Southern Africa is a haven for birds ranging from the very tall (ostriches) to the very small (little bee-eaters).
On safaris you will see many of these feathered beauties, especially starlings, oxpeckers, and cattle egrets whose diets benefit from hanging around large animals that stir up insects as they walk. If you are specifically interested in bird watching, there are special birding tours you can take.
Below is a list of the birds I personally saw while visiting Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
Water Birds
- African Darters
- African Pygmy Geese
- Egyptian Geese
- Reed Cormorants
- Spur-Winged Geese
An African darter often swims with only its s-shaped neck above water – giving it the nickname snakebird. Darter refers to the way they dive into the water and spear fish on their beaks. Their feathers are not waterproof so they can be seen spreading their wings to dry in the sun.
Penguins
- African Penguins
African penguins are an endangered species found on the south-western coast of Africa, namely Namibia and South Africa. Most colonies live on islands but there are a handful of mainland colonies such as Boulders Beach near Cape Town, South Africa. It is so strange to see penguins walking in sand!
Large Birds with Long Legs
- African Openbills
- African Spoonbills
- Black Herons
- Blue Cranes
- Cattle Egrets
- Great White Egrets
- Green-Backed Night Herons
- Grey Herons
- Hadeda Ibises
- Kori Bustards
- Little Egrets
- Ostriches
- Squacco Herons
- White Storks
Blue cranes are the national bird of South Africa. Like their name suggests, they have light blue-gray feathers. Although blue cranes are found almost entirely in South Africa, there is a small population in northern Namibia.
Kori bustards are arguably the heaviest birds capable of flight; however, they spend the majority of their time on the ground. To attract females during breeding season, males inflate their throats up to 4 times their normal size and fluff up their neck feathers. Though they are common in Botswana and Namibia, they are also found in Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Ostriches are the largest living bird species and run at speeds up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h)! Males and females can be easily differentiated by feather color; males have mostly black feathers, while females’ feathers are greyish-brown.
Small Birds with Long Legs
- Blacksmith Lapwings
- Black-Winged Stilts
- Common Sandpipers
- Three-Banded Plovers
- White-Crowned Lapwings
Blacksmith lapwings have a loud “tink-tink-tink” call, like a blacksmith hammering metal. With their bold black, grey, and white pattern, they are easy to spot. They are found in all of southern Africa and parts of eastern Africa up to Kenya.
White-crowned lapwings (or white-headed lapwings) are easy to identify by their striking plumage and yellow facial wattles. They have a grey head with a white crown stripe, brown back, and black and white wings. When they fly, the wings are predominantly white.
Game Birds
- Helmeted Guineafowl
- Natal Spurfowl
- Red-Billed Spurfowl
- Swainson’s Spurfowl
Helmeted guineafowl, unlike other guineafowl, have un-feathered heads. Instead, they have a bony knob and toned (red, blue, and black) skin. When Europeans first colonized North America, they confused the wild turkey with this bird. As they are found in the majority of sub-Saharan Africa, seeing helmeted guineafowl is very common, especially on safari game drives.
Red-billed spurfowl, also called red-billed francolins, have barred feathers, a yellow eye-ring, reddish legs, and (you guessed it) a reddish bill. While similar to red-billed, both Natal and Swainson’s spurfowl have some different features. Natal spurfowl (Natal francolins) lack an eye-ring and have scaled underparts instead of barring.
Swainson’s spurfowl (Swainson’s francolins) lack barring, and have dark legs and red skin on their face. Like several other bird species, Swainson’s spurfowl was named after English ornithologist William Swainson.
Birds of Prey
- African Fish Eagles
- Black-Winged Kites
- Tawny Eagles
- White-Backed Vultures
African fish eagles are the national bird of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. As they are active during the day, they were a staple of our river cruises on the Chobe River. African fish eagles are monogamous so they are often seen in pairs, perched on trees along bodies of water. They have distinctive plumage – brown body, black wings, white head and chest, and a featherless, yellow face. As you might guess, they feed mainly on fish, although they will eat other water birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Fruit-Eaters
- Grey Go-Away-Birds
The grey go-away-bird is named for its distinctive call – “go-way” – which echoes through the air. It used to be known as the grey lourie until it became more commonly known by the nickname. Their diet is mainly fruit such as wild figs and berries; however, they do eat insects and flowers as well.
Long Straight-Billed Birds
- Giant Kingfishers
- Pied Kingfishers
- Woodland Kingfishers
As the name implies, giant kingfishers are the largest kingfishers in Africa. They feed on crabs, fish, and frogs. While both the male and female have black feathers with white spots, you can tell them apart based on where their orange/rufous feathers are located. Males have an orange chest and white belly while females have the opposite – an orange belly and white chest.
