Albania is situated in south-eastern Europe alongside the Adriatic Sea, sharing borders with Italy in the west, Montenegro in the north-west; Kosovo in the north-east; FYR of Macedonia in the east and Greece in the south. It has a population of around 3 million inhabitants.
Albania represents a very rich country in terms of biodiversity, considering its small surface. This is due to diverse relief, natural landscapes and habitats. It is reported that Albania counts a total number of 7233 plant taxon, representing 32% of the floristic diversity of Europe. In addition, Albania holds as well, very rich fauna diversity with a confirmed number of over 5450 species of different groups, among which around 110 species are rare and with high conservation interest at global level.
For conservation of country’s biodiversity and natural heritage, Albania has established its National Network of Protected Areas, which includes a number of 800 protected areas (including here the monuments of nature), occupying around 16% of the total territory of the country.
One part of the National Network of Protected Areas and also considerable number of other high nature value ecosystems, are part of different international ecological networks. Prespa Lakes, Karavasta Lagoon, Butrinti Lake – Çuka Channel – Stillo Cape and Skader Lake – Buna River are the four Albanian wetlands of international importance recognized by the RAMSAR Convention, ratified by Albania in year 1996. The transboundary area of Ohrid Lake and Prespa Lakes has received by UNESCO the status of the Biosphere Reserve. Likewise, the beach forests of Gashi River, in the region of Kukës, and the beach forests of Rrajca (central part of Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park) are inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Also, the transboundary areas along the ex-iron curtain of the communist times are included into the European Green Belt Network. Moreover, BirdLife International has recognized a number of 16 Important Bird Areas (IBA) in Albania which are recognized by the Albanian government and are lastly included in the new law for Protected Areas of Albania (Law 81/2017) as “Protected Areas of International Importance”. Furthermore, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), currently one of the biggest international consortium for nature conservation, through a scientific based and participatory approach has identified a number of 29 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) in Albania. Last but not least, Albania has an Emerald Network composed of 25 sites, approved by the Bern Convection in December 2012.
All mentioned above makes that around 60% of the country’s total surface is recognized at national and international level as area of high natural values. This makes Albania one of the top countries in Europe with the highest portion of the key biodiversity compared to its total surface.
Birds of Albania
Albania is characterized by a very diverse landscape where the mountainous and lowland landscapes, including also the coastline are intertwined in very small surfaces. The mountainous relief covered with forests that dominates Albania, is intersected by fertile valleys that in most of the cases are oriented from north east to the south west. The rich rivers in sediments are discharged in a long coastline, creating from the north to the south a considerable number of wetlands and lakes, some of which are within the most important bird areas of the whole Adriatic, like-wise the National Park and the Ramsar site of Divjakë-Karavasta and the Protected Landscape Vjosë-Nartë.
The climate is also diverse: Mediterranean in the western lowlands, continental in the eastern side of the country and transitory on the rest of the territory. This favors the development of a diverse vegetation which in the north-eastern side resembles to the central Europe vegetation, whereas in the south-west is typical Mediterranean.
All these conditions create very diverse and suitable habitats for the migration from the north to the south and vice versa, for wintering and breeding of birds. Albania represents one of the most important sections along the Adriatic Flyway.
Based on the time period or season, the birds in Albania are divided: (i) resident or present along the whole year; (ii) breeders which come in the country in spring and leave in autumn; (iii) wintering – birds that come in Albania in autumn and leave in spring; and (iv) transitory or birds that pas through Albania in spring or autumn or in both seasons. Based on the size of the population, in simple terms the birds of Albania might be divided in common, rare or extinct.
