Occitanie
Occitanie is the second largest (28,079 square miles) with a population of about six million people. It is bordered by Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur to the east, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to the northeast and Nouvelle-Aquitaine to the west and northwest, as well as borders with Andorra and Spain to the south, as well as a Mediterranean coast on the southeast. The administrative centre and largest city is Toulouse with a metropolitan population of 1.5 million people. The second city is Montpellier.
There are three distinct climate zones in the region. All along the coast, there is a Mediterranean climate, which is known for its dryness and its warmth, with long and hot summers and brief winters dominated by chilly winds and rain. This zone in particular is known to be expanding north and west due to climate change, and the region has suffered from an increase in forest fires. Further west on the plains and hills, the climate is cooler and influenced by the Atlantic, with more rain.
Laurenti Lake, Pyrenees – ©Jcb-caz-11 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Pyrenees have a mountain climate, which is cooler still and characterised by much greater precipitation, including snow in the winter. So, it is a region of contrasts with the cool majestic Pyrenees mountains and the sun-drenched Languedoc plain, Mass tourism at Lourdes or bustling Toulouse and sleepy villages surrounded by traditional agriculture.
Birding Occitanie
Occitania is the leading region in France for biodiversity, with over 40% of its territory under protection; with two national parks, seven regional nature parks, and numerous nature reserves that range from the high peaks of the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast. Prominent among its wilder areas are the Parc National des Pyrénees rich in diversity that includes the critically endangered Brown Bear and other mammals as well as Ptarmigans, Lammergeier, Wood Grouse, Golden Eagles and more. Parc National de Cévennes is made up of chestnut-clad low mountains where a handful of wolves still roam and reintroduced Griffon Vultures soar and other raptors thrive. Occitainie also has part of the Camargue too – La petite Camargue, or Camargue Gardoise, is found west of the Petit-Rhone in the department of the Gard and in l’Hérault. Situated in the eastern part of the region, this massive wetland is world-famous for its incredible diversity of waterbirds, including Glossy Ibis, Purple Swamphen and Slender-billed Gull.
La Petite Camargue – ©Amada44 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Among regional parks is Narbonnaise en Méditerranée, a coastal park encompassing lagoons, dunes and salt marshes, making it a haven for flamingos and migratory birds and Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park South of the Massif Central, which rich habitats support over 240 bird species, including raptors like Bonelli’s and Booted Eagles.
Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park – ©Christian Ferrer CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Across the region birders can encounter Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Crag Martin, Blue Rock Thrush, Dartford Warbler, and Cirl Bunting and during summer European Roller, Golden Oriole, Lesser Kestrel, European Bee-eater, and Great Spotted Cuckoo.
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Number of bird species: 501
(As at June 2026)
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Avibase
PDF ChecklistThis checklist includes all bird species found in Occitanie , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to report them. -
eBird
PDF ChecklistThis checklist is generated with data from eBird (ebird.org), a global database of bird sightings from birders like you. If you enjoy this checklist, please consider contributing your sightings to eBird. It is 100% free to take part, and your observations will help support birders, researchers, and conservationists worldwide.
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Les oiseaux du parc naturel régional du Haut-Languedoc
| By Nathalie Biau, Jean-Marc Cugnasse & Christophe Maurel | Editions du Rouergue | 2001 | Paperback | 351 pages, Colour Illustrations | ISBN: 9782841562909 Buy this book from NHBS.com -
Wildlife of the Pyrenees
| By David Guixé | Illustrated by Toni Llobet François | Brau Edicions | 2017 | Paperback | 144 pages, colour photos, colour illustrations | ISBN: 9788415885535 Buy this book from NHBS.com
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LPO Occitanie
WebsiteLa LPO Occitanie (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux) est une Association Locale régionale du réseau LPO France, qui a pour but d’agir pour l’oiseau, la faune sauvage, la nature et l’humain, et lutter contre le déclin de la biodiversité, par la connaissance, la protection, l’éducation et la mobilisation citoyenne.
