Bahrain is home to over 300 avian species, many passing through the nation during the autumn and winter. Despite being a mostly arid nation, there are multiple wetlands where waterbirds like cormorants, ducks, and geese live.
The White-eared Bulbul is the national bird of Bahrain. Also, a lot of birds breed in the country’s wetlands, including the Socotra Cormorant.
List of Birds Found in Bahrain
Native Birds
Barn-owls
Bee-eaters
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
- European Bee-eater
Bulbuls
Bustards
Cisticolas and Allies
- Delicate Prinia
- Graceful Prinia
Cormorants and Shags
- Great Cormorant
- Socotra Cormorant
Crab Plover
Crows, Jays, and Magpies
Cuckoos
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
Falcons and Caracaras
- Eurasian Hobby
- Eurasian Kestrel
- Lesser Kestrel
- Peregrine Falcon
- Saker Falcon
- Sooty Falcon
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Eurasian Siskin
- Trumpeter Finch
Flamingos
Grassbirds and Allies
Grebes
- Eared Grebe
- Great Crested Grebe
- Little Grebe
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Armenian Gull
- Black-headed Gull
- Bridled Tern
- Caspian Gull
- Caspian Tern
- Common Gull
- Common Tern
- Great Crested Tern
- Gull-billed Tern
- Herring Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Lesser Crested Tern
- Little Tern
- Pallas’s Gull
- Sandwich Tern
- Saunders’s Tern
- Slender-billed Gull
- Whiskered Tern
- White-cheeked Tern
- White-winged Tern
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Black Kite
- Booted Eagle
- Common Buzzard
- Egyptian Vulture
- Eurasian Marsh-harrier
- Eurasian Sparrowhawk
- European Honey-buzzard
- Greater Spotted Eagle
- Long-legged Buzzard
- Pallid Harrier
- Short-toed Snake-eagle
- Steppe Eagle
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Black-crowned Night-heron
- Cattle Egret
- Gray Heron
- Great Bittern
- Great Egret
- Little Bittern
- Little Egret
- Purple Heron
- Squacco Heron
- Striated Heron
- Western Reef-heron
Hoopoes
Hypocolius
Ibises and Spoonbills
- African Sacred Ibis
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Glossy Ibis
Kingfishers
- Common Kingfisher
- Pied Kingfisher
Larks
- Bar-tailed Lark
- Bimaculated Lark
- Black-crowned Sparrow-lark
- Crested Lark
- Desert Lark
- Eurasian Skylark
- Greater Hoopoe-lark
- Greater Short-toed Lark
- Mediterranean Short-toed Lark
- Oriental Skylark
- Thick-billed Lark
- Turkestan Short-toed Lark
Leaf Warblers
- Common Chiffchaff
- Willow Warbler
- Wood Warbler
Nightjars and Allies
- Egyptian Nightjar
- Eurasian Nightjar
Old World Buntings
- Corn Bunting
- Ortolan Bunting
Old World Flycatchers
- Black Redstart
- Blue Rock-thrush
- Bluethroat
- Common Nightingale
- Common Redstart
- Desert Wheatear
- Eastern Black-eared Wheatear
- European Robin
- European Stonechat
- Isabelline Wheatear
- Kurdish Wheatear
- Mourning Wheatear
- Northern Wheatear
- Persian Wheatear
- Pied Wheatear
- Red-breasted Flycatcher
- Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush
- Rufous-tailed Scrub-robin
- Semicollared Flycatcher
- Siberian Stonechat
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Thrush Nightingale
- Western Black-eared Wheatear
- Whinchat
- White-throated Robin
Old World Orioles
Old World Parrots
Old World Sparrows
- House Sparrow
- Pale Rockfinch
Osprey
Owls
Oystercatchers
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies
- Common Quail
- Chukar
- Philby’s Partridge
- Gray Francolin
Pigeons and Doves
- Eurasian Collared-dove
- European Turtle-dove
- Laughing Dove
- Namaqua Dove
- Rock Pigeon
Plovers and Lapwings
- Black-bellied Plover
- Caspian Plover
- Common Ringed Plover
- Greater Sand-plover
- Kentish Plover
- Lesser Sand-plover
- Little Ringed Plover
- Northern Lapwing
- Pacific Golden-plover
- White-tailed Lapwing
Pratincoles and Coursers
- Collared Pratincole
- Cream-colored Courser
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Baillon’s Crake
- Eurasian Coot
- Eurasian Moorhen
- Little Crake
- Spotted Crake
- Water Rail
Reed Warblers and Allies
- Clamorous Reed Warbler
- Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
- Eurasian Reed Warbler
- Great Reed Warbler
- Marsh Warbler
- Sedge Warbler
- Upcher’s Warbler
Rollers
Sandgrouse
Sandpipers and Allies
- Bar-tailed Godwit
- Black-tailed Godwit
- Broad-billed Sandpiper
- Common Greenshank
- Common Redshank
- Common Sandpiper
- Common Snipe
- Curlew Sandpiper
- Dunlin
- Eurasian Curlew
- Green Sandpiper
- Jack Snipe
- Little Stint
- Marsh Sandpiper
- Pin-tailed Snipe
- Red-necked Phalarope
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Ruff
- Sanderling
- Spotted Redshank
- Temminck’s Stint
- Terek Sandpiper
- Whimbrel
- Wood Sandpiper
Shrikes
- Great Gray Shrike
- Isabelline Shrike
- Lesser Gray Shrike
- Masked Shrike
- Red-backed Shrike
- Red-tailed Shrike
- Woodchat Shrike
Skuas and Jaegers
Starlings
Stilts and Avocets
- Black-winged Stilt
- Pied Avocet
Storks
Sunbirds and Spiderhunters
Swallows
- Bank Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Common House-martin
- Eurasian Crag-martin
- Red-rumped Swallow
Swifts
- Alpine Swift
- Common Swift
- Pallid Swift
Sylviid Warblers, Parrotbills, and Allies
- Asian Desert Warbler
- Barred Warbler
- Eastern Orphean Warbler
- Eurasian Blackcap
- Garden Warbler
- Greater Whitethroat
- Lesser Whitethroat
- Menetries’s Warbler
Thick-knees
Thrushes and Allies
Wagtails and Pipits
- Citrine Wagtail
- Gray Wagtail
- Meadow Pipit
- Red-throated Pipit
- Richard’s Pipit
- Tawny Pipit
- Tree Pipit
- Water Pipit
- Western Yellow Wagtail
- White Wagtail
Waxbills and Allies
- African Silverbill
- Indian Silverbill
Woodpeckers
Non-native Birds
Bee-eaters
Bulbuls
Cranes
Cuckoos
- Asian Koel
- Great Spotted Cuckoo
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
Falcons and Caracaras
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Brambling
- Common Chaffinch
- Common Rosefinch
- Eurasian Linnet
- European Goldfinch
- Mongolian Finch
Grassbirds and Allies
- River Warbler
- Savi’s Warbler
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Black Tern
- Little Gull
- Roseate Tern
- Sooty Gull
- Sooty Tern
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites
- Black-winged Kite
- Hen Harrier
- Montagu’s Harrier
- Oriental Honey-buzzard
Kingfishers
- White-throated Kingfisher
Larks
Leaf Warblers
- Greenish Warbler
- Green Warbler
- Hume’s Warbler
- Plain Leaf Warbler
- Yellow-browed Warbler
Old World Buntings
- Black-headed Bunting
- Cinereous Bunting
- Reed Bunting
- Yellow-Breasted Bunting
- Yellowhammer
Old World Flycatchers
- Black Scrub-robin
- Collared Flycatcher
- Finsch’s Wheatear
- Hooded Wheatear
- Hume’s Wheatear
- Rufous-backed Redstart
- White-crowned Wheatear
Old World Parrots
Old World Sparrows
- Dead Sea Sparrow
- Spanish Sparrow
- Yellow-throated Sparrow
Owls
Pelicans
- Dalmatian Pelican
- Great White Pelican
Penduline-tits
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies
Pigeons and Doves
- African Collared-dove
- Stock Dove
Plovers and Lapwings
- Eurasian Dotterel
- European Golden-plover
- Kittlitz’s Plover
- Red-wattled Lapwing
- Sociable Lapwing
- Spur-winged Plover
Pratincoles and Coursers
- Black-winged Pratincole
- Small Pratincole
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Corn Crake
- Gray-headed Swamphen
Reed Warblers and Allies
- Basra Reed Warbler
- Blyth’s Reed Warbler
- Icterine Warbler
- Moustached Warbler
- Paddyfield Warbler
Rollers
Sandgrouse
Sandpipers and Allies
- Eurasian Woodcock
- Great Knot
- Great Snipe
- Long-toed Stint
- Red Knot
Shrikes
Skuas and Jaegers
Starlings
Storks
Swifts
Thrushes and Allies
- Black-throated Thrush
- Eurasian Blackbird
- Eyebrowed Thrush
- Fieldfare
- Mistle Thrush
- Redwing
- Ring Ouzel
Tropicbirds
Wagtails and Pipits
- American Pipit
- Blyth’s Pipit
- Olive-backed Pipit
Waxbills and Allies
Weavers and Allies
- Red Fody
- Rüppell’s Weaver
- Southern Red Bishop
- Streaked Weaver
- Yellow-crowned Bishop
There are several places where enthusiasts can see birds in Bahrain, including the Hawar Islands, an internationally recognized site for migratory birds.
