Uncommon Birds in South Africa
Our list for South Africa has 48 uncommon birds recorded regularly there: 29 residents, 18 summer visitors and 1 winter visitor
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in South Africa in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 48, most common first
Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melbaResidentUncommon20–23 cmRecorded all year
Squacco HeronArdeola ralloidesResidentUncommon40–49 cmRecorded all year
WhimbrelNumenius phaeopusResidentUncommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Common Reed-warblerAcrocephalus scirpaceusSummer visitorUncommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
RuffCalidris pugnaxSummer visitorUncommon20–32 cmRegularly Jul–May
African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorusResidentUncommon44–52 cmRecorded all year
Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaSummer visitorUncommon18–23 cmRecorded all year
SecretarybirdSagittarius serpentariusResidentUncommon112–150 cmRecorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxResidentUncommon58–65 cmRecorded all year
White-chinned PetrelProcellaria aequinoctialisResidentUncommon50–58 cmRecorded all year
Black-necked GrebePodiceps nigricollisResidentUncommon28–34 cmRecorded all year
African PenguinSpheniscus demersusResidentUncommon60–70 cmRecorded all year
Booted EagleHieraaetus pennatusResidentUncommon42–51 cmRecorded all year
Lanner FalconFalco biarmicusResidentUncommon43–50 cmRecorded all year
Sooty ShearwaterArdenna griseaWinter visitorUncommon40–51 cmRecorded all year
Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaSummer visitorUncommon27–30 cmRecorded all year
Common SwiftApus apusSummer visitorUncommon16–17 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusResidentUncommon34–58 cmRecorded all year
Common QuailCoturnix coturnixResidentUncommon16–18 cmRecorded all year
House MartinDelichon urbicumSummer visitorUncommon13–15 cmRegularly Sep–May
Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatusResidentUncommon46–51 cmRecorded all year
SanderlingCalidris albaSummer visitorUncommon18–20 cmRegularly Jul–May
Marsh WarblerAcrocephalus palustrisSummer visitorUncommon13–14 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
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