Botswana

SUB-REGION
Southern Africa

SIZE
581,730 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 600 recorded species

Near-endemics (NE)
Slaty Egret

Birds best found in Botswana but occurring more widely (BT)
Burchell’s Sandgrouse
Bradfield’s Hornbill

Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not NE or BT (1/2)
Short-clawed Lark

Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2)
Luapula Cisticola
Burchell’s Starling

Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
Barrow’s Bustard
Ngami Owlet (BT)
Northern Olive Woodpecker
Grey-headed Parrot
Clancey’s Drongo
African Reed Warbler
Pretoria Rock Thrush (1/2)
Spectacled Quailfinch

National bird
Kori Bustard | Kgori

MAIN HABITATS
Okavango system, woodlands, arid savanna

BIRD AREAS
12 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Chobe National Park, Linyanti Swamp and Okavango Delta for Slaty Egret and other waterbirds including White-backed Duck, African Pygmy Goose, African Finfoot, Wattled Crane, Long-toed Lapwing, White-crowned Lapwing, Lesser Jacana, Collared Pratincole, Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, White-backed Night Heron and Rufous-bellied Heron as well as swamp and woodland species including Swamp Nightjar, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Schalow’s Turaco, Senegal Coucal, Coppery-tailed Coucal, White-browed Coucal, Black Coucal, Thick-billed Cuckoo, Mourning Collared Dove, African Green Pigeon, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, African Marsh Harrier, Marsh Owl, Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Wood Owl, Trumpeter Hornbill, Racket-tailed Roller, Half-collared Kingfisher, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Dickinson’s Kestrel, Meyer’s Parrot, African Broadbill, Swamp Boubou, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Rufous-bellied Tit, Flappet Lark, Terrestrial Brownbul, Dark-capped Bulbul, Grey-rumped Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, Greater Swamp Warbler, Little Rush Warbler, Chirping Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela, Southern Yellow White-eye, Hartlaub’s Babbler, Black-faced Babbler, Miombo Blue-eared Starling, Meves’s Starling, Sharp-tailed Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Bearded Scrub Robin, White-browed Robin-Chat, Collared Palm Thrush, Miombo Rock Thrush, Arnot’s Chat, Collared Sunbird, Purple-banded Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Thick-billed Weaver, Spectacled Weaver, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Orange-winged Pytilia, Brown Firefinch, Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah, Cuckoo-finch and Rosy-throated Longclaw
Lobatse area for Short-clawed Lark
Kgalakgadi Transfrontier Park for arid savanna species
Kubung Dam for Maccoa Duck and Great Crested Grebe

TIMING (Dec–Feb)
Being arid, it is best to visit at the start of the main rains (Dec–Feb), when most birds breed
Mid-winter (Jun–Aug) is less productive, especially in the south

RESOURCES (see also South Africa)
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
Roberts Bird Guide 2
Sasol eBirds Southern Africa

Field guides
Birds of Botswana by Peter Hancock & Ingrid Weiersbye (2016) includes species names in Setswana
Sasol Birds of Southern Africa by Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton, Niall Perrins, Dominic Rollinson & Peter G Ryan (2020)
The Botswana Birders’ Companion: 300 Common and Conspicuous Botswana Birds by Pete Hancock (2018)
Beginner’s Guide to Birds of Botswana/Ithute Dinonyane tsa Botswana edited by Kabelo J Senyatso (2005)
Newman’s Birds of Botswana: a Guide to Common Species by Kenneth Newman (1999)
Birds of Botswana by Kenneth Newman (1989)
Wildlife of the Okavango by Duncan Butchart (2017) is a photographic guide covering more than 470 of the area’s most conspicuous and interesting mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fishes, invertebrates, trees and aquatic plants

Sounds
Southern African Bird Sounds by Guy Gibbon

Site guides
Southern African Birdfinder by Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode & Jonathan Rossouw (2006)
Birds in the Gaborone Area and Where to Find Them by Stephanie J Tyler & Wendy D Borello (1998)

Atlases
Southern African Bird Atlas Project 2 (SABAP2), a member of the African Bird Atlas Project
Bird Atlas of Botswana by Huw Penry (1994)

Further reading
Roberts – Birds of Southern Africa edited by P A R Hockey, W R J Dean & P G Ryan (2005)
Botswana by Stephanie J Tyler & David R Bishop in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
A Review of Waterbird Counts in Botswana, 1991-2000 by Stephanie J Tyler (2001)
Birds of Botswana: an Annotated Working Bibliography, 1835-1995 by Wendy D Borello & Remigio M Borello (1997)
European Swallows in Botswana by Bennie van den Brink, Rob G Bijlsma & Tom M van der Have (1997)
Articles in Babbler and Familiar Chat (Journal and Newsletter of BirdLife Botswana), Bull. ABC, etc.

Websites
Okavango Delta – UNESCO World Heritage List

ORGANISATIONS

BirdLife Botswana (the Botswana Bird Club as was) is the BirdLife Partner in Botswana

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Botswana include –
Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS)
Kalahari Research and Conservation & Raptors Botswana
Botswana Wild Bird Trust
Nata Conservation Trust
Lake Ngami Conservation Trust
Cape Vultures Environmental Association (CVEA)
Gaing-O Community Trust
Gumakutshaa Conservation Trust
Lenao la ga Kwalabe Conservation Trust
Botswana Envirolife Trust
Somarelang Tikologo (Environment Watch Botswana)
Peace Parks Foundation: Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Conservation Area (TFCA), Greater Mapungubwe TFCA and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)