Birds to See in Botswana in May
44 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
44 bird species on our list for Botswana are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Fork-tailed Drongo, Egyptian Goose, African Jacana, Helmeted Guineafowl and Grey Heron. New this month: Cape Sparrow, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon.
Residents
(32)Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitensLC
Recorded all year
Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatusLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Cape Sparrow
Passer melanurusLC
Regularly May–Mar
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year
Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Regularly May–Mar
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
(8)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Regularly Sep–Jul
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Sep–May
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year
Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Aug–May
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–May
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Aug–May
Winter visitors
(2)Present outside the breeding season
Passage migrants
(2)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
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