering further south to north Africa and India, and a...
  
   Larus genei
• Mediterranean Gull
  Mediterranean Gull
  The Mediterranean Gull, Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, is a small gull which breeds almost entirely in Europe, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. There are colonies elsewhere in southern Europe, and this species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in...
  
   Larus melanocephalus
• Little Gull
  Little Gull
  The Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of southern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and the northeast USA. As is the case with many gulls,...
  
   Larus minutus
• Black-legged Kittiwake
  Black-legged Kittiwake
  The Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
  
   Rissa tridactyla (A)

Terns

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Sternidae

Tern

Tern

Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...

s are a group of generally general medium to large sea-birds 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 now known to live in excess of 25 to 30 years. There are about 44 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in Malta.

• Little Tern
  Little Tern
  The Little Tern, Sternula albifrons or Sterna albifrons, is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It was formerly placed into the genus Sterna, which now is restricted to the large white terns . The former North American and Red Sea S. a...
  
   Sternula albifrons
• Gull-billed Tern
  Gull-billed Tern
  The Gull-billed Tern formerly Sterna nilotica , is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae...
  
   Gelochelidon nilotica
• Caspian Tern
  Caspian Tern
  The Caspian Tern is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no subspecies accepted either...
  
   Hydroprogne caspia
• Black Tern
  Black Tern
  The Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage.- Description :...
  
   Chlidonias niger
• White-winged Tern
  White-winged Tern
  The White-winged Tern, or White-winged Black Tern, Chlidonias leucopterus, is a small tern generally found in or near bodies of fresh water across from Southeastern Europe east to Australia....
  
   Chlidonias leucopterus
• Whiskered Tern
  Whiskered Tern
  The Whiskered Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in size and minor plumage details....
  
   Chlidonias hybridus
• Roseate Tern
  Roseate Tern
  The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....
  
   Sterna dougallii (A)
• Common Tern
  Common Tern
  The Common Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in temperate and sub-Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and east and central North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. It is sometimes...
  
   Sterna hirundo (A)
• Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis

Skuas and jaegers

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: 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. There are about 7 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Malta.

• Great Skua
  Great Skua
  The Great Skua, Stercorarius skua, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. In Britain, it is sometimes known by the name Bonxie, a Shetland name of unknown origin.-Description:...
  
   Stercorarius skua
• Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus
• Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus (A)
• Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus (A)

Auks

Order: Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes

Charadriiformes is a diverse order of small to medium-large birds. It includes about 350 species and has members in all parts of the world. Most Charadriiformes live near water and eat invertebrates or other small animals; however, some are pelagic , some occupy deserts and a few are found in thick...

. Family: Alcidae

Alcids are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits, however they are not related to the penguins bnd differ in being able to fly. Auks live on the open sea, only deliberately coming ashore to nest. There are about 23 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Malta.

• Dovekie Alle alle (A)
• Common Murre Uria aalge (A)
• Razorbill
  Razorbill
  The Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
  
   Alca torda (A)
• Atlantic Puffin
  Atlantic Puffin
  The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
  
   Fratercula arctica (A)

Sandgrouse

Order: Pterocliformes. Family: Pteroclidae

Sandgrouse have small, pigeon like heads and necks, but sturdy compact bodies. They have long pointed wings and sometimes tails and a fast direct flight. Flocks fly to watering holes at dawn and dusk. Their legs are feathered down to the toes. There are about 16 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
  Pin-tailed Sandgrouse
  The Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family.The nominate race breeds in Iberia and southern France, and the eastern form P. a. caudacutus is found in northwest Africa, and from southeast Turkey east to Kazakhstan...
  
   Pterocles alchata (A)
• Black-bellied Sandgrouse
  Black-bellied Sandgrouse
  The Black-bellied Sandgrouse is a medium large bird in the sandgrouse family.The nominate race breeds in Iberia, northwest Africa, the Canary Islands, Turkey, Iran, Cyprus and Israel. The eastern form P. o. arenarius is found in Kazakhstan, western China and northern Pakistan...
  
   Pterocles orientalis (A)

Pigeons and doves

Order: Columbiformes

Columbiformes

Columbiformes are an avian order that includes the very widespread and successful doves and pigeons, classified in the family Columbidae, and the extinct Dodo and the Rodrigues Solitaire, long classified as a second family Raphidae. 313 species, found worldwide, comprise the Columbiformes order....

. Family: Columbidae

Pigeons and dove

Dove

Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...

s are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere

Cère

The Cère is a long river in south-western France, left tributary of the Dordogne River. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, near the mountain Plomb du Cantal...

. There are 308 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Malta.

• Rock Pigeon
  Rock Pigeon
  The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon, is a member of the bird family Columbidae . In common usage, this bird is often simply referred to as the "pigeon"....
  
   Columba livia
• Stock Dove Columba oenas
• Common Wood-Pigeon Columba palumbus
• Eurasian Turtle-Dove Streptopelia turtur
• Eurasian Collared-Dove Streptopelia decaocto
• Laughing Dove
  Laughing Dove
  The Laughing Dove is a small pigeon which is a resident breeding bird in the tropics in Africa south of the Sahara, the Middle East and southern Asia east to India. In India it is also known as the Little Brown Dove...
  
   Streptopelia senegalensis (A)

Cuckoos

Order: Cuculiformes

Cuculiformes

The near passerine bird order Cuculiformes traditionally included three families as below:* Musophagidae - turacos and allies* Cuculidae - cuckoos, coucals, roadrunners and anis* Opisthocomidae - Hoatzin...

. Family: Cuculidae

The family Cuculidae includes cuckoo

Cuckoo

The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...

s, roadrunner

Geococcyx

The roadrunners are two species of bird in the genus Geococcyx of the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, native to North and Central America...

s and anis

Ani (bird)

The anis are the three species of near-passerine birds in the genus Crotophaga of the cuckoo family. They are essentially tropical New world birds, although the range of two species just reaches the United States...

. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails and strong legs. Unlike the cuckoo species of the Old World, North American cuckoos are not brood parasites. There are about 141 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Great Spotted Cuckoo
  Great Spotted Cuckoo
  The Great Spotted Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
  
   Clamator glandarius
• Common Cuckoo
  Common Cuckoo
  The Common Cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, Cuculiformes, which includes the roadrunners, the anis and the coucals....
  
   Cuculus canorus

Barn owls

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Tytonidae

Tytonidae

Barn-owls are one of the two families of owls, the other being the true owls, Strigidae. They are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons...

