Tokelau bird checklist
24 bird species in 9 families have been recorded in Tokelau, according to eBird; about 24 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 Tokelau right now
1Pacific Reef-Heron
2Red-footed Booby
3Great Frigatebird
4Lesser Frigatebird
5Brown Booby
6Pacific Golden-Plover
7Sooty Tern
8Masked Booby
9Bristle-thighed Curlew
10Black Noddy
Tokelau bird checklist
24 species · loading the checklist tools…
Pigeons and Doves
- Pacific Imperial-Pigeon
Plovers and Lapwings
- Pacific Golden-Plover
Sandpipers and Allies
- Bristle-thighed Curlew
- Wandering Tattler
- Ruddy Turnstone
- Sanderling
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Blue-billed White-Tern
- Brown Noddy
- Black Noddy
- Sooty Tern
- Black-naped Tern
Tropicbirds
- White-tailed Tropicbird
- Red-tailed Tropicbird
Shearwaters and Petrels
- Black-winged Petrel
- Bulwer's Petrel
- Flesh-footed Shearwater
- Wedge-tailed Shearwater
- Christmas Shearwater
Frigatebirds
- Lesser Frigatebird
- Great Frigatebird
Boobies and Gannets
- Red-footed Booby
- Brown Booby
- Masked Booby
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Pacific Reef-Heron
Most common birds in Tokelau
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 Tokelau’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.
- Pacific Reef-HeronEgretta sacra
- Red-footed BoobySula sula
- Great FrigatebirdFregata minor
- Lesser FrigatebirdFregata ariel
- Brown BoobySula leucogaster
- Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulva
- Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
- Masked BoobySula dactylatra
- Bristle-thighed CurlewNumenius tahitiensis
- Black NoddyAnous minutus
- Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpres
- Black-naped TernSterna sumatrana
- Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica
- Wandering TattlerTringa incana
- Red-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon rubricauda
- White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Black-winged PetrelPterodroma nigripennis
- Pacific Imperial-PigeonDucula pacifica
Largest bird families in Tokelau
Among its regular birds.
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers5
- Shearwaters and Petrels5
- Sandpipers and Allies4
- Boobies and Gannets3
- Frigatebirds2
- Tropicbirds2
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns1
- Plovers and Lapwings1
Reported in the last 30 days
10 species reported to eBird in Tokelau in the 30 days to 2026-10-13, most recent first:
Pacific Reef-Heron, Red-footed Booby, Great Frigatebird, Lesser Frigatebird, Masked Booby, Brown Booby, Pacific Golden-Plover, Sooty Tern, Blue-billed White-Tern, Bristle-thighed Curlew.