A full list of bird species of Albania is given bellow:
| English Name | Scientific Name |
| Alpine Accentor | Prunella collaris |
| Alpine Chough | Pyrrhocorax graculus |
| Alpine Swift | Tachymarptis melba |
| Aquatic Warbler | Acrocephalus paludicola |
| Audouin’s Gull | Ichthyaetus audouinii |
| Baillon’s Crake | Porzana pusilla |
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica |
| Barred Warbler | Sylvia nisoria |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | Limosa lapponica |
| Bearded Reedling | Panurus biarmicus |
| Bearded Vulture | Gypaetus barbatus |
| Black Grouse | Lyrurus tetrix |
| Black Kite | Milvus migrans |
| Black Redstart | Phoenicurus ochruros |
| Black Stork | Ciconia nigra |
| Black Tern | Chlidonias niger |
| Black Woodpecker | Dryocopus martius |
| Black-eared Wheatear | Oenanthe hispanica |
| Black-headed Bunting | Emberiza melanocephala |
| Black-headed Gull | Chroicocephalus ridibundus |
| Black-legged Kittiwake | Rissa tridactyla |
| Black-necked Grebe | Podiceps nigricollis |
| Black-tailed Godwit | Limosa limosa |
| Black-throated Loon | Gavia arctica |
| Black-winged Pratincole | Glareola nordmanni |
| Black-winged Stilt | Himantopus himantopus |
| Blue Rock Thrush | Monticola solitarius |
| Bluethroat | Luscinia svecica |
| Bohemian Waxwing | Bombycilla garrulus |
| Bonelli’s Eagle | Aquila fasciata |
| Booted Eagle | Hieraaetus pennatus |
| Boreal Owl | Aegolius funereus |
| Brambling | Fringilla montifringilla |
| Broad-billed Sandpiper | Calidris falcinellus |
| Calandra Lark | Melanocorypha calandra |
| Carrion Crow | Corvus corone |
| Caspian Gull | Larus cachinnans |
| Caspian Tern | Hydroprogne caspia |
| Cetti’s Warbler | Cettia cetti |
| Cinereous Vulture | Aegypius monachus |
| Cirl Bunting | Emberiza cirlus |
| Citrine Wagtail | Motacilla citreola |
| Coal Tit | Periparus ater |
| Collared Flycatcher | Ficedula albicollis |
| Collared Pratincole | Glareola pratincola |
| Common Blackbird | Turdus merula |
| Common Buzzard | Buteo buteo |
| Common Chaffinch | Fringilla coelebs |
| Common Chiffchaff | Phylloscopus collybita |
| Common Crane | Grus grus |
| Common Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus |
| Common Eider | Somateria mollissima |
| Common Firecrest | Regulus ignicapilla |
| Common Goldeneye | Bucephala clangula |
| Common Grasshopper Warbler | Locustella naevia |
| Common Greenshank | Tringa nebularia |
| Common House Martin | Delichon urbicum |
| Common Kestrel | Falco tinnunculus |
| Common Kingfisher | Alcedo atthis |
| Common Linnet | Linaria cannabina |
| Common Loon | Gavia immer |
| Common Merganser | Mergus merganser |
| Common Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus |
| Common Nightingale | Luscinia megarhynchos |
| Common Pheasant | Phasianus colchicus |
| Common Pochard | Aythya ferina |
| Common Quail | Coturnix coturnix |
| Common Redpoll | Acanthis flammea |
| Common Redshank | Tringa totanus |
| Common Redstart | Phoenicurus phoenicurus |
| Common Reed Bunting | Emberiza schoeniclus |
| Common Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula |
| Common Rock Thrush | Monticola saxatilis |
| Common Sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos |
| Common Scoter | Melanitta nigra |
| Common Shelduck | Tadorna tadorna |
| Common Snipe | Gallinago gallinago |
| Common Starling | Sturnus vulgaris |
| Common Swift | Apus apus |
| Common Tern | Sterna hirundo |
| Common Whitethroat | Sylvia communis |
| Common Wood Pigeon | Columba palumbus |
| Corn Bunting | Emberiza calandra |
| Corn Crake | Crex crex |
| Crested Lark | Galerida cristata |
| Cretzschmar’s Bunting | Emberiza caesia |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea |
| Dalmatian Pelican | Pelecanus crispus |
