Brazil has one of the richest bird diversities in the world. The avifauna of Brazil include a total of 1867 confirmed species of which 242 are endemic. Five have been introduced by humans, 93 are rare or vagrants, and seven are known or thought to be extinct or extirpated. An additional 14 species are unconfirmed (see below).
Brazil hosts about 60% of the bird species recorded for all of South America. These numbers are still increasing almost every year, due to new occurrences, new species being described, or splits of existing species. About 10% of the bird species found in Brazil are, nonetheless, threatened.
In June 2013 a simultaneous discovery of fifteen bird species in Brazil was announced, the first such since 1871, when August von Pelzeln described forty new species. The birds were from the families Corvidae, Thamnophilidae, Dendrocolaptidae, Tyrannidae, and Polioptilidae. Eleven of the new species are endemics of Brazil and four also inhabit Peru and Bolivia.
Except as an entry is cited otherwise, the list of species is that of the South American Classification Committee (SACC).Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 25 July 2026. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved 25 July 2026 The list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) are also those of the SACC unless noted otherwise. Capitalization within English names follows Wikipedia practice, i.e. only the first word of a name is capitalized unless a place name such as São Paulo is used.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 25 July 2026. A classification of the bird species of South America. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 25 July 2026 Fifteen additional species are added from other sources and are not included in the above counts; these reports have not been confirmed by the SACC.
The notes of population status, for instance (endangered), are those of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017-3. http://www.iucnredlist.org accessed 17 February 2018. The status notes apply to the worldwide population, not solely the Brazilian population except for endemic species.
The following tags have been used to highlight several categories of occurrence.
(V) Vagrant - a species that rarely or accidentally occurs in Brazil (E) Endemic - a species endemic to Brazil (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Brazil as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions (U) Unconfirmed - a species recorded but with "no tangible evidence" according to the SACC (UC) Unconfirmed - A record from a non-SACC source and unconfirmed by the SACC
The IUCN Red list codes used in increasing order of risk are:
+ Conservation status codes = least concern = near threatened = vulnerable = endangered = critically endangered = extinct in the wild = extinct
Rheas
Order: RheiformesFamily: Rheidae
The rheas are large flightless birds native to South America. Their feet have three toes rather than four which allows them to run faster.
Greater rhea, Rhea americana (Linnaeus, 1758)
Tinamous Order: TinamiformesFamily: Tinamidae
The tinamous are one of the most ancient groups of bird. Although they look similar to other ground-dwelling birds like quail and grouse, they have no close relatives and are classified as a single family, Tinamidae, within their own order, the Tinamiformes. They are distantly related to the ratites (order Struthioniformes), which includes the rheas, emus, and kiwis.
Gray tinamou, Tinamus tao Temminck, 1815 Solitary tinamou, Tinamus solitarius (Vieillot, 1819) Great tinamou, Tinamus major (Gmelin, JF, 1789) White-throated tinamou, Tinamus guttatus Pelzeln, 1863 Cinereous tinamou, Crypturellus cinereus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Little tinamou, Crypturellus soui (Hermann, 1783) Slaty-masked tinamou, Crypturellus resonans (E) Brown tinamou, Crypturellus obsoletus (Temminck, 1815) Undulated tinamou, Crypturellus undulatus (Temminck, 1815) Brazilian tinamou, Crypturellus strigulosus (Temminck, 1815) Gray-legged tinamou, Crypturellus duidae Zimmer, 1938 Red-legged tinamou, Crypturellus erythropus (Pelzeln, 1863) Yellow-legged tinamou, Crypturellus noctivagus (Wied, 1820) (E) Black-capped tinamou, Crypturellus atrocapillus (Tschudi, 1844) Variegated tinamou, Crypturellus variegatus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Rusty tinamou, Crypturellus brevirostris (Pelzeln, 1863) Bartlett's tinamou, Crypturellus bartletti (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1873) Small-billed tinamou, Crypturellus parvirostris (Wagler, 1827) Tataupa tinamou, Crypturellus tataupa (Temminck, 1815) Red-winged tinamou, Rhynchotus rufescens (Temminck, 1815) White-bellied nothura, Nothura boraquira (Spix, 1825) Lesser nothura, Nothura minor (Spix, 1825) Spotted nothura, Nothura maculosa (Temminck, 1815) Dwarf tinamou, Taoniscus nanus (Temminck, 1815)
Screamers
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anhimidae
The screamers are a small family of birds related to the ducks. They are large, bulky birds, with a small downy head, long legs, and large feet which are only partially webbed. They have large spurs on their wings which are used in fights over mates and in territorial disputes.
Horned screamer, Anhima cornuta (Linnaeus, 1766) Southern screamer, Chauna torquata (Oken, 1816)
Ducks
Order: AnseriformesFamily: Anatidae
Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.
