Birds in South Africa

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.

11185
Show as a table
Willow Warbler
Willow WarblerSmallest · 11cm
to
Common Ostrich
Common OstrichLargest · 275cm
From the Willow Warbler (11 cm) to the Common Ostrich (275 cm)49 families

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All 129 birds on the list

Showing 70–92 of 129 species

Hobby

Hobby

Falco subbuteoLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Nov–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
White-winged Tern

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Jul–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pale-winged Starling

Pale-winged Starling

Onychognathus nabouroupLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebsLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bar-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponicaNT

Summer visitorRare

Recorded all year

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

Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Nov–Mar

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

Little Tern

Sternula albifronsLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Aug–May

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

Little Bittern

Ixobrychus minutusLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

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Arctic Jaeger

Arctic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Sep–Jun

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

Wandering Albatross

Diomedea exulansVU

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Jul

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

Sand Martin

Riparia ripariaLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
European Honey-buzzard

European Honey-buzzard

Pernis apivorusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Nov–Apr

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

Nightjar

Caprimulgus europaeusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Nov–Apr

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

Garden Warbler

Sylvia borinLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sabine's Gull

Sabine's Gull

Xema sabiniLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Sep–Apr

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

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchosLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Sedge Warbler

Acrocephalus schoenobaenusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Dec–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
White-bellied Bustard

White-bellied Bustard

Eupodotis senegalensisLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Curlew

Numenius arquataNT

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Whitethroat

Curruca communisLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Dec–Apr

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

Red Knot

Calidris canutusNT

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Sep–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
African Pygmy-falcon

African Pygmy-falcon

Polihierax semitorquatusLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Great Shearwater

Ardenna gravisLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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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