What birds can I see in South Africa in September?

85 species on our list for South Africa are recorded regularly in September. Of these, the most often recorded are Egyptian Goose, Pied Crow, Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Sparrow and Fork-tailed Drongo.

What are the most common birds in South Africa?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in South Africa are Egyptian Goose, Fork-tailed Drongo, Barn Swallow, Cape Sparrow and Pied Crow.

Birds in South Africa

Q: How many birds are on Birdfact's list for South Africa?

129 species, each recorded regularly in South Africa (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 55 residents, 44 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors, 19 passage migrants and 9 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in South Africa, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

129 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for South Africa has 129 bird species recorded regularly there: 55 residents, 44 summer visitors, 2 winter visitors, 19 passage migrants and 9 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 5.1 million 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 South Africa in September

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

All 85 birds in September

Arriving in September: European Bee-eater, Ringed Plover, Common Swift, House Martin, Arctic Jaeger, Sabine's Gull, Red Knot, Damara Tern and 1 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in South Africa each month: most in January (111), fewest in June (66). Choose a month to see its birds.

111 85

Show as a table

Willow WarblerSmallest · 11cm

Common OstrichLargest · 275cm

From the Willow Warbler (11 cm) to the Common Ostrich (275 cm)49 families

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Phoenicopterus roseusLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Recorded all year

Ruff

Calidris pugnaxLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Jul–May

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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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