Birds in Malawi

63 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Malawi has 63 bird species recorded regularly there: 14 residents, 14 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors, 27 passage migrants and 6 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 89,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Birds to see in Malawi in September

30 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 30 birds in September

Arriving in September: European Bee-eater, Barn Swallow, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Common Quail, Barn Owl, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Green Sandpiper and 1 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Malawi each month: most in October (45), fewest in June (18). Choose a month to see its birds.

3045
Show as a table
Willow Warbler
Willow WarblerSmallest · 11cm
to
Spur-winged Goose
Spur-winged GooseLargest · 115cm
From the Willow Warbler (11 cm) to the Spur-winged Goose (115 cm)34 families

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All 63 birds on the list

Showing 24–46 of 63 species

Buzzard

Buzzard

Buteo buteoLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Oct–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lesser Striped Swallow

Lesser Striped Swallow

Cecropis abyssinicaLC

ResidentUncommon

Regularly Jun–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Garden Warbler

Garden Warbler

Sylvia borinLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Nov–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareolaLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Osprey

Osprey

Pandion haliaetusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jul–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Greenshank

Greenshank

Tringa nebulariaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Sep–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Lanner Falcon

Lanner Falcon

Falco biarmicusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jun–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Hobby

Hobby

Falco subbuteoLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Nov–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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House Martin

House Martin

Delichon urbicumLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Oct–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black-crowned Night-heron

Black-crowned Night-heron

Nycticorax nycticoraxLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly May–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rock Dove

Rock Dove

Columba liviaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Mar–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Crowned Eagle

Crowned Eagle

Stephanoaetus coronatusNT

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon niloticaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Grebe

Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollisLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Nov–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Quail

Common Quail

Coturnix coturnixLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
African Marsh Harrier

African Marsh Harrier

Circus ranivorusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly May–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Barn Owl

Barn Owl

Tyto albaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Sep–Feb

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Peregrine Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Purple Heron

Purple Heron

Ardea purpureaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Dendrocygna bicolorLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly May–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Moorhen

Moorhen

Gallinula chloropusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jan–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

Anthus trivialisLC

ScarceUncommon
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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Frequently Asked Questions

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

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