Birds to See in Eswatini in December
24 bird species on our list for Eswatini are recorded regularly in December
Of these, the most often recorded are Barn Swallow, Fork-tailed Drongo, Cape Starling, European Bee-eater and Southern Masked Weaver. New this month: Little Grebe, Purple Heron and Common Ostrich.
On the move in December
GBIF · DecArriving
At their peak
From Eswatini’s bird records, 2019–2024: arriving birds are regular this month but not last; leaving birds are regular this month but not next.
Other months
All 24 birds in December
24 birds
Barn SwallowHirundo rusticaSummer visitorCommon17–19 cmRegularly Oct–Apr · 1.71% in Dec
Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilisResidentCommon23–26 cmRecorded all year · 1.22% in Dec
Cape StarlingLamprotornis nitensResidentCommon25–28 cmRecorded all year · 1.18% in Dec
European Bee-eaterMerops apiasterSummer visitorCommon27–29 cmRegularly Oct–Apr · 0.95% in Dec
Southern Masked WeaverPloceus velatusResidentCommon13–15 cmRegularly May–Mar · 0.95% in Dec
Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaResidentCommon63–73 cmRecorded all year · 0.87% in Dec
Helmeted GuineafowlNumida meleagrisResidentCommon53–63 cmRecorded all year · 0.87% in Dec
Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurioSummer visitorCommon16–18 cmRegularly Nov–Apr · 0.87% in Dec
Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinicaSummer visitorCommon15–19 cmRegularly Jul–Apr · 0.84% in Dec
HoopoeUpupa epopsResidentCommon25–32 cmRecorded all year · 0.72% in Dec
Spur-winged GoosePlectropterus gambensisPassage migrantCommon75–115 cmRegularly May–Feb · 0.68% in Dec
Cattle EgretArdea ibisResidentCommon46–56 cmRegularly May–Mar · 0.57% in Dec
BuzzardButeo buteoSummer visitorCommon51–57 cmRegularly Nov–Feb · 0.46% in Dec
House SparrowPasser domesticusResidentCommon14–17 cmRecorded all year · 0.46% in Dec
Wood SandpiperTringa glareolaPassage migrantUncommon19–21 cmRegularly Aug–Dec · 0.42% in Dec
African JacanaActophilornis africanusSummer visitorCommon23–31 cmRegularly Mar–Jan · 0.38% in Dec
Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striataSummer visitorUncommon14–16 cmRegularly Nov–Jan · 0.38% in Dec
Grey HeronArdea cinereaResidentCommon90–98 cmRegularly Apr–Feb · 0.34% in Dec
Pied CrowCorvus albusResidentCommon46–52 cmRecorded all year · 0.34% in Dec
Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilusSummer visitorCommon11–13 cmRegularly Oct–Mar · 0.30% in Dec
GreenshankTringa nebulariaPassage migrantUncommon30–35 cmRegularly Nov–Dec · 0.23% in Dec
Purple HeronArdea purpureaPassage migrantUncommon78–90 cmRegularly Dec–May · 0.23% in Dec
Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollisPassage migrantUncommon23–29 cmRegularly Jul–Dec · 0.19% in Dec
Common OstrichStruthio camelusPassage migrantUncommon210–275 cmRegularly Dec · 0.15% in Dec
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Willow Warbler 11–13 cm
- Southern Masked Weaver 13–15 cm
- Spotted Flycatcher 14–16 cm
- House Sparrow 14–17 cm
- Red-backed Shrike 16–18 cm
- Lesser Striped Swallow 15–19 cm
- Barn Swallow 17–19 cm
- Wood Sandpiper 19–21 cm
- Fork-tailed Drongo 23–26 cm
- Little Grebe 23–29 cm
- Cape Starling 25–28 cm
- African Jacana 23–31 cm
- European Bee-eater 27–29 cm
- Hoopoe 25–32 cm
- Greenshank 30–35 cm
- Pied Crow 46–52 cm
- Cattle Egret 46–56 cm
- Buzzard 51–57 cm
- Helmeted Guineafowl 53–63 cm
- Egyptian Goose 63–73 cm
- Purple Heron 78–90 cm
- Grey Heron 90–98 cm
- Spur-winged Goose 75–115 cm
- Common Ostrich 210–275 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