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Tonga bird checklist

84 bird species in 29 families have been recorded in Tonga, according to eBird; about 78 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 Tonga right now

  1. 1Wedge-tailed Shearwater
  2. 2Red-footed Booby
  3. 3Pacific Imperial-Pigeon
  4. 4White-rumped Swiftlet
  5. 5Polynesian Starling
  6. 6Great Crested Tern
  7. 7Sooty Tern
  8. 8Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove
  9. 9Long-tailed Koel
  10. 10Pacific Golden-Plover
The top 20, and how they are ranked

Tonga bird checklist

84 species · loading the checklist tools…

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl

  • Pacific Black Duck

Megapodes

  • Tongan Megapode

Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies

  • Red Junglefowl

Pigeons and Doves

  • Rock Pigeon
  • Shy Ground Dove
  • Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove
  • Many-colored Fruit-Dove
  • Pacific Imperial-Pigeon

Cuckoos

  • Long-tailed Koel

Swifts

  • White-rumped Swiftlet

Rails, Gallinules, and Coots

  • Buff-banded Rail
  • Australasian Swamphen
  • Spotless Crake

Plovers and Lapwings

  • Black-bellied Plover
  • Pacific Golden-Plover
  • Masked Lapwing

Sandpipers and Allies

  • Bristle-thighed Curlew
  • Bar-tailed Godwit
  • Gray-tailed Tattler
  • Wandering Tattler
  • Ruddy Turnstone
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Skuas and Jaegers

  • Long-tailed Jaeger
  • Parasitic Jaeger
  • Pomarine Jaeger
  • Brown Skua
  • South Polar Skua

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

  • Blue-billed White-Tern
  • Brown Noddy
  • Black Noddy
  • Gray Noddy
  • Blue-gray Noddy
  • Sooty Tern
  • Bridled Tern
  • Gray-backed Tern
  • Black-naped Tern
  • Great Crested Tern

Tropicbirds

  • White-tailed Tropicbird
  • Red-tailed Tropicbird

Albatrosses

  • Antipodean Albatross
  • Light-mantled Albatross

Southern Storm-Petrels

  • Black-bellied Storm-Petrel
  • Polynesian Storm-Petrel

Shearwaters and Petrels

  • Pintado Petrel
  • Gray-faced Petrel
  • Kermadec Petrel
  • Herald Petrel
  • Mottled Petrel
  • White-necked Petrel
  • Black-winged Petrel
  • Cook's Petrel
  • Gould's Petrel
  • Collared Petrel
  • Stejneger's Petrel
  • Phoenix Petrel
  • Tahiti Petrel
  • Wedge-tailed Shearwater
  • Buller's Shearwater
  • Sooty Shearwater
  • Short-tailed Shearwater
  • Tropical Shearwater

Frigatebirds

  • Lesser Frigatebird
  • Great Frigatebird

Boobies and Gannets

  • Red-footed Booby
  • Brown Booby
  • Masked Booby

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

  • Pacific Reef-Heron
  • White-faced Heron
  • Little Heron

Hawks, Eagles, and Kites

  • Swamp Harrier

Barn-Owls

  • Eastern Barn Owl

Kingfishers

  • Pacific Kingfisher

Old World Parrots

  • Red Shining-Parrot
  • Blue-crowned Lorikeet

Honeyeaters

  • Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater

Cuckooshrikes

  • Polynesian Triller

Whistlers and Allies

  • Tongan Whistler

Monarch Flycatchers

  • Fiji Shrikebill

Swallows

  • Pacific Swallow

Bulbuls

  • Red-vented Bulbul

Starlings

  • Polynesian Starling
  • European Starling
  • Common Myna
  • Jungle Myna

Most common birds in Tonga

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 Tonga’s regular birds. The list follows the seasons: migrants rise in spring and autumn.

  1. Wedge-tailed ShearwaterArdenna pacifica
  2. Red-footed BoobySula sula
  3. Pacific Imperial-PigeonDucula pacifica
  4. White-rumped SwiftletAerodramus spodiopygius
  5. Polynesian StarlingAplonis tabuensis
  6. Great Crested TernThalasseus bergii
  7. Sooty TernOnychoprion fuscatus
  8. Crimson-crowned Fruit-DovePtilinopus porphyraceus
  9. Long-tailed KoelUrodynamis taitensis
  10. Pacific Golden-PloverPluvialis fulva
  11. Pacific KingfisherTodiramphus sacer
  12. Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
  13. White-tailed TropicbirdPhaethon lepturus
  14. Brown BoobySula leucogaster
  15. Eastern Wattled-HoneyeaterFoulehaio carunculatus
  16. Red-vented BulbulPycnonotus cafer
  17. Pacific SwallowHirundo javanica
  18. Brown NoddyAnous stolidus
  19. Mottled PetrelPterodroma inexpectata
  20. Black NoddyAnous minutus

Largest bird families in Tonga

Among its regular birds.

  • Shearwaters and Petrels18
  • Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers10
  • Pigeons and Doves5
  • Sandpipers and Allies5
  • Starlings4
  • Boobies and Gannets3
  • Rails, Gallinules, and Coots3
  • Skuas and Jaegers3

Reported in the last 30 days

41 species reported to eBird in Tonga in the 30 days to 2026-10-13. The 40 most recently reported:

Blue-billed White-Tern, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Polynesian Starling, Pacific Imperial-Pigeon, White-rumped Swiftlet, Crimson-crowned Fruit-Dove, Pacific Kingfisher, Long-tailed Koel, Red Junglefowl, Red-footed Booby, Great Crested Tern, Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater, Red-vented Bulbul, Common Myna, Pacific Swallow, Sooty Tern, Pacific Golden-Plover, Mottled Petrel, White-tailed Tropicbird, Brown Booby, Tongan Whistler, Polynesian Triller, Brown Noddy, Ruddy Turnstone, Black Noddy, Lesser Frigatebird, Wandering Tattler, Great Frigatebird, Pacific Reef-Heron, White-faced Heron, Buff-banded Rail, Bridled Tern, Rock Pigeon, Black-naped Tern, Herald Petrel, European Starling, Tropical Shearwater, Short-tailed Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Fiji Shrikebill, …

Get to know some of them

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