Barn owl

Barn Owl

The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...

s are medium to large sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long strong legs with powerful talons. There are about 16 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Barn Owl
  Barn Owl
  The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
  
   Tyto alba (A)

Typical owls

Order: Strigiformes. Family: Strigidae

Typical owl

Typical owl

True owl or Typical owl are one of the two generally accepted families of Owls, the other being the barn owls . The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy unites the Caprimulgiformes with the owl order; here, the typical owls are a subfamily Strigidae...

s are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk. There are about 199 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Malta.

• European Scops-Owl Otus scops
• Little Owl
  Little Owl
  The Little Owl is a bird which is resident in much of the temperate and warmer parts of Europe, Asia east to Korea, and north Africa. It is not native to Great Britain, but was first introduced in 1842, and is now naturalised there...
  
   Athene noctua (A)
• Long-eared Owl
  Long-eared Owl
  The Long-eared Owl - Asio otus is a species of owl which breeds in Europe, Asia, and North America. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, family Strigidae, which contains most species of owl...
  
   Asio otus
• Short-eared Owl
  Short-eared Owl
  The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...
  
   Asio flammeus

Nightjars

Order: Caprimulgiformes

Caprimulgiformes

The Caprimulgiformes is an order of birds that includes a number of birds with global distribution . They are generally insectivorous and nocturnal...

. Family: Caprimulgidae

Nightjar

Nightjar

Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal or crepuscular birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills. They are sometimes referred to as goatsuckers from the mistaken belief that they suck milk from goats . Some New World species are named as nighthawks...

s are medium-sized nocturnal birds with long wings, short legs and very short bills that usually nest on the ground. Most have small feet, of little use for walking, and long pointed wings. Their soft plumage is camouflaged to resemble bark or leaves. There are about 91 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Malta.

• Red-necked Nightjar
  Red-necked Nightjar
  The Red-necked Nightjar, Caprimulgus ruficollis, is the largest of the nightjars occurring in Europe. It breeds in Iberia and north Africa, and winters in tropical west Africa.-Habitat:...
  
   Caprimulgus ruficollis (A)
• Eurasian Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus
• Egyptian Nightjar
  Egyptian Nightjar
  The Egyptian Nightjar, Caprimulgus aegyptius, is a medium-small nightjar which occurs in south west Asia and north Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It is a late migrant, seldom appearing before the end of April or beginning of May...
  
   Caprimulgus aegyptius (A)

Swifts

Order: Apodiformes

Apodiformes

Traditionally, the bird order Apodiformes contained three living families: the swifts , the tree swifts , and the hummingbirds . In the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, this order is raised to a superorder Apodimorphae in which hummingbirds are separated as a new order, Trochiliformes...

. Family: Apodidae

Swift

Swift

The swifts are a family, Apodidae, of highly aerial birds. They are superficially similar to swallows, but are actually not closely related to passerine species at all; swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes, which they share with hummingbirds...

s are small aerial birds, spending 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 that resemble a crescent or a boomerang. There are about 100 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Malta.

• White-throated Needletail
  White-throated Needletail
  The White-throated Needletail , also known as Needle-tailed Swift or Spine-tailed Swift, is a large swift. It is the fastest-flying bird in flapping flight, being capable of speeds up to 170 km/h ....
  
   Hirundapus caudacutus (A)
• Alpine Swift
  Alpine Swift
  The Alpine Swift syn. is a species of Swift. The bird is superficially similar to a large Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes...
  
   Tachymarptis melba
• Common Swift
  Common Swift
  The Common Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to the Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the separate order Apodiformes...
  
   Apus apus
• Pallid Swift
  Pallid Swift
  The Pallid Swift is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since the swifts are in the order Apodiformes...
  
   Apus pallidus
• Little Swift
  Little Swift
  The Little Swift , is a small bird, superficially similar to a Barn Swallow or House Martin. It is, however, completely unrelated to those passerine species, since swifts are in the order Apodiformes. The resemblances between the groups are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles...
  
   Apus affinis (A)
• White-rumped Swift
  White-rumped Swift
  The White-rumped Swift is a small swift. Although this bird is superficially similar to a House Martin, it is completely unrelated to that passerine species. The resemblances between the swallows and swifts are due to convergent evolution reflecting similar life styles.Swifts have very short legs...
  
   Apus caffer (A)

Kingfishers

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Alcedinidae

Kingfishers are medium-sized birds with large heads, long pointed bills, short legs, and stubby tails. There are about 93 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

Bee-eaters

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Meropidae

The bee-eaters are a group of near passerine

Near passerine

Near passerine or higher land-bird assemblage are terms often given to arboreal birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines due to ecological similarities; the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Garrod All near passerines are land birds...

 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 colorful and have long downturned bills and pointed wings, which give them a swallow-like appearance when seen from afar. There are about 26 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
  Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
  The Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Merops persicus, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in Northern Africa, and the Middle East from eastern Turkey to Kazakhstan and India. It is generally strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, although some populations breed...
  
   Merops persicus (A)
• European Bee-eater
  European Bee-eater
  The European Bee-eater, Merops apiaster, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It breeds in southern Europe and in parts of north Africa and western Asia. It is strongly migratory, wintering in tropical Africa, India and Sri Lanka...
  
   Merops apiaster

Typical rollers

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Coraciidae

Rollers resemble crow

Crow

Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...

s and bee-eater

Bee-eater

The bee-eaters are a group of near-passerine birds in the family Meropidae. Most species are found in Africa and Asia but others occur in southern Europe, Australia, and New Guinea. They are characterised by richly coloured plumage, slender bodies, and usually elongated central tail feathers...

s. 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. There are about 12 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• European Roller
  European Roller
  The European Roller, Coracias garrulus, is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East and Central Asia and Morocco....
  
   Coracias garrulus

Hoopoes

Order: Coraciiformes

Coraciiformes

The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...

. Family: Upupidae

Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head. There are about 2 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops

Woodpeckers and allies

Order: Piciformes

Piciformes

Nine families of largely arboreal birds make up the order Piciformes, the best-known of them being the Picidae, which includes the woodpeckers and close relatives...

. Family: Picidae

Picidae

The woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia and New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions...

