Mongolia Birding Tours

In the 16th century, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia and by the early 1900s, almost one-third of the adult male population were Buddhist monks, it is still the most widespread religion in the country.

The country has been made famous worldwide by Genghis Khan and the Mongol hordes but the draw of numerous highly sought and poorly known bird species has also had birders and wildlife enthusiasts enthralled in the county for years. According to International Ornithological Congress (IOC) taxonomy the Mongolian national list is almost 530 bird species.

Situated on the Mongolian Plateau, Mongolia is one of the most exciting and remote birding destinations in Asia with Siberian taiga forest, vast seamless steppe grassland, numerous freshwater and brackish lakes, the Gobi Desert (with astounding sand dunes), and impressive mountains, the highest point being the Khüiten Peak in the Tavan Bogd massif in the far west, near the triple border with China and Russia, at a height of 14,350 feet (4,374 meters).

There are four categories of protected areas in Mongolia (put in place after independence in the 1990s) these are: Strictly Protected Areas, national parks, natural and historic monuments, and nature reserves, some of these are visited on our Mongolia birding tours, such as Gorkhi Terelj National Park, Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, and Gurvan Saikhan National Park. BirdLife International recognizes 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) scattered widely across the country and one Endemic Bird Area (EBA), the Mongolian Mountains EBA, home to Kozlov’s Accentor (called Mongolian Accentor by some taxonomic groups) and Mongolia’s sole bird endemic.

Our Mongolian birdwatching tours offer the ultimate adventure to find an array of dream birds from the Eastern Palearctic, timed to ensure we are in the best areas at the best time of year. We stay in comfortable local-style yurts (here called gers) offering an incredible and authentic almost-nomadic-feeling Mongolian experience. What is more, Mongolia is known as the “Land of the Eternal Blue Sky” because it has over 250 sunny days, making birding and bird photography much more fun! Some of the important birds in Mongolia include White-naped Crane, Demoiselle Crane, Siberian Crane, Swan Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Black-billed Capercaillie, Altai Snowcock, Ural Owl, Amur Falcon, Saker Falcon, Cinereous Vulture, Upland Buzzard, Oriental Plover, Relict Gull, Pallas’s Sandgrouse, Mongolian Lark, Henderson’s Ground Jay, Siberian Rubythroat, Chinese Bush Warbler, Saxaul Sparrow, Kozlov’s Accentor, monotypic Wallcreeper, Mongolian Finch, Pere David’s Snowfinch, and Brandt’s Mountain Finch.

There are a great many highly sought-after mammals present in Mongolia, none more so than the enigmatic Snow Leopard. We have a specific Snow Leopard tour focusing on finding this mega mammal and there are a great many other charismatic mammals present in Mongolia that can be found during our birding or leopard tour. These include Siberian Ibex, Saiga, Goitered Gazelle, wild Bactrian Camel, Mongolian Wild Ass, Przewalski’s Horse, Wolverine, Brown (Gobi) Bear, Grey (Himalayan) Wolf, Corsac Fox, Eurasian Lynx (two subspecies that may pertain to separate species: Turkestan Lynx and Altai Lynx), Pallas’s Cat, and numerous squirrels, marmots, pikas, gerbils, voles, and jerboas.

We look forward to welcoming you to Mongolia, where we are sure you will have a fabulous time.