Nxai Pan National Park

Birds

Nxai Pan is a very good destination for safari-goers interested in birding. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here. The different habitats – ranging from grassland, mopane woodland and acacia scrub – ensure a wide range of species. On the open pan, kori bustards and secretary birds mingle with the visiting white storks. Many migrants are added to the mix in the wet summer months, from November to April.

Notable Birds in Nxai Pan

› ‹

Black bustard
Common

Birding Rating

Expert Rating

3.5/5 6 Birding Reviews

User Rating

3.8/5 16 Birding Reviews

Birding Specials –Treats for Avid Birders

Abdim’s stork
Barred owl
African fish eagle
Black bustard
Black-cheeked waxbill
Black-winged stilt
Blue-cheeked bee-eater
Bronze-winged courser
Burchell’s coucal
Burchell's courser
Capped wheatear
Dusky lark
Eastern paradise whydah
Gabar goshawk
Great white pelican
Greater flamingo
White-browed robin-chat
Kori bustard
Lesser flamingo

Martial eagle
Meyer’s parrot
Ostrich
Pale chanting goshawk
Southern pied babbler
Pied avocet
Pin-tailed whydah
Pink-backed pelican
Red-billed francolin
Red-necked falcon
Saddle-billed stork
Secretary bird
Shaft-tailed whydah
Southern anteater chat
Temminck's courser
Violet-eared waxbill
Wattled crane
White stork

Best Time for Bird Watching

Nxai Pan is a great park for bird watching any month of the year. The wetter months, from November to April, is when the park is at its finest for birders. This is the best time for migrants in general, and also the time when a lot of birds are breeding and show their breeding plumage. Wildlife viewing at the pans is at its best around the same time.

Best Parks for Birding –Including Birding Rating

Birdlife is especially rich in the northern parks, where permanent water is present. The other semi-arid parks still offer reasonable birding and the opportunity to see dry-country specials.