Botswana

SUB-REGION
Southern Africa

SIZE
581,730 kmĀ²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 600 recorded species

Bradfield’s Hornbill (Kevin Ravno)
Slaty Egret (Kevin Ravno)
Red-billed Spurfowl (Kevin Ravno)

Near-endemics (NE)
Slaty Egret

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

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)
Red-billed Spurfowl
Luapula Cisticola
Burchell’s Starling
Kalahari Scrub Robin
Marico Flycatcher | Mariqua Flycatcher

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

Other taxa of interest (see also under Birding Sites), including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Common Ostrich
White-backed Duck
Blue-billed Teal
Cape Shoveler
African Black Duck
Yellow-billed Duck
Red-billed Teal | Red-billed Duck
Southern Pochard
Crested Francolin
Orange River Francolin
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Rufous-cheeked Nightjar
Square-tailed Nightjar
African Black Swift | African Swift
Grey Go-away-bird
Kori Bustard
Red-crested Korhaan | Red-crested Bustard
Northern Black Korhaan | White-quilled Bustard
Burchell’s Coucal
Namaqua Sandgrouse
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Double-banded Sandgrouse
Emerald-spotted Wood Dove
Lesser Moorhen
Grey Crowned Crane
Water Thick-knee
Spotted Thick-knee
Blacksmith Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Double-banded Courser
Black-winged Pratincole
Pink-backed Pelican
Secretarybird
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Southern White-faced Owl
Marsh Owl
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Red-faced Mousebird
Common Scimitarbill
Southern Ground Hornbill
Southern Red-billed Hornbill
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Lilac-breasted Roller
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Striped Kingfisher
Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eater
European Bee-eater | Golden Bee-eater
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Acacia Pied Barbet | Pied Barbet
Black-collared Barbet
Crested Barbet
Bennett’s Woodpecker
Golden-tailed Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
Rock Kestrel
Greater Kestrel
Red-necked Falcon (horsbrughi)
Chinspot Batis
Pririt Batis
Black-backed Puffback | Southern Puffback (okavangensis)
Tropical Boubou (mossambicus)
Crimson-breasted Shrike | Crimson-breasted Gonolek
Retz’s Helmetshrike
Magpie Shrike
Southern White-crowned Shrike | White-crowned Shrike
Southern Fiscal
Black-headed Oriole | African Black-headed Oriole
Cape Crow
Southern Black Tit
Ashy Tit
Grey Penduline Tit | African Penduline Tit
Cape Penduline Tit | Southern Penduline Tit
Spike-heeled Lark (kalahariae/ESS barlowi/albofasciata)
Dusky Lark
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark
Sabota Lark (waibeli/sabota/sabotoides)
Fawn-colored Lark (makarikari/sarwensis/africanoides)
Eastern Clapper Lark (reynoldsi/ESS nata/deserti)
Rufous-naped Lark (grisescens/ghansiensis)
Monotonous Lark
Pink-billed Lark (damarensis/ESS crypta/barlowi)
Red-capped Lark (cinerea)
Yellow-bellied Greenbul
African Red-eyed Bulbul | Black-fronted Bulbul
Large Rock Martin
Pearl-breasted Swallow
White-throated Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Long-billed Crombec | Cape Crombec
Lesser Swamp Warbler
Rattling Cisticola
Tinkling Cisticola
Neddicky | Piping Cisticola
Black-chested Prinia
Rufous-eared Warbler
Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Burnt-necked Eremomela
Chestnut-vented Warbler
Southern Yellow White-eye
Arrow-marked Babbler
Southern Pied Babbler
Cape Starling
Red-billed Oxpecker
Groundscraper Thrush
Kurrichane Thrush
White-browed Scrub Robin | Red-backed Scrub Robin
Grey Tit-Flycatcher
Southern Black Flycatcher
Chat Flycatcher
Ant-eating Chat | Southern Anteater Chat
Capped Wheatear
Familiar Chat
Amethyst Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Marico Sunbird | Mariqua Sunbird
White-bellied Sunbird | White-breasted Sunbird
Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow
Cape Sparrow
Great Sparrow | Great Rufous Sparrow
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Scaly-feathered Weaver | Scaly Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Southern Masked Weaver
Red-headed Weaver
Southern Red Bishop
White-winged Widowbird
Black-faced Waxbill
Cut-throat Finch | Cut-throat
Red-headed Finch
Violet-eared Waxbill
Blue Waxbill | Southern Cordon-bleu
Red-billed Firefinch
Jameson’s Firefinch
Purple Indigobird
Shaft-tailed Whydah
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah | Eastern Paradise Whydah
Cape Wagtail
African Pipit (bocagii)
Buffy Pipit (ESS exasperatus)
Striped Pipit (stygium)
Bushveld Pipit | Bush Pipit (mzimbaensis)
Black-throated Canary
Yellow-fronted Canary
Yellow Canary
Streaky-headed Seedeater (mendosa)
Lark-like Bunting
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
Cape Bunting (plowesi)
Golden-breasted Bunting

Hartlaub’s Babbler (Kevin Ravno)
Racket-tailed Roller (Paul van Giersbergen)
Pel’s Fishing Owl (Tadeusz Rosiński)
Kori Bustard (Kevin Ravno)
Burchell’s Sandgrouse (Kevin Ravno)
Short-clawed Lark (John Caddick)