Woodpeckers are small to medium sized birds with chisel like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects. Some species have feet with two toes pointing forward, and two backward, while several species have only three toes. Many woodpeckers have the habit of tapping noisily on tree trunks with their beaks. There are about 219 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Eurasian Wryneck
  Eurasian Wryneck
  The Eurasian Wryneck, Jynx torquilla, is a species of wryneck in the family of woodpeckers.This species breeds in temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering in tropical Africa and southern Asia. It is a bird of open woodland and orchards...
  
   Jynx torquilla
• European Green Woodpecker Picus viridis (A)

Larks

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Alaudidae

Larks are small terrestrial birds with often extravagant songs and display flights. Most larks are fairly dull in appearance. Their food is insects and seeds. There are about 96 species worldwide and 13 species which occur in Malta.

• Greater Hoopoe-Lark
  Greater Hoopoe-lark
  The Greater Hoopoe-lark or Hoopoe Lark , is a passerine bird which is a breeding resident of arid, desert and semi-desert regions from the Cape Verde Islands across much of north Africa, through the Arabian peninsula , Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India...
  
   Alaemon alaudipes (A)
• Dupont's Lark
  Dupont's Lark
  The Dupont's Lark is the only lark in the genus Chersophilus.-Description:Like most other larks, Dupont's Lark is an undistinguished looking species on the ground. It is 17–18 cm long, slim, with a long neck, long legs and a fine slightly curved bill...
  
   Chersophilus duponti (A)
• Bar-tailed Lark
  Bar-tailed Lark
  The Bar-tailed Lark is a species of lark in the Alaudidae family.It is found in Afghanistan, Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel and Palestine, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,and...
  
   Ammomanes cincturus (A)
• Calandra Lark
  Calandra Lark
  The Calandra Lark, Melanocorypha calandra, breeds in warm temperate countries around the Mediterranean and eastwards through Turkey into northern Iran and southern Russia...
  
   Melanocorypha calandra
• White-winged Lark
  White-winged Lark
  The White-winged Lark is a species of lark found in central Asia, from the Caucasus east across temperate southern Asia and Kazakhstan. It is partially migratory, with birds tending to move south in winter. The southernmost birds are mainly resident...
  
   Melanocorypha leucoptera (A)
• Black Lark
  Black Lark
  The Black Lark, Melanocorypha yeltoniensis, breeds in southeast Russia and Kazakhstan. It is partially migratory, with birds from the northwest of its breeding range moving south-east to winter further into Russia and neighbouring countries, as far as the northern Black Sea coasts in southern...
  
   Melanocorypha yeltoniensis (A)
• Greater Short-toed Lark
  Greater Short-toed Lark
  The Greater Short-toed Lark or sometimes just Short-toed Lark is a small passerine bird. It breeds in southern Europe, northwest Africa, and across temperate Asia from Turkey and southern Russia to Mongolia. It is sometimes considered conspecific with Calandrella cinerea...
  
   Calandrella brachydactyla
• Lesser Short-toed Lark
  Lesser Short-toed Lark
  The Lesser Short-toed Lark is a small passerine bird. It breeds in Spain, north Africa, also including Turkey eastwards across the semi-deserts of central Asia to Mongolia and China....
  
   Calandrella rufescens (A)
• Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris (A)
• Temminck's Lark
  Temminck's Lark
  The Temminck’s Lark or Temminck’s Horned Lark , breeds across much of north Africa, through northern Saudi Arabia to western Iraq. It is mainly resident, but some populations of this passerine bird are partially migratory, moving further south in winter.This lark is a bird of open stony...
  
   Eremophila bilopha (A)
• Crested Lark
  Crested Lark
  The Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, breeds across most of temperate Eurasia from Portugal to northeast China and eastern India, and in Africa south to Niger...
  
   Galerida cristata (A)
• Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
• Wood Lark Lullula arborea

Swallows and martins

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Hirundinidae

The Hirundinidae family is a group of passerines characterized by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Their adaptations include a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings and short bills with wide gape. The feet are designed for perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. There are about 83 species worldwide and 5 species which occur in Malta.

• Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
• Barn Swallow
  Barn Swallow
  The Barn Swallow is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts, a long, deeply forked tail and curved, pointed wings. It is found in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas...
  
   Hirundo rustica
• Eurasian Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris (A)
• House Martin
  House Martin
  The Common House Martin , sometimes called the Northern House Martin or, particularly in Europe, just House Martin, is a migratory passerine bird of the swallow family which breeds in Europe, north Africa and temperate Asia; and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical Asia...
  
   Delichon urbicum
• Red-rumped Swallow
  Red-rumped Swallow
  The Red-rumped Swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory...
  
   Cecropis daurica

Wagtails and pipits

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Motacillidae

Motacillidae

The Motacillidae are a family of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. There are around 65 species in 6 genera and they include the wagtails, longclaws and pipits. The longclaws are entirely restricted to the Afrotropics, and the wagtails are predominately found in Europe, Africa and...

The Motacillidae are 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. There are about 66 species worldwide and 11 species which occur in Malta.

• Richard's Pipit
  Richard's Pipit
  The Richard's Pipit is a medium-sized passerine bird which breeds in open grasslands in northern Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving to open lowlands in southern Asia. It is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe...
  
   Anthus richardi
• Tawny Pipit
  Tawny Pipit
  The Tawny Pipit, Anthus campestris, is a medium-large passerine bird which breeds in much of temperate Europe and Asia, and northwest Africa. It is a migrant moving in winter to tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent....
  
   Anthus campestris
• Meadow Pipit
  Meadow Pipit
  The Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis, is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated...
  
   Anthus pratensis
• Red-throated Pipit
  Red-throated Pipit
  The Red-throated Pipit is a small passerine bird which breeds in the far north of Europe and Asia, with a foothold in northern Alaska. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa, south and east Asia and west coast USA...
  
   Anthus cervinus
• Olive-backed Pipit
  Olive-backed Pipit
  The Olive-backed Pipit, Anthus hodgsoni, is a small passerine bird of the pipit genus, which breeds across South, north Central and East Asia, as well as in the northeast of European Russia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to southern Asia and Indonesia...
  
   Anthus hodgsoni (A)
• Tree Pipit
  Tree Pipit
  Tree Pipit, Anthus trivialis, is a small passerine bird which breeds across most of Europe and temperate western and central Asia. It is a long-distance migrant moving in winter to Africa and southern Asia....
  