| Dartford Warbler | Sylvia undata |
| Dunlin | Calidris alpina |
| Dunnock | Prunella modularis |
| Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler | Phylloscopus orientalis |
| Eastern Imperial Eagle | Aquila heliaca |
| Eastern Olivaceous Warbler | Iduna pallida |
| Eastern Orphean Warbler | Sylvia crassirostris |
| Egyptian Vulture | Neophron percnopterus |
| Eleonora’s Falcon | Falco eleonorae |
| Eurasian Bittern | Botaurus stellaris |
| Eurasian Blackcap | Sylvia atricapilla |
| Eurasian Blue Tit | Cyanistes caeruleus |
| Eurasian Bullfinch | Pyrrhula pyrrhula |
| Eurasian Collared Dove | Streptopelia decaocto |
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra |
| Eurasian Crag Martin | Ptyonoprogne rupestris |
| Eurasian Curlew | Numenius arquata |
| Eurasian Dotterel | Charadrius morinellus |
| Eurasian Eagle-Owl | Bubo bubo |
| Eurasian Golden Oriole | Oriolus oriolus |
| Eurasian Hobby | Falco subbuteo |
| Eurasian Hoopoe | Upupa epops |
| Eurasian Jay | Garrulus glandarius |
| Eurasian Magpie | Pica pica |
| Eurasian Nuthatch | Sitta europaea |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | Haematopus ostralegus |
| Eurasian Penduline Tit | Remiz pendulinus |
| Eurasian Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus scirpaceus |
| Eurasian Scops Owl | Otus scops |
| Eurasian Siskin | Spinus spinus |
| Eurasian Skylark | Alauda arvensis |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus |
| Eurasian Spoonbill | Platalea leucorodia |
| Eurasian Stone-curlew | Burhinus oedicnemus |
| Eurasian Teal | Anas crecca |
| Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker | Picoides tridactylus |
| Eurasian Tree Sparrow | Passer montanus |
| Eurasian Treecreeper | Certhia familiaris |
| Eurasian Wigeon | Mareca penelope |
| Eurasian Woodcock | Scolopax rusticola |
| Eurasian Wren | Troglodytes troglodytes |
| Eurasian Wryneck | Jynx torquilla |
| Euroasian Pygmy Owl | Glaucidium passerinum |
| European Bee-eater | Merops apiaster |
| European Crested Tit | Lophophanes cristatus |
| European Golden Plover | Pluvialis apricaria |
| European Goldfinch | Carduelis carduelis |
| European Green Woodpecker | Picus viridis |
| European Greenfinch | Chloris chloris |
| European Herring Gull | Larus argentatus |
| European Honey Buzzard | Pernis apivorus |
| European Nightjar | Caprimulgus europaeus |
| European Pied Flycatcher | Ficedula hypoleuca |
| European Robin | Erithacus rubecula |
| European Roller | Coracias garrulus |
| European Serin | Serinus serinus |
| European Shag | Phalacrocorax aristotelis |
| European Stonechat | Saxicola rubicola |
| European Storm Petrel | Hydrobates pelagicus |
| European Turtle Dove | Streptopelia turtur |
| Ferruginous Duck | Aythya nyroca |
| Fieldfare | Turdus pilaris |
| Gadwall | Mareca strepera |
| Garden Warbler | Sylvia borin |
| Garganey | Spatula querquedula |
| Glossy Ibis | Plegadis falcinellus |
| Goldcrest | Regulus regulus |
| Golden Eagle | Aquila chrysaetos |
| Great Black-backed Gull | Larus marinus |
| Great Bustard | Otis tarda |
| Great Cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo |
| Great Crested Grebe | Podiceps cristatus |
| Great Egret | Ardea alba |
| Great Grey Shrike | Lanius excubitor |
| Great Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus arundinaceus |
| Great Snipe | Gallinago media |
| Great Spotted Cuckoo | Clamator glandarius |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Dendrocopos major |
| Great Tit | Parus major |
| Great White Pelican | Pelecanus onocrotalus |
| Greater Flamingo | Phoenicopterus roseus |
| Greater Scaup | Aythya marila |
| Greater Short-toed Lark | Calandrella brachydactyla |
| Greater Spotted Eagle | Clanga clanga |
