This list of birds recorded in the Galápagos Islands includes species recorded in the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador, where 189 species have been documented as of May 2024.[1] Of them, 31 are endemic, three nest only in the Galápagos, and virtually the entire population of a fourth nests there. Seventeen endemic subspecies are noted. In addition, 64 of the species are accidental and 11 were introduced to the islands, four of which are domesticated.
Unless otherwise noted, this list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) are those of the South American Classification Committee (SACC) of the American Ornithological Society.[2]
The following tags are used to define several categories of occurrence. Untagged species are common non-endemic residents, migrants, or seasonal visitors.
(A) Accidental - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in the Galápagos
These are adapted to an aquatic life, possessing webbed feet, an oily covering on their feathers to shed water, and bills adapted to their feeding needs.
Phasianidae consists of the pheasants and their allies. These are terrestrial species, variable in size but generally plump with broad relatively short wings. Many species are gamebirds or have been domesticated as a food source for humans.
Grebes are aquatic birds most closely related to flamingoes. They are well adapted to living in water but are clumsy on land, never straying far from water when they build their nests.
Pigeons and doves are medium to large mostly plump birds. Most are arboreal species descending to the ground to feed but some are terrestrial like the quail-doves of South America or the pheasant-pigeon of New Guinea. They are found worldwide except near the poles and in a wide variety of habitats including urban. The feral form of the rock pigeon has been introduced worldwide.
Swifts are aerodynamic species which are found worldwide. Some species are migratory, others resident, and others still have both migratory and resident populations.
Rails are usually secretive birds. Many island species are flightless and many of those have gone extinct in the last five centuries. Gallinules are less secretive, and are usually found near or on water.
Plovers are dull-coloured shorebirds without many distinguishing features. The bill is short and straight to catch worms on the surface. Lapwings are slightly bigger and more colourful shorebirds. Their legs are longer than plover's but the bill is the same size with respect to the body.
Sandpipers are long-legged mostly long-billed shorebirds. Some like woodcocks and snipes are forest species but most others are estuarine or wetland species.
Gulls are seabirds although some are found on freshwater. They have hooked bills and some have hoods or caps on their heads. Terns were formerly placed in a family of their own, Sternidae, but now they are commonly placed along with gulls and skimmers in Laridae. Their bills are straighter than those of gulls.
Swallow-tailed gull, Creagrus furcatus (essentially E; a few pairs breed in Colombia)
Penguins are southern ocean birds with only this one species occurring north of the equator. They are small to large in size and mostly black and white in colour.
Storm-petrels are small marine birds that are mostly black and white. Until 2018, this family's species were included with the other storm-petrels in family Hydrobatidae.
Though the members of this family are similar in many respects to the southern storm-petrels, including their general appearance and habits, there are enough genetic differences to warrant their placement in a separate family.
Boobies are seabirds which were once lumped along with darters, cormorants, and frigatebirds in Pelecaniformes. Their feet are variously coloured, black with striped toes in gannets, and grey, red, blue, yellow, black, or ochre in boobies.
Pandionidae is a monotypic family of fish-eating birds of prey. Its single species possesses a very large and powerful hooked beak, strong legs, strong talons, and keen eyesight.
Typical or "true" owls are small to large solitary nocturnal birds of prey. They have large forward-facing eyes and ears, a hawk-like beak, and a conspicuous circle of feathers around each eye called a facial disk.
Falcons are streamlined aerodynamic birds of prey which were traditionally thought to be closely related to the Accipitriformes. Recent genetic studies place them closer to parrots.
Mockingbirds are an American group of passerine birds. In the Galápagos they are famous (along with Darwin's finches) for confirming Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. Most are arboreal, but some are more terrestrial. Most members of this family are insectivores.
The tanagers are a large group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World, mainly in the tropics. Most of the 19 species in the family which have been recorded in the Galápagos are "Darwin's finches". Famous for inspiring Darwin in his theory of evolution, the finches have astonishingly different beaks.
^Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 28, 2024