   Anthus trivialis
• Water Pipit
  Water Pipit
  The Water Pipit, Anthus spinoletta, is a small passerine bird which breeds in the mountains of southern Europe and southern temperate Asia across to China. It is a short-distance migrant moving to wet open lowlands such as marshes and flooded fields in winter...
  
   Anthus spinoletta
• Rock Pipit
  Rock Pipit
  The Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus, is a small passerine bird species which breeds on rocky coasts of western Europe northwards from Brittany. It is mainly resident in Ireland, Great Britain and France, in the west of its range, but the Scandinavian and Russian populations migrate south in winter;...
  
   Anthus petrosus
• White Wagtail
  White Wagtail
  "Pied Wagtail" redirects here. For the related African bird, see African Pied Wagtail.The White Wagtail is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa...
  
   Motacilla alba
• Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
• Gray Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

Kinglets

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Regulidae

The kinglets or crests are a small group of birds often included in the Old World warblers, but frequently given family status because they also resemble the titmice

Titmouse

The tits, chickadees, and titmice constitute Paridae, a large family of small passerine birds which occur in the northern hemisphere and Africa...

. There are about 6 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Goldcrest
  Goldcrest
  The Goldcrest, Regulus regulus, is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers gives rise to its English and scientific names, and possibly to it being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore. Several subspecies are recognised across the very...
  
   Regulus regulus
• Common Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus

Waxwings

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Bombycillidae

The waxwing

Waxwing

The waxwings form the genus Bombycilla of passerine birds. According to most authorities, this is the only genus placed in the family Bombycillidae.-Description:Waxwings are characterised by soft silky plumage...

s are a group of passerine birds characterized by soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feathers. In the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings, these tips look like sealing wax, and give the group its name. These are arboreal birds of northern forests. They live on insects in summer and berries in winter. There are 3 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Bohemian Waxwing
  Bohemian Waxwing
  The Bohemian Waxwing is a member of the waxwing family of passerines. A sleek bird, 18–21 cm long with a pointed crest, it travels in large, nomadic groups with a strong, direct flight. It breeds in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and western North America...
  
   Bombycilla garrulus (A)

Dippers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Cinclidae

Dippers are a group of perching birds whose habitat includes aquatic environments in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. They are named for their bobbing or dipping movements. There are 5 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• White-throated Dipper
  White-throated Dipper
  The White-throated Dipper , also known as the European Dipper or just Dipper is an aquatic passerine bird found in Europe, Middle East, Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. The species is divided into several subspecies, based primarily on colour differences, particularly of the pectoral band...
  
   Cinclus cinclus (A)

Wrens

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Troglodytidae

The wren

Wren

The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....

s are mainly small and inconspicuous except for their loud songs. These birds have short wings and a thin down-turned bill. Several species often hold their tails upright. All are insectivorous. There are about 80 species worldwide (of which all but one are New World species) and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Winter Wren
  Winter Wren
  The Winter Wren is a very small North American bird and a member of the mainly New World wren family Troglodytidae. It was once lumped with Troglodytes pacificus of western North America and Troglodytes troglodytes of Eurasia under the name Winter Wren.It breeds in coniferous forests from British...
  
   Troglodytes troglodytes

Accentors

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Prunellidae

The accentors are in the only bird family, Prunellidae, which is completely endemic to the Palearctic

Palearctic

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...

. They are small, fairly drab species superficially similar to sparrow

Sparrow

The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

s. There are about 13 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Alpine Accentor
  Alpine Accentor
  The Alpine Accentor, Prunella collaris, is a small passerine bird found throughout the mountains of southern temperate Europe and Asia at heights above 2000 m. It is mainly resident, wintering more widely at lower latitudes, but some birds wander as rare vagrants as far as Great Britain.It is...
  
   Prunella collaris
• Dunnock
  Dunnock
  The Dunnock, Prunella modularis, is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Europe and into Asia. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family, which otherwise consists of mountain species...
  
   Prunella modularis

Thrushes and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Turdidae

The thrushes

Thrush (bird)

The thrushes, family Turdidae, are a group of passerine birds that occur worldwide.-Characteristics:Thrushes are plump, soft-plumaged, small to medium-sized birds, inhabiting wooded areas, and often feed on the ground or eat small fruit. The smallest thrush may be the Forest Rock-thrush, at and...

 are a group of passerine birds that occur mainly in the Old World. They are plump, soft plumaged, small to medium-sized insectivores or sometimes omnivores, often feeding on the ground. Many have attractive songs. There are about 176 species worldwide and 10 species which occur in Malta.

• Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Monticola saxatilis
• Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius
• Siberian Thrush
  Siberian Thrush
  The Siberian Thrush, Zoothera sibirica, is a member of the Thrush family Turdidae.It breeds in taiga in Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with most birds moving to southeastern Asia during the winter. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. It is very secretive.The Siberian Thrush is similar...
  
   Zoothera sibirica (A)
• Ring Ouzel
  Ring Ouzel
  The Ring Ouzel is a European member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is the mountain equivalent of the closely related Common Blackbird, and breeds in gullies, rocky areas or scree slopes....
  
   Turdus torquatus
• Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula
• Eyebrowed Thrush
  Eyebrowed Thrush
  The Eyebrowed Thrush, Turdus obscurus, is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It breeds in dense coniferous forest and taiga eastwards from Siberia. It is strongly migratory, wintering south to southeast Asia and Indonesia. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.It nests in trees, laying 4-6...
  
   Turdus obscurus (A)
• Fieldfare
  Fieldfare
  The Fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and Asia. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in these...
  
   Turdus pilaris
• Redwing
  Redwing
  The Redwing is a bird in the thrush family Turdidae, native to Europe and Asia, slightly smaller than the related Song Thrush.-Taxonomy:...
  
   Turdus iliacus
• Song Thrush
  Song Thrush
  The Song Thrush is a thrush that breeds across much of Eurasia. It is also known in English dialects as throstle or mavis. It has brown upperparts and black-spotted cream or buff underparts and has three recognised subspecies...
  
   Turdus philomelos
• Mistle Thrush
  Mistle Thrush
  The Mistle Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is found in open woods and cultivated land over all of Europe and much of Asia...
  
   Turdus viscivorus

Cisticolas and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Cisticolidae

Cisticolidae

The Cisticolidae family of small passerine birds is a group of about 110 warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are often included within the Old World warbler family Sylviidae....

