Rare Birds in Botswana
Our list for Botswana has 16 rare birds recorded regularly there: 1 winter visitor, 13 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Botswana in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 16, most common first
AvocetRecurvirostra avosettaWinter visitorRare42–45 cmRegularly Feb–Dec
Booted EagleHieraaetus pennatusPassage migrantRare42–51 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Common QuailCoturnix coturnixPassage migrantRare16–18 cmRegularly Oct–May
Golden OrioleOriolus oriolusPassage migrantRare22–24 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargusPassage migrantRare43–47 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Black-necked GrebePodiceps nigricollisScarceRare28–34 cm
WhitethroatCurruca communisPassage migrantRare13–15 cmRegularly Dec
CuckooCuculus canorusPassage migrantRare32–34 cmRegularly Nov–Dec
Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaPassage migrantRare27–30 cmRegularly Oct–Nov
Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatusPassage migrantRare46–51 cmRegularly Jul
Green SandpiperTringa ochropusPassage migrantRare21–24 cmRegularly Dec
Tree PipitAnthus trivialisScarceRare14–16 cmRegularly Nov–Dec
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusPassage migrantRare34–58 cmRegularly Dec–May
SanderlingCalidris albaPassage migrantRare18–20 cmRegularly Oct
Garden WarblerSylvia borinPassage migrantRare14–15 cmRegularly Dec
NightjarCaprimulgus europaeusPassage migrantRare24–28 cmRegularly Oct
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Whitethroat 13–15 cm
- Garden Warbler 14–15 cm
- Tree Pipit 14–16 cm
- Common Quail 16–18 cm
- Sanderling 18–20 cm
- Green Sandpiper 21–24 cm
- Golden Oriole 22–24 cm
- Nightjar 24–28 cm
- Grey Plover 27–30 cm
- Black-necked Grebe 28–34 cm
- Cuckoo 32–34 cm
- Avocet 42–45 cm
- Montagu's Harrier 43–47 cm
- Peregrine Falcon 34–58 cm
- Booted Eagle 42–51 cm
- Great Crested Grebe 46–51 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
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