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 93–115 of 129 species

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flavaLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Mar

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

Roseate Tern

Sterna dougalliiLC

Winter visitorRare

Regularly Jan–Sep

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

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Oct–Jul

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Montagu's Harrier

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Mar

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

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotosLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Mar

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

Grey Phalarope

Phalaropus fulicariusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Feb

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

Indian Peafowl

Pavo cristatusLC

ResidentRare

Recorded all year

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

Cuckoo

Cuculus canorusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Nov–Apr

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

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King Penguin

King Penguin

Aptenodytes patagonicusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Oct

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

Lesser Noddy

Anous tenuirostrisLC

ScarceRare
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-necked Phalarope

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Aug–Apr

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

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Oct–Apr

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

Damara Tern

Sternula balaenarumLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Sep–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
European Storm-petrel

European Storm-petrel

Hydrobates pelagicusLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–May

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

Eurasian Oystercatcher

Haematopus ostralegusNT

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Oct–Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Baird's Sandpiper

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdiiLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Long-tailed Jaeger

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudusLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Nov–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Calidris subruficollisVU

ScarceRare
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaeaLC

Summer visitorRare

Regularly Aug–Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon niloticaLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
American Golden-Plover

American Golden-Plover

Pluvialis dominicaLC

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Southern Royal Albatross

Southern Royal Albatross

Diomedea epomophoraVU

Passage migrantRare

Regularly Jul–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pacific Golden-Plover

Pacific Golden-Plover

Pluvialis fulvaLC

ScarceRare
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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