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NP Cévennes
InformationSatellite ViewThe Cévennes National Park is a national park located in southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes. The park includes several mountains and plateaus, including: Mont Lozère, Mont Aigoual, Causse Méjean, France. Mont Lozère is the highest peak in the area, reaching 1,699 metres. -
NP Pyrénées
InformationSatellite ViewThe eastern portion of the national park forms part of the French section of the Pyrénées - Mont Perdu World Heritage Site that straddles the border between France and Spain. -
NR Camargue Gardoise
InformationSatellite ViewThe Camargue Gardoise (often called the Petite Camargue) is a protected, wild wetland in the Gard department of southern France. Famous for its pink flamingos, white horses, and black bulls, it spans 40,000 hectares of marshes, reed beds, and lagoons stretching from the Costières vineyards to the Mediterranean. -
NR Maison de la Nature
InformationSatellite ViewAt the heart of the Lattes area, the biological richness of these riverbanks gives rise to the diversity of the environments: reed beds, salt marshes, reclaimed land and new woodland. Once upon a time, canals and irrigation channels led to cultivation, and since 1985 the banks have been designated protected sites under the auspices of the Conservatoire du Littoral (coastal protection agency). Ever since then, water levels have been maintained to attract flora and fauna. -
NR Prats-de-Mollo
InformationSatellite View60 km southwest of Perpignan , the territory of the nature reserve is in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales in the town of Prats-de-Mollo-la-Preste in Occitania. -
RNP Haut-Languedoc
InformationSatellite ViewHaut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park is a regional natural park in the south of the Massif Central within the Aveyron, Hérault, and Tarn departments. The park provides a habitat for more than 240 species of birds, in a stunningly diverse range of climate and scenery. It also provides a home for mouflons, successfully reintroduced from Corsica. -
RNP Narbonnaise
InformationSatellite ViewThe vast Regional Natural Park of Narbonne in the Mediterranean covers 80,000 hectares in the east of the department of Aude. It has a truly diverse countryside, from lagoons and fine sandy beaches on the Mediterranean coast, to vineyards and garrigue in the Corbières, as well as the rocky escarpments of the Clape massif. With a particularly wide range of habitats the park hosts one of France’s richest ranges of birdlife, with over 40% of the Western Palearctic species observed here (residents, seasonal visitors or on migration).
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Occitanie Rare Bird Alert
SightingsThe report below shows observations of rare birds in Occitanie. Includes both unreviewed and reviewed/approved observations.
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Birding Languedoc
Local Tour OperatorDid you know that over 40% of the birds in western Europe can be seen in the Languedoc area of southern France? Resident species, summer visitors, on migration and over-wintering, what attracts them is the Languedoc’s unique geographic diversity, which offers some of the best birding in France. -
FieldGuides
Tour OperatorTwo of Europe's finest birding destinations combined in this wonderful eleven-day tour, with varied highlights and some great French food. -
Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays
Tour OperatorIf you are looking for a quality natural history holiday, this is a great place to start. The Honeyguide programme offers a mix of the very best of wildlife in fascinating parts of Europe.. -
Languedoc Nature
Local Tour OperatorLanguedoc is a major place for ecotourism, outdoor activities, wine tours and nice restaurants. Languedoc Nature can organize your holidays to hike in the Cévennes, ride on the Larzac plateau, paddle surrounded by the Tarn Gorges or visit the Cathare Chateaus. The diversity of sceneries expect you to spend plenty of different holidays.