The Cisticolidae are warblers found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. They are generally very small birds of drab brown or grey appearance found in open country such as grassland or scrub. There are about 111 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Zitting Cisticola
  Zitting Cisticola
  The Zitting Cisticola or Streaked Fantail Warbler , is widely distributed Old World warbler whose breeding range includes southern Europe, Africa outside the deserts and rainforest, and southern Asia down to northern Australia...
  
   Cisticola juncidis

Old World warblers

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Sylviidae

Sylviidae

Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that was part of an assemblage known as the Old World warblers. The family was formerly a wastebin taxon with over 400 species of bird in over 70 genera. The family was poorly defined with many characteristics shared with other families...

The family Sylviidae is a group of small insectivorous passerine birds. The Sylviidae mainly occur as breeding species, as the common name implies, in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent Africa. Most are of generally undistinguished appearance, but many have distinctive songs. There are about 291 species worldwide and 42 species which occur in Malta.

• Cetti's Warbler
  Cetti's Warbler
  Cetti's Warbler , Cettia cetti, is an Old World warbler which breeds in Europe, northwest Africa and east southern temperate Asia as far as Afghanistan and NW Pakistan. It is the only bush warbler to occur outside Asia...
  
   Cettia cetti
• Grasshopper Warbler
  Grasshopper Warbler
  The Grasshopper Warbler, Locustella naevia, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds across much of temperate Europe and Asia. It is migratory, wintering from northwest Africa to India....
  
   Locustella naevia (A)
• Eurasian River Warbler Locustella fluviatilis (A)
• Savi's Warbler
  Savi's Warbler
  The Savi's Warbler, Locustella luscinioides, is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella. It breeds in southern Europe into temperate western Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
  
   Locustella luscinioides
• Moustached Warbler
  Moustached Warbler
  The Moustached Warbler, Acrocephalus melanopogon, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in southern Europe and southern temperate Asia with a few in north-west Africa. It is partially migratory...
  
   Acrocephalus melanopogon
• Aquatic Warbler
  Aquatic Warbler
  The Aquatic Warbler, Acrocephalus paludicola, is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in west Africa...
  
   Acrocephalus paludicola (A)
• Sedge Warbler
  Sedge Warbler
  The Sedge Warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge Warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa...
  
   Acrocephalus schoenobaenus
• Paddyfield Warbler
  Paddyfield Warbler
  The Paddyfield Warbler, Acrocephalus agricola, is a species of marsh-warbler . It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The Manchurian Reed-warbler was included in A. agricola as a subspecies.It breeds in temperate central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in Pakistan and...
  
   Acrocephalus agricola (A)
• Eurasian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
• Blyth's Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum (A)
• Marsh Warbler
  Marsh Warbler
  The Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and western Asia and winters mainly in south east Africa...
  
   Acrocephalus palustris
• Great Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus
• Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
  Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
  The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warbelrs, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Hippolais ...
  
   Hippolais pallida (A)
• Western Olivaceous Warbler
  Western Olivaceous Warbler
  The Western Olivaceous Warbler, also known as Isabelline Warbler, is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warblers, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Hippolais ...
  
   Hippolais opaca (A)
• Melodious Warbler
  Melodious Warbler
  The Melodious Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais. It breeds in southwest Europe and northwest Africa. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa....
  
   Hippolais polyglotta (A)
• Icterine Warbler
  Icterine Warbler
  The Icterine Warbler is an Old World warbler in the tree warbler genus Hippolais . It breeds in mainland Europe except the southwest, where it is replaced by its western counterpart, Melodious Warbler. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa...
  
   Hippolais icterina
• Willow Warbler
  Willow Warbler
  The Willow Warbler is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia...
  
   Phylloscopus trochilus
• Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
• Western Bonelli's Warbler
  Western Bonelli's Warbler
  Western Bonelli's Warbler is a "warbler" in the leaf warbler genus Phylloscopus. It was formerly regarded as the western subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's Warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, this species is now usually considered to be two species :* Western Bonelli's...
  
   Phylloscopus bonelli
• Eastern Bonelli's Warbler
  Eastern Bonelli's Warbler
  Eastern Bonelli's Warbler is a "warbler" in the leaf warbler genus Phylloscopus. It was formerly regarded as the eastern subspecies of a wider "Bonelli's Warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, this species is now usually considered to be two species :* Western Bonelli's...
  
   Phylloscopus orientalis
• Wood Warbler
  Wood Warbler
  The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...
  
   Phylloscopus sibilatrix
• Dusky Warbler
  Dusky Warbler
  The Dusky Warbler, Phylloscopus fuscatus, is a leaf warbler which breeds in east Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters in southeast Asia. It has a foothold in North America in Alaska, and has also occurred in California...
  
   Phylloscopus fuscatus (A)
• Radde's Warbler
  Radde's Warbler
  Radde's Warbler, Phylloscopus schwarzi, is a leaf warbler which breeds in Siberia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters in southeast Asia....
  
   Phylloscopus schwarzi (A)
• Lemon-rumped Warbler
  Pallas's Warbler
  The Pallas's Warbler or Pallas's Leaf Warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in southern Siberia , northern Mongolia, and northeastern China...
  
   Phylloscopus proregulus (A)
• Yellow-browed Warbler
  Yellow-browed Warbler
  The Yellow-browed Warbler is a leaf warbler which breeds in temperate Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters mainly in tropical southeast Asia, but also in small numbers in western Europe...
  
   Phylloscopus inornatus (A)
• Arctic Warbler
  Arctic Warbler
  The Arctic Warbler, Phylloscopus borealis, is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and northern Asia. It has established a foothold in North America, breeding in Alaska. This warbler is strongly migratory; the entire...
  
   Phylloscopus borealis (A)
• Greenish Warbler
  Greenish Warbler
  The Greenish Warbler and Green Warbler are widespread leaf-warblers throughout their breeding range in northeastern Europe and temperate to subtropical continental Asia. This warbler is strongly migratory and winters in India. It is not uncommon as a spring or early autumn vagrant in Western...
  
   Phylloscopus trochiloides (A)
• Blackcap
  Blackcap
  The Blackcap is a common and widespread sylviid warbler which breeds throughout temperate Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and winters from northwestern Europe south to tropical Africa...
  
   Sylvia atricapilla
• Garden Warbler
  Garden Warbler
  The Garden Warbler, Sylvia borin, is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe into western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in central and southern Africa...
  