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 African Pygmy Goose, African Finfoot, African Rail, Allen’s Gallinule, Wattled Crane, Long-toed Lapwing, White-crowned Lapwing, Lesser Jacana, African Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, White-backed Night Heron and Rufous-bellied Heron as well as African Barred Owlet (ngamiense), Bradfield’s Hornbill and Luapula Cisticola and other swamp and woodland species including Fiery-necked Nightjar, Swamp Nightjar, Pennant-winged Nightjar, [Bƶhm’s Spinetail,] Horus Swift, [Purple-crested Turaco, Ross’s Turaco, Schalow’s Turaco, Denham’s Bustard,] Black-bellied Bustard, Senegal Coucal, Coppery-tailed Coucal, White-browed Coucal, Black Coucal, [Thick-billed Cuckoo, African Emerald Cuckoo,] Mourning Collared Dove, African Green Pigeon, Striped Crake, Three-banded Courser, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, African Marsh Harrier, [Red-necked Buzzard,] Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Wood Owl, Narina Trogon, Trumpeter Hornbill, Racket-tailed Roller, Half-collared Kingfisher, [Olive Bee-eater,] Southern Carmine Bee-eater, [Green-backed Honeybird, Olive Woodpecker (ruwenzori),] Dickinson’s Kestrel, Brown-necked Parrot (suahelicus), Meyer’s Parrot, African Broadbill, Swamp Boubou, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, African Golden Oriole, Souza’s Shrike, Rufous-bellied Tit, [Eastern Nicator,] Flappet Lark, Terrestrial Brownbul, Dark-capped Bulbul, Grey-rumped Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, [Angola Swallow,] Greater Swamp Warbler, Little Rush Warbler, Red-faced Cisticola, Chirping Cisticola, [Pale-crowned 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, Pale Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, White-browed Robin-Chat, [Red-capped Robin-Chat,] Collared Palm Thrush, Miombo Rock Thrush, African Stonechat, Arnot’s Chat, Collared Sunbird, [Shelley’s Sunbird,] Purple-banded Sunbird, [Copper Sunbird, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow,] Thick-billed Weaver, Spectacled Weaver, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Chestnut Weaver, [Red-headed Quelea,] Fan-tailed Widowbird, Common Waxbill (niediecki), Quailfinch (pallida), [Locust Finch,] Orange-winged Pytilia, [Red-throated Twinspot,] Brown Firefinch, Village Indigobird (okavangoensis), Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah, Cuckoo-finch, Rosy-throated Longclaw, African Pipit (grotei), Wood Pipit, Buffy Pipit (chobiensis), Plain-backed Pipit (tephridorsus) and Black-eared Seedeater
South-East District for Short-clawed Lark and Short-toed Rock Thrush (pretoriae) as well as South African Shelduck, Maccoa Duck, Natal Spurfowl, Freckled Nightjar, [White-bellied Bustard (barrowii), Blue Crane,] Great Crested Grebe, Black Stork, Cape Vulture, Verreaux’s Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, White-backed Mousebird, Tropical Boubou (limpopoensis), Southern Boubou (transvaalensis), Fairy Flycatcher, South African Cliff Swallow, Rock-loving Cisticola, Levaillant’s Cisticola, [Cloud Cisticola,] Bar-throated Apalis, Cape White-eye, [Pied Starling,] Karoo Thrush, Fiscal Flycatcher, White-throated Robin-Chat, [Cape Robin-Chat,] Mocking Cliff-Chat, Long-tailed Widowbird, Common Waxbill (astrild), Orange-breasted Waxbill, Cape Longclaw, Nicholson’s Pipit (nicholsoni), Buffy Pipit (vaalensis), Plain-backed Pipit (leucophrys), Striped Pipit (lineiventris), Bushveld Pipit (caffer), Streaky-headed Seedeater (gularis) and Cape Bunting (limpopoensis)
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Mabuasehube Game Reserve) for Black Harrier and arid savanna species including [Ludwig’s Bustard,] Burchell’s Courser, Pygmy Falcon, [Rosy-faced Lovebird,] Bokmakierie, [Black-eared Sparrow-Lark,] Stark’s Lark, [Pale-winged Starling, Mountain Chat,] Dusky Sunbird and Sociable Weaver
Makgadikgadi Pans (Nata Bird Sanctuary) for Greater Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo and other waterbirds, when flooded, including Cape Teal, Black-necked Grebe, Pied Avocet, Chestnut-banded Plover, Caspian Tern and Great White Pelican, as well as for larks and other grassland species including Caspian Plover
North-East District for Boulder Chat as well as [Augur Buzzard, White-necked Raven] and Red-winged Starling

TIMING (Decā€“Feb)
Being arid, it is best to visit at the start of the main rains (Decā€“Feb), when most birds breed
Mid-winter (Junā€“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)
Birds of Greater Southern Africa by Keith Barnes, Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe (2024)
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)
Gaborone Birding Sites and Area Bird List by Andrew Hester, Stephanie J Tyler & Dragan Simic (2001-2003)
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 ā€“ 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)

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