Birds to See in South Africa in May
74 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
74 bird species on our list for South Africa are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Egyptian Goose, Cape Sparrow, Fork-tailed Drongo, Pied Crow and Southern Masked Weaver. New this month: Roseate Tern and Manx Shearwater.
New in May2
Leaving after last month26
- Barn Swallow
- Buzzard
- European Bee-eater
- Red-backed Shrike
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Willow Warbler
- Wood Sandpiper
- Common Sandpiper
- Little Stint
- Common Swift
- Marsh Warbler
- Hobby
- Arctic Jaeger
- Sand Martin
- European Honey-buzzard
- Nightjar
- Garden Warbler
- Sabine's Gull
- Sedge Warbler
- Whitethroat
- Red Knot
- Cuckoo
- Red-necked Phalarope
- Pomarine Jaeger
- Long-tailed Jaeger
- Grey Wagtail
Residents
(55)Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
Cape Sparrow
Passer melanurusLC
Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatusLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitensLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Common Starling
Sturnus vulgarisLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameriLC
Recorded all year
Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Recorded all year
Avocet
Recurvirostra avosettaLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year
Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year
Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Recorded all year
Great Crested Grebe
Podiceps cristatusLC
Recorded all year
African Penguin
Spheniscus demersusEN
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Recorded all year
Crowned Eagle
Stephanoaetus coronatusNT
Recorded all year
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Recorded all year
Black-necked Grebe
Podiceps nigricollisLC
Recorded all year
Alpine Swift
Tachymarptis melbaLC
Recorded all year
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
White-chinned Petrel
Procellaria aequinoctialisVU
Recorded all year
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Recorded all year
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchosLC
Recorded all year
Pale-winged Starling
Onychognathus nabouroupLC
Recorded all year
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnixLC
Recorded all year
Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutusLC
Recorded all year
Great Shearwater
Ardenna gravisLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Recorded all year
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebsLC
Recorded all year
White-bellied Bustard
Eupodotis senegalensisLC
Recorded all year
African Pygmy-falcon
Polihierax semitorquatusLC
Recorded all year
Booted Eagle
Hieraaetus pennatusLC
Recorded all year
Curlew
Numenius arquataNT
Recorded all year
Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatusLC
Recorded all year
Summer visitors
(16)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Lesser Striped Swallow
Cecropis abyssinicaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Sandwich Tern
Thalasseus sandvicensisLC
Recorded all year
Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year
Common Reed-warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Recorded all year
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Regularly Sep–May
Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponicaNT
Recorded all year
Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Jul–May
Sanderling
Calidris albaLC
Regularly Jul–May
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Regularly Jul–May
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Sep–May
European Storm-petrel
Hydrobates pelagicusLC
Regularly Oct–May
Little Tern
Sternula albifronsLC
Regularly Aug–May
Damara Tern
Sternula balaenarumLC
Regularly Sep–May
Winter visitors
(2)Present outside the breeding season
Passage migrants
(1)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
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