   Sylvia borin
• Barred Warbler
  Barred Warbler
  The Barred Warbler is a typical warbler which breeds across temperate regions of central and eastern Europe and western and central Asia. This passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical eastern Africa....
  
   Sylvia nisoria (A)
• Western Orphean Warbler Sylvia hortensis (A)
• Eastern Orphean Warbler
  Eastern Orphean Warbler
  The Eastern Orphean Warbler, Sylvia hortensis crassirostris, is a typical warbler of the genus Sylvia. This species occurs in summer around the Mediterranean, through the Balkans via Turkey, the Caucasus and surrounding regions to Central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa...
  
   Sylvia crassirostris (A)
• Greater Whitethroat Sylvia communis
• Lesser Whitethroat
  Lesser Whitethroat
  The Lesser Whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds in temperate Europe, except the southwest, and in western and central Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, wintering in Africa just south of the Sahara, Arabia and India.Unlike many typical warblers,...
  
   Sylvia curruca
• African Desert Warbler
  African Desert Warbler
  The African Desert Warbler Sylvia deserti is a typical warbler which breeds in the deserts of northwestern Africa south of the Atlas Mountains from southern Morocco east to western Libya and south to Mali and Niger. It winters in the same area, and does not migrate other than short distances...
  
   Sylvia deserti (A)
• Spectacled Warbler
  Spectacled Warbler
  The Spectacled Warbler is a species in the typical warbler genus Sylvia. It breeds in north west Africa, southwest Europe from Iberia to Italy, and then further east on the eastern Mediterranean islands and coastal regions. It is mainly resident in Africa, but other populations migrate to winter...
  
   Sylvia conspicillata
• Tristram's Warbler
  Tristram's Warbler
  The Tristram's Warbler is a species of Old World warbler in the Sylviidae family.It is found in Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, and Western Sahara.Its natural habitat is subtropical dry shrubland.-References:...
  
   Sylvia deserticola (A)
• Dartford Warbler
  Dartford Warbler
  The Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Its breeding range lies west of a line from southern England to the heel of Italy...
  
   Sylvia undata
• Marmora's Warbler
  Marmora's Warbler
  Marmora's Warbler, Sylvia sarda, is a typical warbler, genus Sylvia. It breeds on Mediterranean islands, typically including Corsica and Sardinia. The smaller Balearic Islands subspecies is increasingly given specific status as Balearic Warbler, Sylvia balearica...
  
   Sylvia sarda (A)
• Rueppell's Warbler Sylvia rueppelli
• Subalpine Warbler
  Subalpine Warbler
  The Subalpine Warbler, Sylvia cantillans, is a small typical warbler which breeds in the southernmost areas of Europe and northwest Africa. This small passerine bird is migratory, and winters along the southern edge of the Sahara...
  
   Sylvia cantillans
• Sardinian Warbler
  Sardinian Warbler
  The Sardinian Warbler, Sylvia melanocephala, is a common and widespread typical warbler from the Mediterranean region.-Description:...
  
   Sylvia melanocephala

Old World flycatchers and chats

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Muscicapidae

Old World flycatchers are a large group of small passerine birds native to the Old World. They are mainly small arboreal insectivores. The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. There about 275 species worldwide and 23 species which occur in Malta.

• Spotted Flycatcher
  Spotted Flycatcher
  The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range....
  
   Muscicapa striata
• European Pied Flycatcher
  European Pied Flycatcher
  The Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia. It is migratory, wintering mainly in western Africa. It hybridizes with...
  
   Ficedula hypoleuca
• Collared Flycatcher
  Collared Flycatcher
  The Collared Flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, one of the four species of Western Palearctic black-and-white flycatchers. It breeds in southeast Europe and southwest Asia and is migratory, wintering in sub Sahara Africa...
  
   Ficedula albicollis
• Semicollared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata (A)
• Red-breasted Flycatcher
  Red-breasted Flycatcher
  The Red-breasted Flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in eastern Europe and across central Asia and is migratory, wintering in south Asia. It is a regular passage migrant in western Europe, whereas the Collared Flycatcher which breeds further west is...
  
   Ficedula parva
• European Robin
  European Robin
  The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
  
   Erithacus rubecula
• Thrush Nightingale
  Thrush Nightingale
  The Thrush Nightingale, Luscinia luscinia , is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   Luscinia luscinia (A)
• Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos
• Siberian Rubythroat
  Siberian Rubythroat
  The Siberian Rubythroat, Luscinia calliope, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   Luscinia calliope (A)
• Bluethroat
  Bluethroat
  The Bluethroat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   Luscinia svecica
• Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas galactotes
• Black Redstart
  Black Redstart
  The Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family , but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher .-Description:The Black Redstart is 13–14.5 cm in length and 12–20...
  
   Phoenicurus ochruros
• Common Redstart
  Common Redstart
  The Common Redstart , or often simply Redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus...
  
   Phoenicurus phoenicurus
• Moussier's Redstart
  Moussier's Redstart
  The Moussier's Redstart is a small passerine bird in the genus Phoenicurus , formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now classified as an Old World flycatcher . It is an endemic resident breeder in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa...
  
   Phoenicurus moussieri (A)
• Whinchat
  Whinchat
  The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in Africa.Its scientific name means "small rock-dweller", in reference to its habitat...
  
   Saxicola rubetra
• European Stonechat
  European Stonechat
  The European Stonechat is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a subspecies of the Common Stonechat. Long considered a member of the thrush family Turdidae, genetic evidence has placed it and its relatives in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae.It is 11.5–13 cm long and...
  
   Saxicola rubicola
• White-tailed Wheatear Oenanthe leucopyga (A)
• Black Wheatear
  Black Wheatear
  The Black Wheatear, Oenanthe leucura, is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....
  
   Oenanthe leucura (A)
• Northern Wheatear
  Northern Wheatear
  The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae...
  
   Oenanthe oenanthe
• Pied Wheatear
  Pied Wheatear
  The Pied Wheatear, Oenanthe pleschanka, is a wheatear, a small insectivorous passerine that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....
  
   Oenanthe pleschanka (A)
• Black-eared Wheatear
  Black-eared Wheatear
  The Black-eared Wheatear is a wheatear, a small migratory passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....
  
   Oenanthe hispanica
• Desert Wheatear
  Desert Wheatear
  The Desert Wheatear is a wheatear, a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....
  