| Greater White-fronted Goose | Anser albifrons |
| Green Sandpiper | Tringa ochropus |
| Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea |
| Grey Partridge | Perdix perdix |
| Grey Plover | Pluvialis squatarola |
| Grey Wagtail | Motacilla cinerea |
| Grey-headed Woodpecker | Picus canus |
| Greylag Goose | Anser anser |
| Griffon Vulture | Gyps fulvus |
| Gull-billed Tern | Gelochelidon nilotica |
| Hawfinch | Coccothraustes coccothraustes |
| Hazel Grouse | Tetrastes bonasia |
| Hen Harrier | Circus cyaneus |
| Hooded Crow | Corvus cornix |
| Horned Grebe | Podiceps auritus |
| Horned Lark | Eremophila alpestris |
| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
| Icterine Warbler | Hippolais icterina |
| Jack Snipe | Lymnocryptes minimus |
| Kentish Plover | Charadrius alexandrinus |
| Lanner Falcon | Falco biarmicus |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | Larus fuscus |
| Lesser Grey Shrike | Lanius minor |
| Lesser Kestrel | Falco naumanni |
| Lesser Spotted Eagle | Clanga pomarina |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | Dryobates minor |
| Lesser White-fronted Goose | Anser erythropus |
| Lesser Whitethroat | Sylvia curruca |
| Levant Sparrowhawk | Accipiter brevipes |
| Little Bittern | Ixobrychus minutus |
| Little Bustard | Tetrax tetrax |
| Little Crake | Porzana parva |
| Little Egret | Egretta garzetta |
| Little Grebe | Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Little Gull | Hydrocoloeus minutus |
| Little Owl | Athene noctua |
| Little Ringed Plover | Charadrius dubius |
| Little Stint | Calidris minuta |
| Little Tern | Sternula albifrons |
| Long-eared Owl | Asio otus |
| Long-legged Buzzard | Buteo rufinus |
| Long-tailed Duck | Clangula hyemalis |
| Long-tailed Tit | Aegithalos caudatus |
| Mallard | Anas platyrhynchos |
| Marbled Duck | Marmaronetta angustirostris |
| Marsh Sandpiper | Tringa stagnatilis |
| Marsh Tit | Poecile palustris |
| Marsh Warbler | Acrocephalus palustris |
| Masked Shrike | Lanius nubicus |
| Meadow Pipit | Anthus pratensis |
| Mediterranean Gull | Ichthyaetus melanocephalus |
| Melodious Warbler | Hippolais polyglotta |
| Merlin | Falco columbarius |
| Mew Gull | Larus canus |
| Middle Spotted Woodpecker | Dendrocoptes medius |
| Mistle Thrush | Turdus viscivorus |
| Montagu’s Harrier | Circus pygargus |
| Moustached Warbler | Acrocephalus melanopogon |
| Mute Swan | Cygnus olor |
| Night Heron | Nycticorax nycticorax |
| Northern Gannet | Morus bassanus |
| Northern Goshawk | Accipiter gentilis |
| Northern Lapwing | Vanellus vanellus |
| Northern Pintail | Anas acuta |
| Northern Raven | Corvus corax |
| Northern Shoveler | Spatula clypeata |
| Northern Wheatear | Oenanthe oenanthe |
| Olive-tree Warbler | Hippolais olivetorum |
| Ortolan Bunting | Emberiza hortulana |
| Pacific Golden Plover | Pluvialis fulva |
| Pallid Harrier | Circus macrourus |
| Pallid Swift | Apus pallidus |
| Parasitic Jaeger | Stercorarius parasiticus |
| Peregrine Falcon | Falco peregrinus |
| Pied Avocet | Recurvirostra avosetta |
| Pine Bunting | Emberiza leucocephalos |
| Pink-footed Goose | Anser brachyrhynchus |
| Purple Heron | Ardea purpurea |
| Pygmy Cormorant | Microcarbo pygmeus |
| Red Crossbill | Loxia curvirostra |
| Red Kite | Milvus milvus |
| Red Knot | Calidris canutus |
| Red-backed Shrike | Lanius collurio |
| Red-billed Chough | Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax |
| Red-breasted Flycatcher | Ficedula parva |
| Red-breasted Goose | Branta ruficollis |
| Red-breasted Merganser | Mergus serrator |
| Red-crested Pochard | Netta rufina |
| Red-footed Falcon | Falco vespertinus |
| Red-necked Grebe | Podiceps grisegena |
| Red-rumped Swallow | Cecropis daurica |
| Red-throated Loon | Gavia stellata |
