South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands bird checklist
70 bird species in 16 families have been recorded in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, according to eBird; about 65 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 · How these lists are made
The most common birds in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands right now
1Snowy Albatross
2Gray-headed Albatross
3King Penguin
4Black-browed Albatross
5Blue Petrel
6Snow Petrel
7White-chinned Petrel
8Southern Royal Albatross
9Northern Giant-Petrel
10Southern Giant-Petrel
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands bird checklist
70 species · loading the checklist tools…
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl
- Blue-winged Teal
- Yellow-billed Pintail
- Yellow-billed Teal
Pigeons and Doves
- Eared Dove
Sheathbills
- Snowy Sheathbill
Plovers and Lapwings
- American Golden-Plover
- Rufous-chested Dotterel
Sandpipers and Allies
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Baird's Sandpiper
- Pectoral Sandpiper
Skuas and Jaegers
- Pomarine Jaeger
- Brown Skua
- South Polar Skua
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Kelp Gull
- Arctic Tern
- Antarctic Tern
Grebes
- Great Grebe
Penguins
- King Penguin
- Adelie Penguin
- Gentoo Penguin
- Chinstrap Penguin
- Magellanic Penguin
- Macaroni Penguin
- Western Rockhopper Penguin
Albatrosses
- Northern Royal Albatross
- Southern Royal Albatross
- Snowy Albatross
- Tristan Albatross
- Antipodean Albatross
- Sooty Albatross
- Light-mantled Albatross
- Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross
- Gray-headed Albatross
- Black-browed Albatross
Southern Storm-Petrels
- Wilson's Storm-Petrel
- Gray-backed Storm-Petrel
- Black-bellied Storm-Petrel
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Southern Giant-Petrel
- Northern Giant-Petrel
- Southern Fulmar
- Antarctic Petrel
- Pintado Petrel
- Snow Petrel
- Kerguelen Petrel
- Great-winged Petrel
- Soft-plumaged Petrel
- White-headed Petrel
- Atlantic Petrel
- Blue Petrel
- Fairy Prion
- Broad-billed Prion
- MacGillivray's Prion
- Antarctic Prion
- Slender-billed Prion
- Gray Petrel
- White-chinned Petrel
- Westland Petrel
- Great Shearwater
- Sooty Shearwater
- Manx Shearwater
- Subantarctic Shearwater
- Common Diving-Petrel
- South Georgia Diving-Petrel
- Magellanic Diving-Petrel
Cormorants and Shags
- Imperial Cormorant
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Western Cattle-Egret
Swallows
- Chilean Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Cliff Swallow
Wagtails and Pipits
- South Georgia Pipit
Most common birds in South Georgia and South Sandwich 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 South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.
- Snowy AlbatrossDiomedea exulans
- Gray-headed AlbatrossThalassarche chrysostoma
- King PenguinAptenodytes patagonicus
- Black-browed AlbatrossThalassarche melanophris
- Blue PetrelHalobaena caerulea
- Snow PetrelPagodroma nivea
- White-chinned PetrelProcellaria aequinoctialis
- Southern Royal AlbatrossDiomedea epomophora
- Northern Giant-PetrelMacronectes halli
- Southern Giant-PetrelMacronectes giganteus
- Pintado PetrelDaption capense
- Gentoo PenguinPygoscelis papua
- Brown SkuaStercorarius antarcticus
- Kelp GullLarus dominicanus
- Yellow-billed PintailAnas georgica
- Snowy SheathbillChionis albus
- Antarctic TernSterna vittata
- Southern FulmarFulmarus glacialoides
- Chinstrap PenguinPygoscelis antarcticus
- Antarctic PetrelThalassoica antarctica
Largest bird families in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Among its regular birds.
- Shearwaters and Petrels26
- Albatrosses10
- Penguins6
- Skuas and Jaegers3
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers3
- Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl3
- Southern Storm-Petrels3
- Swallows3
Reported in the last 30 days
23 species reported to eBird in South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, most recent first:
Snowy Albatross, Gray-headed Albatross, Snow Petrel, King Penguin, Black-browed Albatross, Blue Petrel, Southern Royal Albatross, White-chinned Petrel, Northern Giant-Petrel, Southern Giant-Petrel, Pintado Petrel, Gentoo Penguin, Imperial Cormorant, Yellow-billed Pintail, Brown Skua, Snowy Sheathbill, South Georgia Pipit, Kelp Gull, Antarctic Tern, Antarctic Petrel, Chinstrap Penguin, Southern Fulmar, Black-bellied Storm-Petrel.
