Birds to See in Malawi in January
44 species listed for January · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
44 bird species on our list for Malawi are recorded regularly in January. Of these, the most often recorded are Pied Crow, Fork-tailed Drongo, Grey Heron, European Bee-eater and Barn Swallow. New this month: Great Cormorant, Glossy Ibis, Osprey and Black-crowned Night-heron and 10 more.
Residents
(14)Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Regularly Apr–Feb
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Regularly Apr–Feb
Lesser Striped Swallow
Cecropis abyssinicaLC
Regularly Jun–Mar
Summer visitors
(14)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
European Bee-eater
Merops apiasterLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Sep–Apr
Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striataLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–Apr
Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatusLC
Regularly Jul–May
Buzzard
Buteo buteoLC
Regularly Oct–Feb
Common Swift
Apus apusLC
Regularly Oct–Feb
Hobby
Falco subbuteoLC
Regularly Nov–Mar
Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilusLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurioLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Sep–Jan
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Oct–Feb
Garden Warbler
Sylvia borinLC
Regularly Nov–Feb
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnixLC
Regularly Sep–Jan
Winter visitors
(2)Present outside the breeding season
Passage migrants
(14)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Regularly Jul–Apr
Cuckoo
Cuculus canorusLC
Regularly Jan–Mar
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Regularly Oct–Mar
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Regularly Oct–May
Golden Oriole
Oriolus oriolusLC
Regularly Nov–Apr
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropusLC
Regularly Sep–Jan
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Regularly Oct–May
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Regularly May–Jan
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Regularly May–Jan
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Regularly May–Jan
Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Oct–Jan
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Regularly Sep–Feb
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Jan
Whinchat
Saxicola rubetraLC
Regularly Jan
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