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Republic of North Macedonia

Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor ©Zeynel Cebeci CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Website

North Macedonia is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the north. Covering a total area of 25,436 km2 (9,821 square miles) it constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to 621,000 about a third of the country’s population of 1.83 million. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.

The country is geographically clearly defined by a central valley formed by the Vardar river and framed along its borders by mountain ranges. The terrain is mostly rugged, located between the Šar Mountains and Osogovo, which frame the valley of the Vardar river. Three large lakes – Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Dojran Lake – lie on the southern borders, bisected by the frontiers with Albania and Greece. Ohrid is considered to be one of the oldest lakes and biotopes in the world.

Mount Korab – ©Don macedone, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes in the past. It also has scenic mountains. They belong to two different mountain ranges: the first is the Šar Mountains that continues to the West Vardar/Pelagonia group of mountains (Baba Mountain, Nidže, Kožuf and Jakupica), also known as the Dinaric range. The second range is the Osogovo–Belasica mountain chain, also known as the Rhodope range. The mountains belonging to the Šar Mountains and the West Vardar/Pelagonia range are younger and higher than the older mountains of the Osogovo-Belasica mountain group. Mount Korab of the Šar Mountains on the Albanian border, at 2,764 m (9,068 ft), is the tallest mountain in North Macedonia. In North Macedonia there are 1,100 large sources of water. The rivers flow into three different basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea.

The Aegean basin is the largest. It covers 87% of the territory of North Macedonia. Vardar, the largest river in this basin, drains 80% of the territory. Its valley plays an important part in the economy and the communication system of the country. The Vardar Valley project is considered to be crucial for the strategic development of the country. The river Black Drin forms the Adriatic basin, which covers 13% of the territory. It receives water from Lakes Prespa and Ohrid. The Black Sea basin is the smallest and covers the northern side of Mount Skopska Crna Gora. This is the source of the river Binačka Morava, which joins the Morava, and later, the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea. North Macedonia has around fifty ponds and three natural lakes, Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. In North Macedonia there are nine spa towns and resorts: Banište, Banja Bansko, Istibanja, Katlanovo, Kežovica, Kosovrasti, Banja Kočani, Kumanovski Banji and Negorci.

Ohrid Lake & Galichitsa Mountain – ©Apcbg, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Four different seasons are found in the country with warm and dry summers and moderately cold and snowy winters. The range of temperatures recorded throughout the year ranges from −20 °C in winter, to 40 °C in summer. Low winter temperatures are influenced by winds from the north while heat during summer rises due to the subtropical pressure of the Aegean Sea and climate influences from the Middle East, with the latter causing dry periods. There are three main climatic zones in the country: mildly continental in the north, temperate Mediterranean in the south and mountainous in the zones with high altitude.  Along the valleys of the Vardar and Strumica rivers, in the regions of Gevgelija, Valandovo, Dojran, Strumica, and Radoviš, the climate is temperate Mediterranean. The warmest regions are Demir Kapija and Gevgelija, where the temperature in July and August frequently exceeds 40 °C.

Average annual precipitation varies from 67 inches in the western mountainous area to just 20 inches in the eastern area and in the Vardar valley. The climate and irrigation diversity allow the cultivation of different plant types, including wheat, corn, potatoes, poppies, peanuts, and rice.

Birding North Macedonia

Phytogeographically, the country belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, the territory of the republic can be subdivided into four eco-regions: the Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rhodopes mixed forests and Aegean sclerophyllous and mixed forests.

Pelister National Park – ©Ehrlich91 CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The native forest fauna is abundant and includes bears, wild boars, wolves, foxes, squirrels and chamois. Lynx is found, very rarely, in the mountains of western Macedonia, while deer can be found in the region of Demir Kapija. Forest birds include black grouse and imperial eagle. There are four national parks.

Contributors
Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 330

    (As at April 2025)
Checklist

  • Avibase

    PDF Checklist
    This checklist includes all bird species found in North Macedonia , 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.

  • E-Bird

    PDF Checklist
    This 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.

  • Wikipedia

    Annotated List
    This is a list of the bird species recorded in North Macedonia. The avifauna of the Republic of North Macedonia include a total of 328 species, none of which are introduced or endemic.
Useful Reading

  • Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East

    | Photographic Guide | By Frédéric Jiguet & Aurélien Audevard | PUP | 2017 | Paperback | 447 pages, 2200 colour photos, colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780691172439 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Collins Bird Guide

    | By Lars Svensson | Harper Collins | Edition 3 | 2023 | Paperback | 478 pages, 4000+ colour illustrations, 700 colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9780008547462 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Macedonia

    | By Thammy Evans & Rudolf Abraham | Bradt Travel Guides | 2015 | Paperback | 390 pages, 8 pages with colour photos; 42 b/w maps | Out of Print | ISBN: 9781841628585 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Wildlife Adventures in Eastern Europe

    | Estonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Macedonia, Hungary and Slovakia – An Illustrated Account of Summer Visits by a Group of Naturalists from England | David KJ Withrington & Paul Raven | ithrington & Raven (privately published) | 2017 | Paperback | 104 pages, 360 colour photos | ISBN: #234824 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Birding Aps

  • Collins Bird Guide

    Android
    The Collins Bird Guide App provides everything you need to identify a species quickly and learn about it thoroughly.

