Birds to See in Sierra Leone in January
24 bird species on our list for Sierra Leone are recorded regularly in January
Of these, the most often recorded are Pied Crow, Cattle Egret, Barn Swallow, Yellow Wagtail and Common Sandpiper. New this month: Rock Dove, Barn Owl, Yellow Wagtail and African Jacana and 7 more.
On the move in January
GBIF · JanArriving
At their peak
From Sierra Leone’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 January
24 birds
Pied CrowCorvus albusWinter visitorCommon46–52 cmRegularly Sep–Jun · 1.77% in Jan
Cattle EgretArdea ibisWinter visitorCommon46–56 cmRegularly Nov–Apr · 1.70% in Jan
Barn SwallowHirundo rusticaPassage migrantCommon17–19 cmRegularly Nov–Apr · 1.17% in Jan
Yellow WagtailMotacilla flavaPassage migrantCommon15–17 cmRegularly Jan · 0.87% in Jan
Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucosWinter visitorCommon18–20 cmRegularly Oct–Apr · 0.78% in Jan
Common SwiftApus apusWinter visitorCommon16–17 cmRegularly Nov–Apr · 0.56% in Jan
Rock DoveColumba liviaPassage migrantCommon29–37 cmRegularly Nov–Apr · 0.45% in Jan
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisPassage migrantCommon36–41 cmRegularly Dec–Jan · 0.45% in Jan
Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinicaPassage migrantCommon15–19 cmRegularly Dec–Apr · 0.43% in Jan
Sand MartinRiparia ripariaScarceUncommon12–14 cmRegularly Jan · 0.43% in Jan
Great White EgretArdea albaWinter visitorCommon80–104 cmRegularly Dec–Apr · 0.36% in Jan
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusPassage migrantCommon40–46 cmRegularly Oct–Mar · 0.36% in Jan
GreenshankTringa nebulariaPassage migrantCommon30–35 cmRegularly Dec–Mar · 0.34% in Jan
Squacco HeronArdeola ralloidesPassage migrantCommon40–49 cmRegularly Jan · 0.34% in Jan
Little EgretEgretta garzettaWinter visitorCommon55–65 cmRegularly Dec–Feb · 0.31% in Jan
African JacanaActophilornis africanusPassage migrantCommon23–31 cmRegularly Jan–Apr · 0.27% in Jan
European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleucaPassage migrantCommon12–14 cmRegularly Jan · 0.20% in Jan
OspreyPandion haliaetusWinter visitorCommon54–58 cmRegularly Dec–May · 0.18% in Jan
Purple HeronArdea purpureaPassage migrantUncommon78–90 cmRegularly Jan · 0.16% in Jan
Black TernChlidonias nigerPassage migrantCommon22–26 cmRegularly Jan · 0.13% in Jan
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxScarceUncommon58–65 cmRegularly Jan · 0.13% in Jan
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusScarceUncommon34–58 cmRegularly Jan · 0.13% in Jan
Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticulaPassage migrantUncommon17–19 cmRegularly Dec–Jan · 0.13% in Jan
Barn OwlTyto albaScarceCommon33–39 cmRegularly Jan · 0.09% in Jan
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- European Pied Flycatcher 12–14 cm
- Sand Martin 12–14 cm
- Yellow Wagtail 15–17 cm
- Common Swift 16–17 cm
- Lesser Striped Swallow 15–19 cm
- Barn Swallow 17–19 cm
- Ringed Plover 17–19 cm
- Common Sandpiper 18–20 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- African Jacana 23–31 cm
- Greenshank 30–35 cm
- Rock Dove 29–37 cm
- Barn Owl 33–39 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Whimbrel 40–46 cm
- Squacco Heron 40–49 cm
- Peregrine Falcon 34–58 cm
- Pied Crow 46–52 cm
- Cattle Egret 46–56 cm
- Osprey 54–58 cm
- Little Egret 55–65 cm
- Black-crowned Night-heron 58–65 cm
- Purple Heron 78–90 cm
- Great White Egret 80–104 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