Birds to See in Kenya in May
81 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
81 bird species on our list for Kenya are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Fork-tailed Drongo, Egyptian Goose, Pied Crow, Helmeted Guineafowl and Lesser Striped Swallow. New this month: Egyptian Vulture, Eurasian Oystercatcher and Grey Parrot.
Leaving after last month22
Residents
(53)Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Lesser Striped Swallow
Cecropis abyssinicaLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Blue-naped Mousebird
Urocolius macrourusLC
Recorded all year
Purple Grenadier
Granatina ianthinogasterLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Red-and-yellow Barbet
Trachyphonus erythrocephalusLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
White-bellied Bustard
Eupodotis senegalensisLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Recorded all year
African Pygmy-falcon
Polihierax semitorquatusLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Crowned Eagle
Stephanoaetus coronatusNT
Recorded all year
Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year
Somali Ostrich
Struthio molybdophanesVU
Recorded all year
Little Weaver
Ploceus luteolusLC
Recorded all year
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Recorded all year
Avocet
Recurvirostra avosettaLC
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Recorded all year
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Recorded all year
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Recorded all year
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnixLC
Regularly Apr–Jan
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Recorded all year
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Larus fuscusLC
Recorded all year
Alpine Swift
Tachymarptis melbaLC
Recorded all year
Senegal Thick-knee
Burhinus senegalensisLC
Regularly Apr–Feb
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Recorded all year
Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutusLC
Recorded all year
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year
Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Recorded all year
Summer visitors
(25)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Recorded all year
Little Stint
Calidris minutaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–May
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Jul–May
European Bee-eater
Merops apiasterLC
Regularly Sep–May
Sedge Warbler
Acrocephalus schoenobaenusLC
Regularly Nov–May
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Sep–May
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flavaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorusLC
Regularly Oct–May
Hobby
Falco subbuteoLC
Regularly Oct–May
Kestrel
Falco tinnunculusLC
Regularly Oct–Aug
Common Swift
Apus apusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Egyptian Vulture
Neophron percnopterusEN
Regularly Aug–May
European Honey-buzzard
Pernis apivorusLC
Regularly Oct–May
Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundusLC
Regularly Aug–May
Common Reed-warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC
Regularly Sep–Jul
Curlew
Numenius arquataNT
Regularly Jul–May
Golden Oriole
Oriolus oriolusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Western Marsh-harrier
Circus aeruginosusLC
Regularly Sep–May
Garden Warbler
Sylvia borinLC
Regularly Oct–May
Passage migrants
(2)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
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