The bird checklist for mainland South Africa stands at 855 species. Of particular interest to dedicated bird-watchers is an impressive tally of 70 and species. This includes 17 strict endemics that occur only in South Africa and another 21 whose range only otherwise extends into Lesotho and/or Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Most of these local specials are associated with unique habitats such as , the semi-arid and , and the grassy . are present from November to April.
Endemic & Near-endemic Birds
(E) endemic = only lives in South Africa(NE) near-endemic = most of the global population is resident in South Africa
(NE/SLE) = near-endemic confined to South Africa, Lesotho and/or Eswatini
- African pied starling (NE/SLE)
- African rock pipit (NE/SLE)
- Agulhas long-billed lark (E)
- Barratt’s warbler (NE)
- Black harrier (NE)
- Black-eared sparrow lark (NE)
- Black-headed canary (NE)
- Blue bustard (NE/SLE)
- Blue crane (NE)
- Bokmakierie (NE)
- Botha’s lark (E)
- Brown scrub robin (NE)
- Buff-streaked chat (NE/SLE)
- Bush blackcap (NE/SLE)
- Cape bulbul (E)
- Cape clapper lark (NE)
- Cape francolin (NE)
- Cape gannet (NE)
- Cape grassbird (NE)
- Cape long-billed lark (E)
- Cape parrot (E)
- Cape rock thrush (NE/SLE)
- Cape rockjumper (E)
- Cape siskin (E)
- Cape sugarbird (E)
- Cape weaver (NE)
- Cape white-eye (NE)
- Chorister robin-chat (NE/SLE)
- Cinnamon-breasted warbler (NE)
- Cloud cisticola (NE)
- Drakensberg prinia (NE/SLE)
- Drakensberg rockjumper (NE/SLE)
- Drakensberg siskin (NE/SLE)
- Eastern long-billed lark (NE/SLE)
- Fairy flycatcher (NE)
- Fiscal flycatcher (NE)
- Forest buzzard (NE/SLE)
- Forest canary (NE/SLE)
- Fynbos buttonquail (E)
- Greater double-collared sunbird (NE/SLE)
- Grey tit (NE)
- Grey-winged francolin (NE/SLE)
- Ground woodpecker (NE)
- Gurney’s sugarbird (NE)
- Jackal buzzard (NE)
- Karoo eremomela (NE)
- Karoo lark (NE)
- Karoo prinia (NE)
- Karoo scrub robin (NE)
- Karoo thrush (NE)
- Knysna turaco (NE/SLE)
- Knysna warbler (E)
- Knysna woodpecker (E)
- Large-billed lark (NE)
- Layard’s tit-babbler (NE)
- Melodious lark (NE)
- Mountain pipit (NE/SLE)
- Namaqua warbler (NE)
- Orange-breasted sunbird (E)
- Protea canary (E)
- Red lark (E)
- Rudd’s lark (E)
- Sclater’s lark (NE)
- Sentinel rock thrush (NE/SLE)
- Sickle-winged chat (NE)
- Southern bald ibis (NE/SLE)
- Southern black korhaan (E)
- Southern double-collared sunbird (NE)
- Southern tchagra (NE)
- Swee waxbill (NE)
- Victorin’s warbler (E)
- Yellow-breasted pipit (NE/SLE)
Other Birding Specials Treats for Avid Birders
- African black oystercatcher
- African fish eagle
- African penguin
- Barlow’s lark
- Bateleur
- Black-collared barbet
- Cape vulture
- Crested barbet
- Crimson-breasted shrike
- Grey crowned crane
- Grey go-away-bird
- Kori bustard
- Lilac-breasted roller
- Long-tailed widowbird
- Malachite sunbird
- Pel’s fishing-owl
- Pin-tailed whydah
- Purple-crested turaco
- Secretary bird
- Southern ground hornbill
- Southern yellow-billed hornbill
- Wattled crane
Best Time for Bird Watching
Birding is best from November to April, when from the northern hemisphere are present and many bird species are in breeding plumage. If your main objective is to find and species, these are resident and can generally be seen easily throughout the year. For wildlife viewing, winter (May to September) is better as it coincides with the Dry season in most parks and reserves.
Best Parks for Birding Includes Birding Rating
Kruger National Park is great for general birding, while iSimangaliso Wetland Park (especially uMkhuze Game Reserve) is a real birding hot spot. It offers a greater number of species in a much smaller area with an incredible number of specials. The dry Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is good for and .
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Kruger NP
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Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
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Kgalagadi TP
Recommended Birding Books
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Roberts Bird Guide (2nd edition; book)
Superb field guide; one of South Africa’s all-time bestsellers.
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Roberts Bird Guide (2nd edition; app)
Even better than the book, with a wealth of additional info.
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Sasol Birds of Southern Africa
Field guide rivaling Roberts’ in quality. App available.
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KrugerExplorer (app)
Every bird recorded in Kruger, plus loads of other info.
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Pocket Guide: Birds of Southern Africa
Beginner’s guide focused on more common and striking birds.