what country has the most bird species

The Beat Writer Posting Calendar is as follows: Monday at 7 AM: Kai Pflug; Tuesday at 7 AM: Donna Schulman; Wednesday at 7 AM: Patrick O’Donnell; Thursday at 7 AM: Paul Lewis; Friday at 7 AM: David Tomlinson; Saturday at 7 AM: Luca Feuerriegel (biweekly); Sunday at 7 AM: Hannah Buschert (monthly) All times are Eastern US Jason Crotty, Mark Gamin, Angela Minor, Clare, Morton Dragan Simic, and Aleksandar Topalov are contributors at any time.

The bird figures were compiled from avibase.bsc-eoc.org in late November 2018, following the Clements list. What I used for a country basis were tropical belt countries ranging from 1000 to 99,999 sq km of total area (land and water surface) and divided their number of birds by the surface area. Why 99,999? I had to define a small country somehow and had to stop somewhere. And why 1000? I presumed that countries smaller than that would have too few birds to be taken into consideration.

Here we are talking about far less known destinations. Of them, seven are island states or portions of larger islands, such as Brunei. Not surprisingly, most are underdeveloped. Unexpectedly, two of them—Trinidad and Tobago, home of the renowned Asa Wright Nature Centre (cover photo) and The Gambia, which offers knowledgeable local guides and affordable packages for first-time African birders from Western Europe—have already established themselves as well-known birding destinations that draw large numbers of birdwatchers.

Located in the Gulf of Guinea (the “armpit” of Africa), Sao Tome and Principe doesn’t only have a decent number of species overall, but with 28 endemics (staggering 18% of the total), it has a higher endemism level than the Galapagos! Almost all endemics are possible (although 2 are hard to get), among some 70 species birdable in 10 days. Even the coat of arms of Sao Tome and Principe consists of a Red-footed Falcon (in spite of the fact that this is clearly a Peregrine) on the left and an African Grey Parrot on the right holding a shield with a palm tree. The best season is December, followed by June-July.

The mongabay.com portal has compared data on a unit of area basis of the percentage of the total global number of species of birds, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, fish and vascular plants. Inspired by them, but interested only in birds, this time I made my own list taking bird species density per unit of area basis into consideration.

As of the same date, South America has the highest number of bird species, with 3,557.

Daily updates are made to records, which are not instantly posted online. Please use our Record Application Search to view a complete list of record titles. (You will need to register / login for access).

BirdLife International states that there are 1,866 bird species in Colombia overall, which is 16 7% of the 2011 list of the 188% recognized bird species worldwide as of October 2020

FAQ

What countries have the most bird species?

The diversity among birds is striking. Colombia in South America is home to 1878 different species of birds, the most number of bird species for any country.

Does Colombia have the most birds in the world?

Colombia hosts more bird species than in any other country on the planet, but for years nobody dared to seek them. Now, with peace on the horizon, birders could offer a solution. The path aims to contribute with the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, while benefitting the locals financially.

Which bird population is highest in the world?

The birds are Red-billed Quelea. It’s estimated there are 1.5 billion of them — making them the most abundant of all wild birds. The sparrow-sized Red-billed Quelea, which is in the weaver family, has a stout, seed-cracking bill. The birds are mostly brown, but breeding males have red and black feathered heads.