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2017 [06 June] - Rachel & Robin Hamilton - The Cévennes
PDF ReportA cuckoo was calling as we arrived and, from the top of a thorn bush, a singing whitethroat gave us a brief view. We watched a lovely tree pipit song-flight from an ash tree and back to the same perch again and again, a common buzzard soared by, and while we admired a wood ants’ nest Ron called out in time for us to see a black kite. -
2017 [09 September] - Chris Durdin - French Pyrenees
PDF ReportAfter breakfast we gathered for a stroll down towards ‘dipper bridge’ to get a feel for the area. The clouds were slow to rise but it was dry and eventually sunny and warm. Black redstarts, white wagtails and migrant tree pipits, blackcaps and a garden warbler kept us company. The dippers, though, proved elusive but from the bridge area Helen picked up a very distant accipiter perched on electricity wires, giving a passable impression of a male goshawk. Kestrels were also nearby and then several griffon vultures took to the air around the nearby peak. These were soon joined by two golden eagles, flying together and talon grappling in front of the hillside. Two more accipiters got up, a male and female sparrowhawk chasing each other over the ridge. -
2018 [09 September] - Jay VanderGaast - Camargue & Pyrenees
ReportOur visit to the Crau steppe was a bit more frustrating due to the limited access, which probably cost us a few species, but we still managed to find some great local specialties, including Iberian Gray Shrike (now split from Southern), a pair of Little Owls loafing atop a nearby barn, a striking Eurasian Hoopoe strolling through the stony plains along the Peau de Meau, and a trio of Greater Short-toed Larks doing the same. Nearby wooded areas also came through, with goodies such as Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Wryneck, Long-tailed Tit, and an unexpected Common Nightingale, a bird that is usually long gone before we arrive in France. Also unexpected were two different Bluethroats, both giving fine views just a year after we'd recorded this species for the first time ever on this tour! -
2018 [09 September] - Megan Edwards Crewe - Camargue & Pyrenees
ReportClouds of dusty pink Greater Flamingos massed in area waterways. Hundreds of shorebirds snoozed or foraged in shallow lagoons, resting and refueling on their long journey from Arctic breeding grounds to African wintering areas. Busy flocks of European Bee-eaters flashed golden wings as they chased insects overhead -- or sat, like bright necklace beads, along utility wires. A Lesser Kestrel hunted from a metal post. Frosty-winged Mediterranean Gulls flew over a busy roadway in a near-constant stream. Little Bustards lurked along the edge of a busy airport. Tawny Pipits strode along a dried lagoon, flashing white tail edges as they shifted locations. A White-winged Tern flashed its distinctive pale rump among more evenly-colored Black Terns. -
2025 [06 June] - Gordon Shaw
PDF ReportWe stayed in Meyrueis, a perfect small French provincial town. It had the added addition of several tourist restaurants and bars which gave it a real buzz, Dippers nesting in the river under a bridge by a restaurant in the town centre, and Crag Martins zooming through the air constantly. It proved to be an excellent base for the holiday. -
2025 [08 August] - Ezra Mandemaker
PDF Reporturing the journey through France, the first target species were already seen: 18 Black Kites, 24 Red Kites, 3 Turtle Doves, Hoopoe, Short-toed Snake Eagle, around 150 Griffon Vultures, Black Redstart, and Crag Martin. From the parking lots north of the Maison des Vautours (44°11'50.9"N 3°14'52.2"E – free and almost as good as the paid viewpoint) we quickly found 25 Crag Martins, 10 Alpine Swifts, 30 Red-Billed Choughs, many Griffon Vultures, and 2 Cinereous Vultures. At 14:40 a Golden Eagle appeared above the ridge, soon followed by 2 Egyptian Vultures. Both species aren't easy, so I hadn’t expected to find them that fast (this Golden Eagle turned out to be the only one of the trip!). In La Cresse later that day we added 6 Honey Buzzards, 30 Griffon Vultures, 2 Short-toed Snake Eagles, and a singing Cirl Bunting. All in all, a very good start!
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La Maison des Guides de Camargue
AccommodationA 15 mn des Saintes Maries de la Mer et d’Aigues Mortes, Christiane et Jean-Marie vous proposent un gîte dans le paisible hameau de Montcalm, au milieu des vignobles des Vins des Sable. -
Les Sorbiers
AccommodationLes Sorbiers is a fine period Napoleonic building in the heart of the village of Bareges, which we have sympathetically restored and modernised to the level expected of high quality family run pension, chalet, throughout the Pyrenees. -
Villa - Laroque des Albere
AccommodationWelcome to our villa with private pool in the sunny south of France, between Perpignan and the Spanish border. The villa with pool in Laroque des Alberes, France is available to rent for your holiday by Mediterranean beaches and the Pyrenees.
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Birding Languedoc
WebsiteBird-watching enthusiasts who come to Languedoc Roussillon have 4 exciting areas to choose from - two mountainous (the Cévennes and the Pyrénées) and two wetlands (the Camargue and the Etangs of Narbonne). -
Languedoc Nature
WebsiteAdventure stays and trips in Occitanie Languedoc Roussillon & South Massif Central -
Where to Watch Birds
PDF LeafletThe Haut-Languedoc regional nature Park has Mediterranean, Atlantic and Mountain infl uences that have had an impact on the areas' landscape, wildlife, culture and history...