   Oenanthe deserti (A)
• Isabelline Wheatear
  Isabelline Wheatear
  The Isabelline Wheatear, Oenanthe isabellina, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to be an Old World flycatcher, Muscicapidae....
  
   Oenanthe isabellina

Tits

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Paridae

The Paridae are mainly small stocky woodland species with short stout bills. Some have crests. They are adaptable birds, with a mixed diet including seeds and insects. There are about 59 species worldwide and 2 species which occur in Malta.

• Great Tit
  Great Tit
  The Great Tit is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central and Northern Asia, and parts of North Africa in any sort of woodland. It is generally resident, and most Great Tits do not migrate except in extremely...
  
   Parus major (A)
• Blue Tit
  Blue Tit
  The Blue Tit is a 10.5 to 12 cm long passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and western Asia in deciduous or mixed woodlands...
  
   Cyanistes caeruleus (A)

Wallcreeper

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Tichodromidae

The Wallcreeper is a small bird with stunning crimson, grey and black plumage, related to the nuthatch

Nuthatch

The nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...

 family.

• Wallcreeper
  Wallcreeper
  The Wallcreeper is a small passerine bird found throughout the high mountains of Eurasia. It is the only member of the genus Tichodroma.-Taxonomy and etymology:...
  
   Tichodroma muraria (A)

Penduline tits

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Remizidae

The penduline tits are a group of small passerine birds, related to the true tits. They are insectivores. There are about 13 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Eurasian Penduline-Tit Remiz pendulinus (A)

Old World orioles

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Oriolidae

The Old World Orioles are colourful passerine birds. They are not related to the New World orioles. There are 29 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus

Shrikes

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Laniidae

Shrikes are passerine birds known for their habit of catching other birds and small animals and impaling the uneaten portions of their bodies on thorns. A typical shrike's beak is hooked, like a bird of prey. There are about 30 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Malta.

• Red-backed Shrike
  Red-backed Shrike
  The Red-backed Shrike is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae.English common names include 'Wariangle' and 'worrier'.-Description:...
  
   Lanius collurio
• Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor
• Southern Gray Shrike Lanius meridionalis (A)
• Lesser Gray Shrike Lanius minor
• Masked Shrike
  Masked Shrike
  The Masked Shrike, Lanius nubicus, is a member of the shrike family Laniidae. It breeds in southeastern Europe and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, with a separate population in western Iran. It is a common species in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel and Syria...
  
   Lanius nubicus (A)
• Woodchat Shrike
  Woodchat Shrike
  The Woodchat Shrike is a member of the shrike family Laniidae.The Woodchat breeds in southern Europe, the Middle East and northwest Africa, and winters in tropical Africa. It breeds in open cultivated country, preferably with orchard trees and some bare or sandy ground.This migratory medium-sized...
  
   Lanius senator

Crows, jays, ravens and magpies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Corvidae

Corvidae

Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...

The Corvidae family includes crow

Crow

Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...

s, raven

Raven

Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

s, jay

Jay

The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

s, chough

Chough

The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...

s, magpie

Magpie

Magpies are passerine birds of the crow family, Corvidae.In Europe, "magpie" is often used by English speakers as a synonym for the European Magpie, as there are no other magpies in Europe outside Iberia...

s, treepie

Treepie

The treepies comprise four closely related genera of long-tailed passerine birds in the family Corvidae...

s, nutcracker

Nutcracker (bird)

The nutcrackers are a genus of two species of passerine bird, in the family Corvidae, related to the jays and crows. One, the Spotted Nutcracker , occurs in Europe and Asia, the other, Clark's Nutcracker , in western North America.The most important food resources for both these species are the...

s, and ground jay

Ground jay

The ground jays or ground choughs belong to a distinct group of the passerine order of birds in the genus Podoces of the crow family Corvidae...

s. Corvids are above average in size for the bird order Passeriformes. Some of the larger species show high levels of learning behavior. There are about 119 species worldwide and 6 species which occur in Malta.

• Eurasian Jay
  Eurasian Jay
  The Eurasian Jay is a species of bird occurring over a vast region from Western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian Subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia...
  
   Garrulus glandarius (A)
• Eurasian Jackdaw Corvus monedula (A)
• Rook
  Rook (bird)
  The Rook is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering"....
  
   Corvus frugilegus (A)
• Carrion Crow
  Carrion Crow
  The Carrion Crow is a member of the passerine order of birds and the crow family which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.-Taxonomy:...
  
   Corvus corone (A)
• Hooded Crow
  Hooded Crow
  The Hooded Crow is a Eurasian bird species in the crow genus. Widely distributed, it is also known locally as Scotch Crow, Danish Crow, and Corbie or Grey Crow in Ireland, which is what its Welsh name, Brân Lwyd, translates as...
  
   Corvus cornix (A)
• Common Raven
  Common Raven
  The Common Raven , also known as the Northern Raven, is a large, all-black passerine bird. Found across the northern hemisphere, it is the most widely distributed of all corvids...
  
   Corvus corax (A)

Starlings

Order: Passeriformes. Family: 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. There are about 114 species worldwide and 3 species which occur in Malta.

• Rosy Starling
  Rosy Starling
  The Rosy Starling or Rose-coloured Starling is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It is sometimes given its own, monotypic genus Pastor...
  
   Pastor roseus (A)
• European Starling
  European Starling
  The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
  
   Sturnus vulgaris
• Spotless Starling
  Spotless Starling
  The Spotless Starling Sturnus unicolor is a passerine bird in the starling family Sturnidae. It is closely related to the Common Starling S. vulgaris, but has a much more restricted range, confined to the Iberian Peninsula, northwest Africa, southernmost France, and on the islands of Sicily,...
  
   Sturnus unicolor (A)

Sparrows

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Passeridae

Sparrow

Sparrow

The sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a genus of the family, Passer...

s are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small, plump, brown or grey birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects. There are about 38 species worldwide and 4 species which occur in Malta.

• Spanish Sparrow
  Spanish Sparrow
  The Spanish Sparrow or Willow Sparrow is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and southwest and central Asia...
  
   Passer hispaniolensis
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
• Rock Petronia Petronia petronia (A)
• White-winged Snowfinch
  White-winged Snowfinch
  The White-winged Snowfinch , or just Snowfinch, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is a sparrow rather than a true finch.-Distribution and habitat:...
  