| Red-throated Pipit | Anthus cervinus |
| Redwing | Turdus iliacus |
| Richard’s Pipit | Anthus richardi |
| Ring Ouzel | Turdus torquatus |
| River Warbler | Locustella fluviatilis |
| Rock Bunting | Emberiza cia |
| Rock Dove | Columba livia |
| Rock Partridge | Alectoris graeca |
| Rock Sparrow | Petronia petronia |
| Rook | Corvus frugilegus |
| Rosy Starling | Pastor roseus |
| Rough-legged Buzzard | Buteo lagopus |
| Ruddy Shelduck | Tadorna ferruginea |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Arenaria interpres |
| Ruff | Calidris pugnax |
| Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin | Cercotrichas galactotes |
| Rüppell’s Warbler | Sylvia ruppeli |
| Saker Falcon | Falco cherrug |
| Sand Martin | Riparia riparia |
| Sanderling | Calidris alba |
| Sandwich Tern | Thalasseus sandvicensis |
| Sardinian Warbler | Sylvia melanocephala |
| Savi’s Warbler | Locustella luscinioides |
| Scopoli’s Shearwater | Calonectris diomedea |
| Sedge Warbler | Acrocephalus schoenobaenus |
| Semicollared Flycatcher | Ficedula semitorquata |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | Calidris pusilla |
| Short-eared Owl | Asio flammeus |
| Short-toed Snake Eagle | Circaetus gallicus |
| Short-toed Treecreeper | Certhia brachydactyla |
| Slender-billed Curlew | Numenius tenuirostris |
| Slender-billed Gull | Chroicocephalus genei |
| Smew | Mergellus albellus |
| Snowy Owl | Bubo scandiacus |
| Sombre Tit | Poecile lugubris |
| Song Thrush | Turdus philomelos |
| Spanish Sparrow | Passer hispaniolensis |
| Spectacled Warbler | Sylvia conspicillata |
| Spotted Crake | Porzana porzana |
| Spotted Flycatcher | Muscicapa striata |
| Spotted Nutcracker | Nucifraga caryocatactes |
| Spotted Redshank | Tringa erythropus |
| Squacco Heron | Ardeola ralloides |
| Stock Dove | Columba oenas |
| Subalpine Warbler | Sylvia cantillans |
| Syrian Woodpecker | Dendrocopos syriacus |
| Taiga Bean Goose | Anser fabalis |
| Tawny Owl | Strix aluco |
| Tawny Pipit | Anthus campestris |
| Temminck’s Stint | Calidris temminckii |
| Terek Sandpiper | Xenus cinereus |
| Tree Pipit | Anthus trivialis |
| Tufted Duck | Aythya fuligula |
| Tundra Swan | Cygnus columbianus |
| Ural Owl | Strix uralensis |
| Velvet Scoter | Melanitta fusca |
| Wallcreeper | Tichodroma muraria |
| Water Pipit | Anthus spinoletta |
| Water Rail | Rallus aquaticus |
| Western Barn Owl | Tyto alba |
| Western Bonelli’s Warbler | Phylloscopus bonelli |
| Western Capercaillie | Tetrao urogallus |
| Western Cattle Egret | Bubulcus ibis |
| Western Jackdaw | Coloeus monedula |
| Western Marsh Harrier | Circus aeruginosus |
| Western Orphean Warbler | Sylvia hortensis |
| Western Osprey | Pandion haliaetus |
| Western Rock Nuthatch | Sitta neumayer |
| Western Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla flava |
| Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus |
| Whinchat | Saxicola rubetra |
| Whiskered Tern | Chlidonias hybrida |
| White Stork | Ciconia ciconia |
| White Wagtail | Motacilla alba |
| White-backed Woodpecker | Dendrocopos leucotos |
| White-headed Duck | Oxyura leucocephala |
| White-tailed Eagle | Haliaeetus albicilla |
| White-throated Dipper | Cinclus cinclus |
| White-winged Snowfinch | Montifringilla nivalis |
| White-winged Tern | Chlidonias leucopterus |
| Whooper Swan | Cygnus cygnus |
| Willow Tit | Poecile montanus |
| Willow Warbler | Phylloscopus trochilus |
| Wood Sandpiper | Tringa glareola |
| Wood Warbler | Phylloscopus sibilatrix |
| Woodchat Shrike | Lanius senator |
| Woodlark | Lullula arborea |
| Yelkouan Shearwater | Puffinus yelkouan |
| Yellowhammer | Emberiza citrinella |
| Yellow-legged Gull | Larus michahellis |
| Zitting Cisticola | Cisticola juncidis |