SUB-REGION
Sahel
SIZE
1,284,000 km² (5th largest country in Africa)
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Afrotropical avifauna, but with many Afro-Palearctic migrants
Approximately 580 recorded species
Birds best found in Chad but occurring more widely (BT)
Nubian Bustard
Niam-niam Parrot
Rusty Bush Lark
Kordofan Sparrow
Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not near-endemics (1/2)
Chad Firefinch | Reichenow’s Firefinch
Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2)
Red-pate Cisticola
Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
Barbary Falcon
Desert Grey Shrike
Glossy-backed Drongo
Singing Bush Lark
African Scrub Robin
Vinaceous Firefinch
Other taxa of interest
Common Ostrich
Stone Partridge
Schlegel’s Francolin
Clapperton’s Spurfowl
Egyptian Nightjar
Golden Nightjar
Plain Nightjar
Long-tailed Nightjar
Standard-winged Nightjar
Western Plantain-eater
Eastern Plantain-eater
Arabian Bustard
Denham’s Bustard
Savile’s Bustard
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
Spotted Sandgrouse
Crowned Sandgrouse
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Four-banded Sandgrouse
African Collared Dove
Bruce’s Green Pigeon
Black Crowned Crane
Quail-plover
Black-headed Lapwing
Egyptian Plover
Cream-coloured Courser
Scissor-tailed Kite | African Swallow-tailed Kite
Egyptian Vulture
Rüppell’s Vulture | Rüppell’s Griffon
Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle
Grasshopper Buzzard
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Blue-naped Mousebird
Black Scimitarbill
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Abyssinian Roller
Red-throated Bee-eater
African Green Bee-eater (flavoviridis)
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Vieillot’s Barbet
White-headed Barbet
Yellow-breasted Barbet
Fine-spotted Woodpecker
Nubian Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
Little Grey Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Brown-backed Woodpecker
Fox Kestrel
Meyer’s Parrot
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Red-headed Lovebird
Grey-headed Batis (chadensis)
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Black-headed Gonolek
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Yellow-billed Shrike
Grey-backed Fiscal
Piapiac
Brown-necked Raven
Fan-tailed Raven
White-shouldered Black Tit
Sennar Penduline Tit
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Rufous-rumped Lark
Desert Lark
Bar-tailed Lark
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
White-tailed Lark
Sun Lark
Crested Lark
Dunn’s Lark
West African Swallow
Northern Crombec
Greater Swamp Warbler (chadensis)
Lesser Swamp Warbler (neglectus)
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (laeneni)
Little Rush Warbler (chadensis)
Rock-loving Cisticola
Foxy Cisticola
River Prinia
Red-fronted Prinia
Cricket Warbler
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Green-backed Eremomela
Fulvous Babbler
Brown Babbler
Lesser Blue-eared Starling
Bronze-tailed Starling
Purple Starling
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Chestnut-bellied Starling
Neumann’s Starling
Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Black Scrub Robin
Gambaga Flycatcher
Swamp Flycatcher
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
White-crowned Cliff Chat
Anteater Chat
Heuglin’s Wheatear
White-fronted Black Chat
Blackstart
Brown-tailed Rock Chat
White-crowned Wheatear
Pygmy Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow
Sahel Bush Sparrow
Desert Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
Chestnut Sparrow
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
Speckle-fronted Weaver
Heuglin’s Masked Weaver
Northern Red Bishop
African Silverbill
Black-rumped Waxbill
Red-winged Pytilia
Yellow-winged Pytilia
Black-bellied Firefinch
Bar-breasted Firefinch
Barka Indigobird
Sahel Paradise Whydah
Exclamatory Paradise Whydah
Trumpeter Finch
White-rumped Seedeater
West African Seedeater
Striolated Bunting
House Bunting
Gosling’s Bunting
Brown-rumped Bunting
MAIN HABITATS
Desert, arid savanna, Guinea woodland
BIRD AREAS
8 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Ennedi Massif and Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve for desert species including Nubian Bustard
Zakouma National Park for Saddle-billed Stork as well as Black-breasted Barbet
Logone Occidental Region for Niam-niam Parrot as well as Double-spurred Spurfowl, White-crested Turaco, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Blue-bellied Roller, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Bearded Barbet, Senegal Parrot, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, African Blue Flycatcher, Yellow Penduline Tit, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Dorst’s Cisticola, Rufous Cisticola, Black-backed Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia, Oriole Warbler, Senegal Eremomela, Blackcap Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Black-necked Weaver, Lavender Waxbill, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Brown Twinspot and Cabanis’s Bunting
TIMING (Sep, Jan–Feb)
Best when it is cooler (Nov–Mar), or immediately after the rains when many desert birds are breeding and passage migrants pass through (Sep–Oct)
Zakouma may be inaccessible Jul–Nov
RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
Field guides
Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014)
Sounds
African Bird Sounds Vol 2: West and Central Africa by Claude Chappuis
Further reading
Chad by Paul Scholte & Peter Robertson in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Waders and Waterbirds in the Floodplains of the Logone, Cameroon and Chad, January/February 1999 by Bert Dijkstra, Wim Ganzevles, Gerrit Gerritsen & Selvino de Kort (2002)
Waders and Waterbirds in the Floodplains of the Logone, Cameroon and Chad, February 2000 edited by Wim Ganzevies & Jeroen Bredenbeek (2005)
Articles in Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.
Websites
Lakes of Ounianga – UNESCO World Heritage List
ORGANISATIONS
There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Chad
The West African Bird DataBase (WABDaB) accepts records and images of birds from Chad
Bird or conservation organisations active in Chad include –
Alliance des Défenseurs des Droits Humains et de l’Environnement au Tchad (ADHET)
Association des Amis de la Nature pour la Protection de l ‘Environnement (AANPE)
Instances Locales d’Orientations et de Décision de l’Espace Lacustre de Fianga (ILOD/ELF)
ILOD Dari et Goumadji
Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF)
African Parks: Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve, Siniaka Minia Wildlife Reserve and Zakouma National Park
Parcs de Noé (PDN): Parc National de Zah Soo