Fulvous whistling-duck, Dendrocygna bicolor (Vieillot, 1816) White-faced whistling-duck, Dendrocygna viduata (Linnaeus, 1766) Black-bellied whistling-duck, Dendrocygna autumnalis (Linnaeus, 1758) Black-necked swan, Cygnus melancoryphus (Molina, 1782) Coscoroba swan, Coscoroba coscoroba (Molina, 1782) Orinoco goose, Oressochen jubatus (Spix, 1825) Common shelduck, Tadorna tadorna (Linnaeus, 1758) (UC)(uncertain origin) Upland goose, Chloephaga pictus (Gmelin, JF, 1789) (V) Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata (Linnaeus, 1758) Comb duck, Sarkidiornis sylvicola Ihering, HFA & Ihering, R, 1907 Ringed teal, Callonetta leucophrys (Vieillot, 1816) Brazilian teal, Amazonetta brasiliensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Silver teal, Spatula versicolor (Vieillot, 1816) Red shoveler, Spatula platalea (Vieillot, 1816) Blue-winged teal, Spatula discors (Linnaeus, 1766) Cinnamon teal, Spatula cyanoptera (Vieillot, 1816) (V) Chiloe wigeon, Mareca sibilatrix (Poepping, 1829) White-cheeked pintail, Anas bahamensis Linnaeus, 1758 Northern pintail, Anas acuta Linnaeus, 1758 (V) Yellow-billed pintail, Anas georgica Gmelin, JF, 1789 Yellow-billed teal, Anas flavirostris Vieillot, 1816 Southern pochard, Netta erythrophthalma (Wied, 1833) Rosy-billed pochard, Netta peposaca (Vieillot, 1816) Brazilian merganser, Mergus octosetaceus Vieillot, 1817 Black-headed duck, Heteronetta atricapilla (Merrem, 1841) Masked duck, Nomonyx dominicus (Linnaeus, 1766) Lake duck, Oxyura vittata (Philippi, 1860)
Guans Order: GalliformesFamily: Cracidae
The Cracidae are large birds, similar in general appearance to turkeys. The guans and curassows live in trees, but the smaller chachalacas are found in more open scrubby habitats. They are generally dull-plumaged, but the curassows and some guans have colorful facial ornaments.
Marail guan, Penelope marail (Müller, PLS, 1776) Rusty-margined guan, Penelope superciliaris Temminck, 1815 Spix's guan, Penelope jacquacu Spix, 1825 Dusky-legged guan, Penelope obscura Temminck, 1815 White-crested guan, Penelope pileata Wagler, 1830 (E) Chestnut-bellied guan, Penelope ochrogaster Pelzeln, 1870 (E) White-browed guan, Penelope jacucaca Spix, 1825 (E) Blue-throated piping-guan, Pipile cumanensis (Jacquin, 1874) Red-throated piping-guan, Pipile cujubi (Pelzeln, 1858) Black-fronted piping-guan, Pipile jacutinga (Spix, 1825) Chaco chachalaca, Ortalis canicollis (Wagler, 1830) Speckled chachalaca, Ortalis guttata (Spix, 1825) East Brazilian chachalaca, Ortalis araucuan (Spix, 1825) (E) Scaled chachalaca, Ortalis squamata (Lesson, 1829) (E) Variable chachalaca, Ortalis motmot (Linnaeus, 1766) Chestnut-headed chachalaca, Ortalis ruficeps (Wagler, 1830) (E) Buff-browed chachalaca, Ortalis superciliaris Gray, GR, 1867 (E) Nocturnal curassow, Nothocrax urumutum (Spix, 1825) Black curassow, Crax alector Linnaeus, 1766 Wattled curassow, Crax globulosa Spix, 1825 Bare-faced curassow, Crax fasciolata Spix, 1825 Red-billed curassow, Crax blumenbachii Spix, 1825 (E) Crestless curassow, Mitu tomentosum (Spix, 1825) Razor-billed curassow, Mitu tuberosum (Spix, 1825) Alagoas curassow, Mitu mitu (Linnaeus, 1766) (E)
New World quails Order: GalliformesFamily: Odontophoridae
The New World quails are small, plump terrestrial birds only distantly related to the quails of the Old World, but named for their similar appearance and habits.
Crested bobwhite, Colinus cristatus (Linnaeus, 1766) Marbled wood-quail, Odontophorus gujanensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Spot-winged wood-quail, Odontophorus capueira (Spix, 1825) Starred wood-quail, Odontophorus stellatus (Gould, 1843)
Flamingos
Order: PhoenicopteriformesFamily: Phoenicopteridae
Flamingos are gregarious wading birds, usually tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Flamingos filter-feed on shellfish and algae. Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.
Chilean flamingo, Phoenicopterus chilensis Molina, 1782 American flamingo, Phoenicopterus ruber Linnaeus, 1758 Greater flamingo, Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas, 1811 (UC)(V) Andean flamingo, Phoenicoparrus andinus (Philippi, 1854) (V) James's flamingo, Phoenicoparrus jamesi (Sclater, PL, 1886) (V)
Grebes
Order: PodicipediformesFamily: Podicipedidae
Grebes are small to medium-large freshwater diving birds. They have lobed toes and are excellent swimmers and divers. However, they have their feet placed far back on the body, making them quite ungainly on land.
White-tufted grebe, Rollandia rolland (Gaimard, 1823) Least grebe, Tachybaptus dominicus (Linnaeus, 1766) Pied-billed grebe, Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus, 1758) Great grebe, Podiceps major (Boddaert, 1783) Silvery grebe, Podiceps occipitalis Garnot, 1826
Pigeons
Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae
Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
Rock pigeon, Columba livia Gmelin, JF, 1789 (I) Scaled pigeon, Patagioenas speciosa (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Picazuro pigeon, Patagioenas picazuro (Temminck, 1813) Spot-winged pigeon, Patagioenas maculosa (Temminck, 1813) Band-tailed pigeon, Patagioenas fasciata (Say, 1822) Pale-vented pigeon, Patagioenas cayennensis (Bonnaterre, 1792) Plumbeous pigeon, Patagioenas plumbea (Vieillot, 1818) Ruddy pigeon, Patagioenas subvinacea (Lawrence, 1868) Sapphire quail-dove, Geotrygon saphirina Bonaparte, 1855 Ruddy quail-dove, Geotrygon montana (Linnaeus, 1758) Violaceous quail-dove, Geotrygon violacea (Temminck, 1809) White-tipped dove, Leptotila verreauxi Bonaparte, 1855 Gray-fronted dove, Leptotila rufaxilla (Richard & Bernard, 1792) Eared dove, Zenaida auriculata (Des Murs, 1847)