Pied kingfishers have black and white plumage which is barred on their backs. Males and females can be differentiated by the black band on their breast – males have two bands and females have one band which is often broken in the center. Pied kingfishers hover over the water and dive down bill first to catch fish. They are the only kingfisher that hovers like this. This is an amazing sight to see – almost like a big cat ready to pounce!
Long Curved-Billed Birds
- African Grey Hornbills
- European Bee-Eaters
- Little Bee-Eaters
- Red-Billed Hornbills
- Southern Ground Hornbills
- Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbills
- Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eaters
Little bee-eaters eat insects, especially (as the name suggests) bees, wasps, and hornets. They have green upper parts, green and brown wings, yellow throats, black gorgets (collars), and buff/beige bellies. Only reaching 15 to 17 cm in length, they are the smallest African bee-eaters.
Disney fans may recognize that Zazu from The Lion King is a red-billed hornbill. These hornbills are black and white with red bills and yellow eyes. Although they are larger birds, they are considered small compared to other hornbill species.
Southern ground hornbills are the largest hornbill in the world! Unlike the other hornbills listed above who fly and perch in trees, ground hornbills prefer walking and foraging for food. They typically eat invertebrates, lizards, snakes, and amphibians. We often saw them in groups of three though they are known to live in groups up to 11 birds.
Insectivores
- African Stonechats
- Burchell’s Coucals
- Cape Glossy Starlings
- Lilac-Breasted Rollers
- Red-Backed Shrikes
- Red-Winged Starlings
- Senegal Coucals
- Tropical Boubous
- Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers
Burchell’s coucals are a species of cuckoo. They have a distinctive call, which sounds like water pouring from a bottle. It is believed that it will rain soon after hearing the call, earning this coucal the nickname rainbird. It is very similar in appearance to the Senegal coucal; however, the Senegal coucal has a plain black tail base where Burchell’s has a barred tail base.
One of the prettiest birds we encountered was the lilac-breasted roller. They have a lilac breast, ruddy cheeks, light green crown, greenish-blue underparts, and bright blue or violet shoulders and wing tips. When they take flight, it is an incredible sight! The roller in its name refers to how they dive and roll from side to side during courtship or fights.
Yellow-billed oxpeckers eat insects and ticks. They got their name from their tendency to perch on large animals such as cattle, wildebeests, rhino, buffalo, and giraffes to find food. Oxpeckers are also known to keep wounds open or create new ones. They have a yellow bill with a red tip and red eyes. The similar red-billed oxpecker can be differentiated by a red bill and a yellow eye-ring. In Southern Africa, they are mostly found in Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe though there are small areas in Namibia and South Africa. The majority of their range is from Senegal to Sudan.
Seed-Eaters
- Cinnamon-Breasted Buntings
- House Sparrows
- Laughing Doves
- Red-Billed Buffalo Weavers
- Southern Masked Weavers
- Southern Red Bishops
- Village Indigobirds
- White-Browed Sparrow-Weavers
Red-billed buffalo weavers are one of the largest weaver birds. They build colonies in large trees, like baobabs, with nests made out of thorny twigs. The name weaver comes from the intricately woven nests this family of birds create. Red-billed weavers are foragers who search for food on the ground.
What’s your favorite bird? Comment below!
I was so surprised by the diversity of birds we saw!! My favourites are the Southern Ground Hornbill (they sound sooo prehistoric) and the Grey Go-Away Bird (my spirit animal haha). I have yet to see the Penguins, but we’re booked for Cape Town next Fall (hopefully!) and will see them then!!
The penguins were a definite treat and Simons Town is a good stop for a day trip. I think two of my favorites were the grey go-away-bird and tropical boubou just for their calls.
Hands down my favorite is the lilac-breasted roller! So beautiful. Birds are so hard to capture and I can’t believe the great photos you were able to catch. Thanks for sharing their name origins, sounds and habits. Enjoyed learning more about them even after the adventure.
The lilac-breasted roller is very pretty! Glad you enjoyed learning some fun facts 🙂
Wow! We have a lot of birders in our group. They usually paint from their photos so it was a pleasure to find out what we could witness in Southern Africa. They’ll be thrilled!
Yes, this would be the perfect place to take them! So many beautiful birds especially during breeding season when their feathers are brightest.
I am not a bird watcher though I enjoy the birds in my own backyard. I am amazed at the number and variety you were able to see and photograph for the blog. Traveling to Africa would not have meant inquiring about birds. I would certainly include seeing and photographing birds in my itinerary now. Again, thank you.
Thanks Liz! I hadn’t considered looking for all these birds either but was amazed by what I found. I can see how people would want to visit just for birding.