  • Collins Bird Guide

    Apple iOS |
    Collins Bird Guide 4+ A field guide to Europe NatureGuides Ltd. Designed for iPad

Useful Information

  • Important Bird Areas in Macedonia

    Article
    Important Bird Areas in Macedonia: Sites of Global and European Importance Identification of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) is an initiative implemented by BirdLife International at the global level, aiming to conserve a network of sites that are particularly important for the conservation of birds.
Museums & Universities

  • Macedonian Museum of Natural History

    Webpage
    The Macedonian Museum of Natural History was founded in October 1926, following an initiative of the well-known biologist, Dr. Stanko Karaman. The Museum collects, studies and exhibits the natural treasure of Macedonia. The permanent exhibitions of the Museum comprise an area of 1700 sqm and about 4000 original exhibits are displayed in glass showcases and dioramas.
Organisations

  • Bird Study and Protection Society of Macedonia (Bird Protection Macedonia - BPM)

    Website
    The Macedonian Bird Ringing Scheme (MBRS) was formed in 1989 but the use of Macedonian rings started only in 1995 (when we were supplied with 7500 Macedonian coded rings). Up until 1995 we used rings issued by the Ornithological Department in Zagreb, Croatia, which was the most active bird ringing centre in Yugoslavia at that time.

  • Macedonian Ecological Society

    Website
    The Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) is an environmental non-profit civil society organization based in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, that has a mission to promote ecology, environmental sciences, biodiversity conservation, as well as to promote ecologically justified use of natural resources. It has been established in 1972...
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • NP Galicica

    WebsiteSatellite View
    Macedonia is a splendid country with various tourist destinations which make it attractive during the whole year. One of those destinations is the beautiful National Park Galicica which is situated in the south-west part of Macedonia and it is part of the mountain which bears the same name - Galichica.

  • NP Mavrovo

    WebsiteSatellite View
    The wild life in Mavrovo is present with 64 species or 62.1 % from the total quantity of wild life in the Republic of Macedonia. 41 species or 51.9% are permenantly protected, while 14 species or 82.4 % is wild life without legal protection in Macedonia.

  • NP Pelister

    WebpageSatellite View
    Pelister was one of the first protected national parks in the Balkans.

  • NP Tikvesh

    WebpageSatellite View

  • National Parks

    InformationSatellite View
    Most prominent mamles in the parks are the families of weasels, dogs and cats, as well as deer. From the birds, most domimanat are the families of eagles, hawks, with over 15 species, and geese swans and ducks, with over 12 species, then ravans, storks, with 8 species each, and owls with 7 species, etc

  • Ohrid Lake

    InformationSatellite View
    Due to its age, many of Lake Ohrid's aquatic species are endemic including ten of the seventeen fish species. In addition, there are five particular endemic species which are restricted to small areas of the Lake such as special various birds, as well as four fish spawning grounds. Because of its rich history and unique flora and fauna, Lake Ohrid was declared a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural heritage Site in 1980…

  • Parks & Nature Reserves of Macedonia

    WebsiteSatellite View
    There are three large tectonic lakes, fifteen artificial lakes and also twenty-five glacial lakes located in the highest areas of the mountain ranges dating from the Ice Age

  • SNR Ezerani

    PDF BrochureSatellite View

  • SNR Ploce Litotelmi

    InformationSatellite View

  • Wetlands

    WebsiteSatellite View
    The convention entered into force in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 8 September 1991. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia currently has 2 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 21,616 hectares.
Sightings, News & Forums
Guides & Tour Operators

  • Macedonia DMC

    Tour Operator

  • NatureTrek

    Tour Operator
    A pioneering 8-day natural history holiday to a little-visited corner of the Balkans in search of North Macedonia's butterflies, birds and other wildlife.

  • Traventuria

    Tour Operator
    Spring Balkan Birdwatching Tour

  • Wild Echo Tours

    Tour Operator
    Additionally we will enjoy many rare and endemic flowers and plants as well as other wildlife.
Trip Reports

  • 2017 [05 May] - Ella Maria & Leif Bisschop-Larsen

    PDF Report
    This is open grazed grassland more or less with bushes and wooded areasand mountains in the distance. Very few people live there. In this area wespottedGriffon -and Egyptian Vulture, Imperial -and Golden Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Little Kestrel and Hobby. Red-backed and Woodchat Shrike were common as were Cirl, Black-headed and Corn Bunting. We heard Golden Oriole and Nightingale all the time.

  • 2017 [06 June] - Rob Mileto

    PDF Report
    On the bird front, four Little Bitterns out in the open and showing well was a welcome surprise. In the fringing reed, a Great Reed Warbler sang and occasionally gave us a brief view, whilst out over the water was a large tern with a red bill looking enormously like a Caspian Tern - except they aren’t really supposed to occur there in June!

  • 2018 [06 June] - Tom Mabbett

    PDF Report
    ...We moved a little further on and, with the shallow pools providing perfect feeding, they were covered in waders, with a super selection enjoyed. Marsh and Curlew Sandpipers, Avocets, Kentish Plovers and lots of smart breeding-plumage Spotted Redshanks were the highlights, with around 350 Flamingos also enjoyed...

  • 2019 [06 June] - Nicola Scatassi

    PDF Report
    ...During the drive towards our first stop we noticed a few roadside White Stork nests, with grown-up chicks, while a single Black Stork was seen in flight. One village had a lot of Lesser Kestrels flying over the house...
Blogs

  • Charis Kourouzidis - Nature of Macedonia

    Website
    Photos of nature in Greek Macedonia... over the border but as the avifauna is largely shared a useful site for images of Macedonian birds

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