   Montifringilla nivalis (A)

Vireos

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Vireonidae

The vireo

Vireo

The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...

s are a group of small to medium sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically greenish in colour and resemble wood warbler

Wood Warbler

The Wood Warbler is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe, and just into the extreme west of Asia in the southern Ural Mountains...

s apart from their heavier bills. There are about 52 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Red-eyed Vireo
  Red-eyed Vireo
  The Red-eyed Vireo, Vireo olivaceus, is a small American songbird, 13–14 cm in length. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers...
  
   Vireo olivaceus (A)

Finches

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Fringillidae

Finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es are seed-eating passerine birds, that are small to moderately large and have a strong beak, usually conical and in some species very large. All have 12 tail feathers and 9 primaries. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. There are about 176 species worldwide and 13 species which occur in Malta.

• Chaffinch
  Chaffinch
  The Chaffinch , also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Description :...
  
   Fringilla coelebs
• Brambling
  Brambling
  The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.- Etymology :The common English name is probably derived from the German "brâma", meaning bramble or a thorny bush. It has also been called the Cock o' the North and the Mountain Finch.- Description...
  
   Fringilla montifringilla
• Common Rosefinch
  Common Rosefinch
  The Common Rosefinch is the most widespread and common rosefinch of Europe, where it has spread westward from Asia in recent decades: it has even been recorded breeding in England once...
  
   Carpodacus erythrinus (A)
• Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra (A)
• European Greenfinch
  European Greenfinch
  The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north...
  
   Carduelis chloris
• Common Redpoll
  Common Redpoll
  The Common Redpoll is a species in the finch family. It breeds somewhat further south than the Arctic Redpoll, also in habitats with thickets or shrubs. Nominate C. f. flammea breeds across the northern parts of North America and Eurasia. There is also an Icelandic subspecies, Icelandic Redpoll...
  
   Carduelis flammea (A)
• Eurasian Siskin
  Eurasian Siskin
  The Eurasian Siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European Siskin, Common Siskin or just Siskin. Other names include Black-headed Goldfinch, barley bird and aberdevine. It is very common throughout Europe and Asia...
  
   Carduelis spinus
• European Goldfinch
  European Goldfinch
  The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...
  
   Carduelis carduelis
• Eurasian Linnet Carduelis cannabina
• European Serin
  European Serin
  The European Serin, or just Serin is the smallest European species of the family of finches and is closely related to the Canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds.-Description:...
  
   Serinus serinus
• Eurasian Bullfinch
  Eurasian Bullfinch
  The Bullfinch, Common Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as Bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
  
   Pyrrhula pyrrhula (A)
• Hawfinch
  Hawfinch
  The Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes, is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Its closest living relatives are the Evening Grosbeak from North America and the Hooded Grosbeak from Central America especially Mexico.This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia...
  
   Coccothraustes coccothraustes
• Trumpeter Finch
  Trumpeter Finch
  The Trumpeter Finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the Canary Islands, across north Africa, and in the Middle East and into central Asia. There is a small European population in southern Spain...
  
   Bucanetes githaginea

Buntings and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Emberizidae

Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...

The emberizids are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as Sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns. There are about 329 species worldwide and 16 species which occur in Malta.

• Yellowhammer
  Yellowhammer
  The Yellowhammer, Emberiza citrinella, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae. It is common in all sorts of open areas with some scrub or trees and form small flocks in winter....
  
   Emberiza citrinella (A)
• Pine Bunting
  Pine Bunting
  The Pine Bunting, Emberiza leucocephalos, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group most modern authors now separate from the finches, Fringillidae.-Breeding and habitat:...
  
   Emberiza leucocephalos (A)
• Cirl Bunting
  Cirl Bunting
  The Cirl Bunting , Emberiza cirlus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   Emberiza cirlus (A)
• Rock Bunting
  Rock Bunting
  The Rock Bunting, Emberiza cia, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.- Range :...
  
   Emberiza cia (A)
• Ortolan Bunting
  Ortolan Bunting
  The Ortolan, or Ortolan Bunting, Emberiza hortulana, is a bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
  
   Emberiza hortulana
• Cretzschmar's Bunting
  Cretzschmar's Bunting
  The Cretzschmar's Bunting, Emberiza caesia, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   Emberiza caesia (A)
• Little Bunting
  Little Bunting
  The Little Bunting, Emberiza pusilla, is a passerine bird. It belongs to the bunting and American sparrow family , a group separated by most modern authors from the true finches .-Description:...
  
   Emberiza pusilla (A)
• Rustic Bunting
  Rustic Bunting
  The Rustic Bunting, Emberiza rustica, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   Emberiza rustica (A)
• Yellow-breasted Bunting
  Yellow-breasted Bunting
  The Yellow-breasted Bunting, Emberiza aureola, is an Eurasian passerine bird in the bunting family .This bird is similar in size to a Reed Bunting, but longer-billed...
  
   Emberiza aureola (A)
• Chestnut Bunting
  Chestnut Bunting
  The Chestnut Bunting is a passerine bird of eastern Asia which belongs to the genus Emberiza in the bunting family Emberizidae....
  
   Emberiza rutila (A)
• Black-headed Bunting
  Black-headed Bunting
  The Black-headed Bunting, Emberiza melanocephala, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   Emberiza melanocephala (A)
• Reed Bunting
  Reed Bunting
  The Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae....
  
   Emberiza schoeniclus
• Corn Bunting
  Corn Bunting
  The Corn Bunting, Miliaria calandra, is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae...
  
   Emberiza calandra
• White-throated Sparrow
  White-throated Sparrow
  The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae.-Description:The White-throated Sparrow is a passerine bird of the American sparrow family Emberizidae...
  
   Zonotrichia albicollis (A)
• Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus (A)
• Snow Bunting
  Snow Bunting
  The Snow Bunting , sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere...
  
   Plectrophenax nivalis (A)

Saltators, cardinals and allies

Order: Passeriformes. Family: Cardinalidae

The cardinals are a family of passerine birds that are robust, seed-eating birds, with strong bills. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinct plumages. There are about 43 species worldwide and 1 species which occurs in Malta.

• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  Rose-breasted Grosbeak
  The Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Pheucticus ludovicianus, is a large seed-eating songbird in the cardinal family . It breeds in cool-temperate North America, migrating to tropical America in winter.-Description:...
  
  Pheucticus ludovicianus (A)