Rare Birds in Switzerland
Our list for Switzerland has 56 rare birds recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 5 summer visitors, 9 winter visitors, 31 passage migrants and 6 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Switzerland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 56, most common first
Cinereous VultureAegypius monachusPassage migrantRare98–120 cmRegularly Jul–Sep
Arctic JaegerStercorarius parasiticusPassage migrantRare41–46 cmRegularly Sep
Red-billed ChoughPyrrhocorax pyrrhocoraxResidentRare39–43 cmRegularly Apr–Feb
Aquatic WarblerAcrocephalus paludicolaPassage migrantRare12–13 cmRegularly Apr
Canada GooseBranta canadensisSummer visitorRare76–110 cmRegularly Feb–Nov
Bar-headed GooseAnser indicusPassage migrantRare68–78 cmRegularly Mar–Nov
Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusWinter visitorRare40–45 cmRegularly Sep–May
Barn OwlTyto albaResidentRare33–39 cmRecorded all year
White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterusPassage migrantRare20–27 cmRegularly May–Sep
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Nov
Common ScoterMelanitta nigraWinter visitorRare43–54 cmRegularly Nov–Feb
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisPassage migrantRare36–41 cmRegularly May–Aug
White-tailed Sea-eagleHaliaeetus albicillaPassage migrantRare66–94 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
AvocetRecurvirostra avosettaPassage migrantRare42–45 cmRegularly Mar–Jun
Black SwanCygnus atratusPassage migrantRare110–142 cmRegularly Apr–Jan
Short-eared OwlAsio flammeusPassage migrantRare34–43 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Woodchat ShrikeLanius senatorPassage migrantRare17–19 cmRegularly Apr–Jun
Eurasian Stone-curlewBurhinus oedicnemusPassage migrantRare40–44 cmRegularly Apr–May
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorRare33–39 cmRegularly May–Jul
Wood DuckAix sponsaResidentRare47–54 cmRegularly Apr–Feb
Gull-billed TernGelochelidon niloticaPassage migrantRare33–42 cmRegularly May–Jun
Audouin's GullIchthyaetus audouiniiScarceRare48–52 cmRegularly May
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataResidentRare66–84 cmRegularly Sep–Jul
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