Situated in southeastern Europe, surrounded by Italy, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Greece, Albania is a nation in the Balkans with the Adriatic Sea bordering it. It is famous for its biodiversity, with hundreds of bird species living in the country’s wide variety of habitats, including mountains, estuaries, and wetlands. Even the nation’s flag has an image of a double-headed eagle on it. Photographers and other enthusiasts regularly travel from October to February to see the different birds of Albania, including the elusive Dalmatian Pelican.
Albania’s national bird is the Golden Eagle, though its population is currently in decline. Other at-risk species include the Long-legged Buzzard and the Egyptian Vulture.
List of Birds Found in Albania
Native Birds
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies
- Common Quail
- Gray Partridge
- Rock Patridge
- Western Capercaillie
- Black Grouse
- Hazel Grouse
Flamingos
Grebes
- Eared Grebe
- Great Crested Grebe
- Little Grebe
- Red-necked Grebe
- Horned Grebe
Pigeons and Doves
- Common Wood-pigeon
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- European Turtle-dove
- Rock Pigeon
- Stock Dove
Bustards
- Great Bustard
- Little Bustard
Cuckoos
- Common Cuckoo
- Great Spotted Cuckoo
Nightjars and Allies
Swifts
- Alpine Swift
- Common Swift
- Pallid Swift
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Baillon’s Crake
- Corn Crake
- Eurasian Coot
- Eurasian Moorhen
- Little Crake
- Spotted Crake
- Water Rail
Cranes
Thick-knees
Stilts and Avocets
- Black-winged Stilt
- Pied Avocet
Oystercatchers
Plovers and Lapwings
- Black-bellied Plover
- Common Ringed Plover
- Kentish Plover
- Little Ringed Plover
- Northern Lapwing
- European Golden-plover
- Eurasian Dotterel
Sandpipers and Allies
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Common Greenshank
- Common Redshank
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Snipe
- Curlew Sandpiper
- Dunlin
- Eurasian Curlew
- Eurasian Woodcock
- Green Sandpiper
- Jack Snipe
- Little Stint
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Ruff
- Sanderling
- Spotted Redshank
- Temminck’s Stint
- Terek Sandpiper
- Whimbrel
- Wood Sandpiper
- Red Knot
- Broad-billed Sandpiper
- Great Snipe
- Marsh Sandpiper
Pratincoles and Coursers
Skuas and Jaegers
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Slender-billed Gull
- Black-headed Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Little Tern
- Gull-billed Tern
- Caspian Tern
- White-winged Tern
- Common Tern
- Little Gull
- Mediterranean Gull
- Audouin’s Gull
- Common Gull
- Herring Gull
- Yellow-legged Gull
- Caspian Gull
- Great Black-backed Gull
- Black Tern
- Whiskered Tern
- Sandwich Tern
Loons
Northern Storm-petrels
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Cory’s Shearwater
- Yelkouan Shearwater
Storks
Cormorants and Shags
- Great Cormorant
- Pygmy Cormorant
- European Shag
Boobies and Gannets
Pelicans
- Dalmatian Pelican
- Great White Pelican
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Great Bittern
- Little Bittern
- Gray Heron
- Purple Heron
- Great Egret
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Little Egret
- Cattle Egret
- Squacco Heron
Ibises and Spoonbills
- Glossy Ibis
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Northern Bald Ibis
Osprey
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Bearded Vulture
- Black Kite
- Booted Eagle
- Cinereous Vulture
- Common Buzzard
- Egyptian Vulture
- Eurasian Griffon
- Eurasian Marsh-harrier
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk
- Golden Eagle
- Greater Spotted Eagle
- Hen Harrier
- Imperial Eagle
- Long-legged Buzzard
- Montagu’s Harrier
- Northern Goshawk
- Pallid Harrier
- Rough-legged Hawk
- Short-toed Snake-eagle
- White-tailed Eagle
- European Honey-buzzard
- Lesser Spotted Eagle
- Bonelli’s Eagle
- Levant Sparrowhawk
- Red Kite
Barn-owls
Owls
Hoopoes
Kingfishers
Bee-eaters
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
- European Bee-eater
Rollers
Woodpeckers
