Birds to See in Botswana in December
66 species listed for December · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
66 bird species on our list for Botswana are recorded regularly in December. Of these, the most often recorded are Fork-tailed Drongo, Egyptian Goose, Spur-winged Goose, African Jacana and Barn Swallow. New this month: Common Quail, Montagu's Harrier, Whitethroat and Green Sandpiper and 2 more.
New in December6
Leaving after last month1
Residents
(33)Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitensLC
Recorded all year
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year
Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatusLC
Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year
Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Regularly May–Mar
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutusLC
Regularly Apr–Jan
Cape Sparrow
Passer melanurusLC
Regularly May–Mar
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Recorded all year
Common Reed-warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC
Regularly Apr–Feb
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Regularly May–Feb
Summer visitors
(20)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurioLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–May
Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Aug–May
European Bee-eater
Merops apiasterLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year
Buzzard
Buteo buteoLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Common Swift
Apus apusLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striataLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year
Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilusLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flavaLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
Little Stint
Calidris minutaLC
Regularly Aug–Apr
Hobby
Falco subbuteoLC
Regularly Oct–Jan
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Regularly Sep–Jul
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Aug–May
Sedge Warbler
Acrocephalus schoenobaenusLC
Regularly Nov–Mar
Winter visitors
(2)Present outside the breeding season
Passage migrants
(10)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
Booted Eagle
Hieraaetus pennatusLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Montagu's Harrier
Circus pygargusLC
Regularly Oct–Feb
Golden Oriole
Oriolus oriolusLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorusLC
Regularly Nov–Dec
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropusLC
Regularly Dec
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnixLC
Regularly Oct–May
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Regularly Sep–Dec
Garden Warbler
Sylvia borinLC
Regularly Dec
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Regularly Dec–May
Whitethroat
Curruca communisLC
Regularly Dec
Scarce visitors
(1)Recorded in some years but not every year
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made