SUB-REGION
Macaronesia
SIZE
Cabo Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands and several islets in the eastern Atlantic Ocean with a combined total land area of 4,033 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Mostly Afrotropical avifauna, with a smaller Palaearctic element
Approximately 250 recorded species, including breeding seabirds, endemic landbirds, non-breeding migrants and vagrants
Endemics (E)
Cape Verde Swift | Alexander’s Swift (LC)
Cape Verde Storm Petrel (LC)
Fea’s Petrel | Cape Verde Petrel (NT)
Cape Verde Shearwater (NT)
Boyd’s Shearwater (NA)
Cape Verde Buzzard (CR)
Raso Lark | Razo Skylark (CR)
Cape Verde Warbler | Cape Verde Swamp Warbler (VU)
Iago Sparrow | Cape Verde Sparrow (LC)
Birds best found in two territories of the ABC region but occurring in more (B2)
Brown-necked Raven
Proposed new species not yet accepted by IOC
Bourne’s Heron | Cape Verde Purple Heron (bournei) (E)
Cape Verde Barn Owl (detorta) (E)
Neglected Kestrel (neglectus) (E)
Alexander’s Kestrel (alexandri) (E)
Cape Verde Peregrine Falcon (madens) (E)
Other taxa of interest, including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Common Quail (ESS inopinata)
Eurasian Collared Dove
Cream-colored Courser (ESS exsul)
Red-billed Tropicbird
Wilson’s Storm Petrel
White-faced Storm Petrel (ESS eadesorum)
Leach’s Storm Petrel
Band-rumped Storm Petrel
Cory’s Shearwater
Great Shearwater
Manx Shearwater
Bulwer’s Petrel
Magnificent Frigatebird
Brown Booby
Western Reef Heron
Egyptian Vulture
Black Kite
Grey-headed Kingfisher (ESS acteon)
Greater Hoopoe-Lark (ESS boavistae)
Bar-tailed Lark (ESS cinctura)
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark (ESS nigriceps)
Eurasian Blackcap (gularis)
Spectacled Warbler (orbitalis)
Spanish Sparrow
National bird
Grey-headed Kingfisher | Passarinha
Introduced species
Helmeted Guineafowl
House Sparrow
Common Waxbill
MAIN HABITATS
Desert, islets, lagoons, saltpans
BIRD AREAS
Cape Verde Islands Endemic Bird Area
30 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Raso Island/Ilhéu Raso for Raso Lark and seabirds
Santiago Island/Ilha de Santiago for most landbirds including Cape Verde Buzzard, and Cape Verde Warbler at São Jorge dos Orgãos
São Nicolau Island/Ilha de São Nicolau for seabirds and Neglected Kestrel
TIMING (Oct, Apr–May)
Best in spring (Mar–Jun) when most birds breed, or immediately after the rains and before it is cold (Oct–Nov)
RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
Field guides
Birds of the Atlantic Islands: Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores, Cape Verde by Tony Clarke (2006)
Field Guide to the Birds of Macaronesia: Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde by Eduardo García-del-Rey (2011), which is also available in Spanish as Aves de Macaronesia: Azores, Madeira, Islas Canarias, Cabo Verde
Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014)
Pelagic Birds of the North Atlantic: an Identification Guide by Andy Paterson (2012)
Sounds
African Bird Sounds/Oiseaux d’Afrique Vol 1: North-West Africa, Canaria and Cap-Verde Islands/Sahara, Maghreb, Madère, Canaries & Iles du Cap-Vert by Claude Chappuis
Site guides
Cape Verde Islands in The Good Bird Guide: a Species-by-Species Guide to Finding Europe’s Best Birds by Keith Marsh (2005)
A Birder’s Guide to the Cape Verde Islands by Dave Sargeant (1997)
Further reading
Birds of the Cape Verde Islands by Eduardo García-del-Rey (2016)
Las Aves Endémicas de las Islas de Cabo Verde by Rubén Barone Tosco (2005)
La Avifauna Nidificante del Archipiélago de Cabo Verde by Rubén Barone Tosco, Guillermo Delgado Castro & Miguel Fernández del Castillo Andersen (2000)
Cape Verde by C J Hazevoet in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
The Birds of the Cape Verde Islands: an Annotated Checklist by Cornelis J Hazevoet (1995)
Les Oiseaux de l’Archipel du Cap Vert/As Aves do Arquipélago de Cabo Verde by René de Naurois (1994)
Cabo Verde História Natural das Ilhas Desertas/The Natural History of the Desertas Islands: Santa Luzia, Branco e Raso by Raquel Vasconcelos, Rui Freitas & Cornelis J Hazevoet (2015)
Encyclopédie Nature de l’Arquipel du Cap Vert by André Szpera (2015)
Birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: an Annotated Checklist by Dominic Mitchell (2017)
Articles in Zoologia Caboverdiana, Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.
Websites
Aves de Cabo Verde
ORGANISATIONS
Biosfera is the BirdLife Partner in Cabo Verde
Other bird or conservation organisations active in Cabo Verde include –
Sociedade Caboverdiana de Zoologia (SCVZ)
BIOS.CV
Fundação Maio Biodiversidade (FMB)
Projeto Biodiversidade
Associação Projecto Vitó
Associação para a Defesa do Ambiente e Desenvolvimento (ADAD)
Associação Amigos do Calhau (AAC)
Quercus Cabo Verde
Partenariat Régional pour la Conservation de la Zone Côtière et Marine (PRCM) en Afrique de l’Ouest
Fauna & Flora International (FFI)