Birds in Papua New Guinea

28 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Papua New Guinea has 28 bird species recorded regularly there: 2 residents, 1 summer visitor, 10 winter visitors, 9 passage migrants and 6 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 218,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Birds to see in Papua New Guinea in September

20 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 20 birds in September

Arriving in September: Pacific Golden-Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Dwarf Cassowary.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Papua New Guinea each month: most in September (20), fewest in December (5). Choose a month to see its birds.

20
Show as a table
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Eurasian Tree SparrowSmallest · 12.5cm
to
Great White Egret
Great White EgretLargest · 104cm
From the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (12.5 cm) to the Great White Egret (104 cm)17 families

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All 28 birds on the list

Showing 1–23 of 28 species

ResidentRecorded all yearSummer visitorArrives to breed; scarce or absent in winterWinter visitorPresent outside the breeding seasonPassage migrantSeen mainly in spring and autumn migrationScarceRecorded in some years but not every yearCommonAmong the most-recorded birds in its best monthUncommonRecorded regularly, but on a minority of outingsRareFew records, even in its best month
Willie Wagtail

Willie Wagtail

Rhipidura leucophrysLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanusLC

ResidentCommon

Regularly May–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Metallic Starling

Metallic Starling

Aplonis metallicaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Jan–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucosLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Aug–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pacific Golden-Plover

Pacific Golden-Plover

Pluvialis fulvaLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Sep–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Whistling Kite

Whistling Kite

Haliastur sphenurusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Jun–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Osprey

Osprey

Pandion haliaetusLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Feb–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Whimbrel

Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopusLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Aug–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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Great White Egret

Great White Egret

Ardea albaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly May–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blue-winged Kookaburra

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Dacelo leachiiLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
House Sparrow

House Sparrow

Passer domesticusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly May–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Tern

Common Tern

Sterna hirundoLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Jun–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pomarine Jaeger

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinusLC

ScarceCommon
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthisLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly May–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatusLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Oct–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Egret

Little Egret

Egretta garzettaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly May–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Long-tailed Jaeger

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudusLC

ScarceUncommon
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Hirundo rusticaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rock Dove

Rock Dove

Columba liviaLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Jun–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpresLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Sep–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Tern

Little Tern

Sternula albifronsLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Plegadis falcinellusLC

ScarceUncommon
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jun–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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Frequently Asked Questions

Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made

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