Birds to See in Tanzania in May
62 species listed for May · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
62 bird species on our list for Tanzania are recorded regularly in May. Of these, the most often recorded are Fork-tailed Drongo, Cattle Egret, Egyptian Goose, Pied Crow and Helmeted Guineafowl. New this month: Osprey and Ruddy Turnstone.
New in May2
Leaving after last month26
- Willow Warbler
- Ruff
- Buzzard
- Wheatear
- Montagu's Harrier
- Green Sandpiper
- Yellow Wagtail
- Hobby
- Golden Oriole
- Whinchat
- Cuckoo
- Western Marsh-harrier
- Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush
- Whitethroat
- Tree Pipit
- Garden Warbler
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Booted Eagle
- European Honey-buzzard
- Nightingale
- Sanderling
- Marsh Warbler
- Nightjar
- Little Weaver
- Sedge Warbler
- Egyptian Vulture
Residents
(45)Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year
Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year
Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year
Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year
Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year
Lesser Striped Swallow
Cecropis abyssinicaLC
Recorded all year
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year
Blue-naped Mousebird
Urocolius macrourusLC
Recorded all year
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year
Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year
Red-and-yellow Barbet
Trachyphonus erythrocephalusLC
Recorded all year
Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year
Purple Grenadier
Granatina ianthinogasterLC
Recorded all year
Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year
Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year
African Pygmy-falcon
Polihierax semitorquatusLC
Recorded all year
African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Recorded all year
Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year
White-bellied Bustard
Eupodotis senegalensisLC
Recorded all year
Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year
Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year
Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year
Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year
Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year
Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year
Avocet
Recurvirostra avosettaLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Recorded all year
Crowned Eagle
Stephanoaetus coronatusNT
Recorded all year
Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year
Kestrel
Falco tinnunculusLC
Recorded all year
Alpine Swift
Tachymarptis melbaLC
Recorded all year
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Recorded all year
Whimbrel
Numenius phaeopusLC
Recorded all year
Common Quail
Coturnix coturnixLC
Regularly Oct–Aug
Common Reed-warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC
Recorded all year
African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year
Peregrine Falcon
Falco peregrinusLC
Recorded all year
White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year
Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Regularly May–Mar
Summer visitors
(17)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Gull-billed Tern
Gelochelidon niloticaLC
Recorded all year
Little Stint
Calidris minutaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–May
Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Jul–May
European Bee-eater
Merops apiasterLC
Regularly Sep–May
Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striataLC
Regularly Oct–May
House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Sep–May
Common Swift
Apus apusLC
Regularly Aug–May
Red-backed Shrike
Lanius collurioLC
Regularly Nov–May
Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutusLC
Regularly Aug–Jun
Grey Plover
Pluvialis squatarolaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Sand Martin
Riparia ripariaLC
Regularly Jul–May
Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Regularly Aug–May
Curlew Sandpiper
Calidris ferrugineaNT
Regularly Aug–Jun
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Regularly May–Mar
Common Tern
Sterna hirundoLC
Regularly Aug–Jun
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