Tokelau is a dependent territory of New Zealand in Polynesia in the Pacific Ocean, comprising three coral atolls with a total land area of 10.1 km2 (3.9 sq mi). There are 33 species of birds that have been recorded from Tokelau, of which one, the red junglefowl, has been introduced by humans. Anas ducks are also seasonal visitors to the islands. The most common species in Tokelau are the black noddy, brown noddy, and white tern, which each have populations of thousands of pairs on each of the atolls. Three species of birds found in Tokelau, the bristle-thighed curlew, bar-tailed godwit, and flesh-footed shearwater, are near-threatened. One species, the Australian masked-owl, is locally extinct. Before the arrival of humans, Tokelau may also have been inhabited by Halcyon kingfishers, Gallirallus and Porzana rails, Acrocephalus warblers, Aplonis starlings, Prosobonia sandpipers, and fruit doves.
 Tokelau has a moist tropical climate year-round, with an average temperature of 28 °C (82 °F) and a mean annual rainfall of over 3,000 mm (120 in). The atolls consist of coral rubble of different sizes, with poor quality soil overlying coral rock. Plant diversity is low, with forest on the inner side of the atolls comprising mainly coconut palm, along with other tropical trees like Cordia subcordata, Pisonia grandis, Guettarda speciosa, and Pandanus. Undergrowth mainly consists of bird's-nest fern (Asplenium nidus). Vegetation nearer the beach is more diverse, with very little soil and plants like Scaevola taccada and Morinda citrifolia.
 This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families, and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of the 2022 edition of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Tokelau.
 The following tags have been used to highlight several categories. Not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.
  Order: Galliformes   Family: Phasianidae
 The Phasianidae are a family of terrestrial birds that consist of quails, partridges, snowcocks, francolins, spurfowls, tragopans, monals, pheasants, peafowls, and jungle fowls. In general, they are plump (although they vary in size) and have broad, relatively short wings.
 Order: Columbiformes   Family: Columbidae
 Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.
 Order: Cuculiformes   Family: Cuculidae
 The family Cuculidae includes cuckoos, roadrunners, and anis. These birds are of variable size with slender bodies, long tails, and strong legs. Many of the species are brood parasites.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae
 The family Charadriidae includes the plovers, dotterels, and lapwings. They are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks, and long, usually pointed, wings. They are found in open country worldwide.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Scolopacidae
 Scolopacidae is a large diverse family of small to medium-sized shorebirds including the sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, dowitchers, and phalaropes. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Some species have highly specialised bills adapted to specific feeding strategies.
 Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Laridae
 Laridae is a family of medium to large seabirds, the gulls, terns, and skimmers. Gulls are typically grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They have stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Terns are a group of generally medium to large seabirds typically with grey or white plumage, often with black markings on the head. Most terns hunt fish by diving, but some pick insects off the surface of fresh water.
 Order: Phaethontiformes   Family: Phaethontidae
 Tropicbirds are slender white birds of tropical oceans, with exceptionally long central tail feathers. Their heads and long wings have black markings.
 Order: Procellariiformes   Family: Procellariidae
 The procellariids are a group of medium-sized petrels, characterised by united nostrils with medium nasal septa and a long outer functional primary flight feather.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Fregatidae
 Frigatebirds are large seabirds usually found over tropical oceans. They are large, black and white or completely black, with long wings and deeply forked tails. The males have coloured inflatable throat pouches. They do not swim or walk and cannot take off from a flat surface. They are essentially aerial, able to stay aloft for days at a time.
 Order: Suliformes   Family: Sulidae
 The sulids comprise the gannets and boobies. Both groups are medium to large coastal seabirds that plunge-dive for fish.
 Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Ardeidae
 The family Ardeidae contains the bitterns, herons, and egrets. Herons and egrets are medium to large wading birds with long necks and legs. Bitterns tend to be shorter necked and more wary. Members of Ardeidae fly with their necks retracted.
 Order: Strigiformes   Family: Tytonidae
 Barn-owls are medium-sized owls with large, flat heads, and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long legs with slightly curved talons.