Marshall Islands bird checklist

81 bird species in 21 families have been recorded in the Marshall Islands, according to eBird; about 71 of them are seen regularly, and the rest are rarities, vagrants and escaped or introduced birds. Download the full list as a PDF, or tick birds off on your phone, with counts and notes, even without signal.

Species data: eBird.org, updated 13 Oct 2026 · How these lists are made

The most common birds in the Marshall Islands right now

The top 20, and how they are ranked

Marshall Islands bird checklist

81 species · loading the checklist tools…

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

Brant
Northern Shoveler
Eurasian Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Tufted Duck

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

Red Junglefowl

Pigeons and Doves

Rock Pigeon
Micronesian Imperial-Pigeon

Cuckoos

Long-tailed Koel

Stilts and Avocets

Black-winged Stilt

Plovers and Lapwings

Black-bellied Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Siberian Sand-Plover
Greater Sand-Plover

Sandpipers and Allies

Bristle-thighed Curlew
Eurasian Whimbrel
Little Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Long-billed Dowitcher
Latham's Snipe
Common Snipe
Gray-tailed Tattler
Wandering Tattler
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Common Greenshank
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Ruff
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Curlew Sandpiper
Red-necked Stint
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Sanderling
Dunlin
Pectoral Sandpiper

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Blue-billed White-Tern
Brown Noddy
Black Noddy
Blue-gray Noddy
Sooty Tern
Bridled Tern
Gray-backed Tern
Gull-billed Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Tern
Black-naped Tern
Great Crested Tern

Tropicbirds

White-tailed Tropicbird
Red-tailed Tropicbird

Albatrosses

Laysan Albatross

Southern Storm-Petrels

Wilson's Storm-Petrel

Northern Storm-Petrels

Leach's Storm-Petrel

Shearwaters and Petrels

Kermadec Petrel
Mottled Petrel
Bulwer's Petrel
Tahiti Petrel
Wedge-tailed Shearwater
Buller's Shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
Short-tailed Shearwater
Christmas Shearwater

Frigatebirds

Lesser Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird

Boobies and Gannets

Red-footed Booby
Brown Booby
Cocos Booby
Masked Booby

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

Pacific Reef-Heron
Eastern Cattle-Egret

Owls

Short-eared Owl

Bulbuls

Red-vented Bulbul

Starlings

Common Myna

Old World Sparrows

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Wagtails and Pipits

White Wagtail

Most common birds in Marshall Islands

Ranked by how recently and how widely each was reported to eBird in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, and whether it is one of Marshall Islands’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.

Great FrigatebirdFregata minor
Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
Pacific Reef-HeronEgretta sacra
White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturus
Black-naped TernSterna sumatrana
Great Crested TernThalasseus bergii
Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulva
Red JunglefowlGallus gallus
Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus cafer
Blue-billed White-TernGygis candida
Micronesian Imperial-PigeonDucula oceanica
Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
Black NoddyAnous minutus
Red-footed BoobySula sula
Brown BoobySula leucogaster
Masked BoobySula dactylatra
Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica
Gray-tailed TattlerTringa brevipes

Largest bird families in Marshall Islands

Among its regular birds.

Sandpipers and Allies22
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers14
Plovers and Lapwings6
Shearwaters and Petrels5
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl5
Boobies and Gannets3
Frigatebirds2
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns2

Reported in the last 30 days

14 species reported to eBird in Marshall Islands in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, most recent first:

Great Frigatebird, Brown Noddy, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Red Junglefowl, Blue-billed White-Tern, Pacific Reef-Heron, Ruddy Turnstone, White-tailed Tropicbird, Black-naped Tern, Great Crested Tern, Red-vented Bulbul, Pacific Golden-Plover, Eurasian Whimbrel, Micronesian Imperial-Pigeon.