- Eurasian Wryneck
- Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker
- Middle Spotted Woodpecker
- White-backed Woodpecker
- Great-spotted Woodpecker
- Syrian Woodpecker
- Lesser-spotted Woodpecker
- Gray-headed Woodpecker
- Eurasian Green Woodpecker
- Black Woodpecker
Falcons and Caracaras
- Eurasian Hobby
- Eurasian Kestrel
- Lesser Kestrel
- Merlin
- Peregrine Falcon
- Red-footed Falcon
- Saker Falcon
- Eleonar’s Falcon
- Lanner’s Falcon
Old World Orioles
Shrikes
- Great Gray Shrike
- Lesser Gray Shrike
- Red-backed Shrike
- Masked Shrike
- Woodchat Shrike
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
- Common Raven
- Eurasian Jackdaw
- Eurasian Magpie
- Eurasian Nutcracker
- Hooded Crow
- Red-billed Chough
- Rook
- Yellow-billed Chough
- Eurasian Jay
Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice
- Coal Tit
- Great Tit
- Crested Tit
- Sombre Tit
- Marsh Tit
- Willow Tit
- Eurasian Blue Tit
Penduline-tits
Larks
- Calandra Lark
- Crested Lark
- Eurasian Skylark
- Greater Short-toed Lark
- Horned Lark
- Wood Lark
Bearded Reedling
Cisticolas and Allies
Reed Warblers and Allies
- Eurasian Reed Warbler
- Great Reed Warbler
- Moustached Warbler
- Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
- Olive-tree Warbler
- Melodious Warbler
- Icterine Warbler
- Aquatic Warbler
- Sedge Warbler
Grassbirds and Allies
Swallows
- Bank Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Common House-martin
- Eurasian Crag-martin
- Red-rumped Swallow
Leaf Warblers
- Common Chiffchaff
- Willow Warbler
- Wood Warbler
- Western Bonelli’s Warbler
- Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler
Bush Warblers and Allies
Long-tailed Tits
Sylviid Warblers, Parrotbills, and Allies
- Greater Whitethroat
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Eurasian Blackcap
- Garden Warbler
- Barred Warbler
- Western Orphean Warbler
- Eastern Orphean Warbler
- Rüppell’s Warbler
- Eastern Subalpine Warbler
- Sardinian Warbler
- Spectacled Warbler
- Dartford Warbler
Kinglets
- Common Firecrest
- Goldcrest
Wallcreeper
Nuthatches
- Eurasian Nuthatch
- Western Rock Nuthatch
Treecreepers
- Eurasian Treecreeper
- Short-toed Treecreeper
Wrens
Dippers
Starlings
Thrushes and Allies
- Eurasian Blackbird
- Mistle Thrush
- Redwing
- Song Thrush
- Fieldfare
- Ring Ouzel
Old World Flycatchers
- Black Redstart
- Blue Rock-thrush
- Common Nightingale
- Common Redstart
- European Pied Flycatcher
- Northern Wheatear
- Red-breasted Flycatcher
- Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush
- Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin
- Spotted Flycatcher
- European Robin
- Semicollared Flycatcher
- Collared Flycatcher
- Whinchat
- European Stonechat
- Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
Waxwings
Accentors
Old World Sparrows
- Eurasian Tree Sparrow
- House Sparrow
- Rock Sparrow
- Spanish Sparrow
- White-winged Snowfinch
Wagtails and Pipits
- Citrine Wagtail
- Gray Wagtail
- Red-throated Pipit
- Richard’s Pipit
- Tawny Pipit
- Tree Pipit
- Water Pipit
- Western Yellow Wagtail
- White Wagtail
- Meadow Pipit
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Brambling
- Common Chaffinch
- Eurasian Bullfinch
- Eurasian Linnet
- European Goldfinch
- European Greenfinch
- Hawfinch
- Red Crossbill
- European Serin
- Eurasian Siskin
Old World Buntings
- Corn Bunting
- Ortolan Bunting
- Pine Bunting
- Reed Bunting
- Rock Bunting
- Black-headed Bunting
- Cirl Bunting
- Yellowhammer
- Cretzschmar’s Bunting
Non-native Birds
- Pacific Golden-plover
- Thrush Nightingale
- Velvet Scoter
- Pink-footed Goose
- Red-breasted Goose
- Common Scoter
- Ring-necked Pheasant
- Slender-billed Curlew
- Semipalmated Sandpiper
- Black-legged Kittiwake
- Pallas’s Leaf Warbler
- Dusky Warbler
- Bluethroat
- Isabelline Wheatear
- Common Redpoll
- Little Bunting
Birdwatchers love visiting the lakes and lagoons of Albania, some of the best places to see these birds in their natural habitats. Popular sites include Karavasta Lagoon, Narta Lagoon, and Shkodra Lake.
