ኢትዮጵያ | Itiyoophiyaa | Itoobiya | ናይኢትዮጵያ | Ityoppiah | Ethiopia

REGION
Horn of Africa

SIZE
1,104,300 km² (10th largest country in Africa)

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Mostly Afrotropical avifauna, with a high degree of endemism
Approximately 860 recorded species (9th longest bird list of any country in the ABC region)

Birds best found in Ethiopia but occurring more widely (BT)
White-winged Collared Dove
Hemprich’s Hornbill
Ethiopian Bee-eater
Yellow-breasted Barbet
Grey-headed Batis (orientalis)
Red-naped Bushshrike (rufinuchalis)
Somali Fiscal
Somali Crow
Fan-tailed Raven
Archer’s Lark | Liben Lark
Gillett’s Lark
Somali Short-toed Lark
Somali Bulbul
Boran Cisticola
Abyssinian White-eye
Shelley’s Starling
White-crowned Starling
Abyssinian Ground Thrush (piaggiae)
Little Rock Thrush
Moorland Chat | Alpine Chat
Blackstart (lypura + aussae)
Abyssinian Wheatear (lugubris)
Nile Valley Sunbird
Shining Sunbird
Rüppell’s Weaver
Juba Weaver | Salvadori’s Weaver
Barka Indigobird
Northern Grosbeak Canary

Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not NE or BT (1/2), including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Little Brown Bustard
White-winged Flufftail
Masked Lark (ESS personata)
Philippa’s Crombec | Short-billed Crombec
Somali Wheatear

Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2), including ESS
Somali Ostrich
Vulturine Guineafowl
Clapperton’s Spurfowl
Sombre Nightjar
Donaldson Smith’s Nightjar
Star-spotted Nightjar
Nyanza Swift
Hartlaub’s Bustard
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Black-winged Lapwing
Somali Courser
Cape Eagle-Owl
Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Somali Bee-eater
Black-billed Barbet
Eastern Grey Woodpecker | Grey-headed Woodpecker
Fox Kestrel
Pringle’s Puffback
Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit
Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark
Foxy Lark
Thekla’s Lark (ESS harrarensis + huei)
Rufous-capped Lark (daaroodensis)
Dodson’s Bulbul
Somali Crombec
Ashy Cisticola
Tiny Cisticola
Foxy Cisticola
Pale Prinia
Brown-tailed Apalis
Yellow-vented Eremomela
Green-backed Eremomela (abyssinica)
Rufous Chatterer (sharpii + rubiginosa)
Scaly Chatterer (aylmeri + boranensis)
Bristle-crowned Starling
Magpie Starling
Gambaga Flycatcher
Brown-tailed Rock Chat
Black-capped Social Weaver
Shelley’s Sparrow | White Nile Sparrow
Abyssinian Crimsonwing
Black-cheeked Waxbill
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
African Citril
Stripe-breasted Seedeater

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Archer’s Francolin (BT)
Black-fronted Spurfowl (NE)
Schuett’s Spurfowl
Abyssinian Nightjar
Brown-faced Go-away-bird (E)
Crimson-crested Turaco (E)
Ethiopian Goshawk (NE)
Abyssinian Eagle-Owl (B2)
Blue-breasted Roller (BT)
Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (B2)
Ethiopian Puffback (NE)
Arabian Grey Shrike
Glossy-backed Drongo
Singing Bush Lark (BT)
Erlanger’s Lark (E)
Pale-throated Greenbul
Blue Saw-wing (NE)
Brown Saw-wing (E)
Ethiopian Saw-wing (NE)
Eastern Crombec
African Reed Warbler
Ethiopian Stout Cisticola (NE)
Bale Parisoma (E)
Kaffa White-eye (E)
African Scrub Robin
White-winged Scrub Robin (B2)
Bafirawari Flycatcher | Wajir Flycatcher (1/2)
Ethiopian Grey Flycatcher (BT)
Rusty-breasted Wheatear (BT)
Emin’s Weaver (B2)
Yellow-shouldered Widowbird
Spectacled Quailfinch
Ethiopian Firefinch (NE)

Other taxa of interest, including more ESS
Common Ostrich (camelus)
White-backed Duck
Ruddy Shelduck
African Pygmy Goose
African Black Duck
Cape Teal
Southern Pochard
Maccoa Duck
Yellow-necked Spurfowl
Nubian Nightjar
Slender-tailed Nightjar
Scarce Swift
White-bellied Go-away-bird
Eastern Plantain-eater
Arabian Bustard
Heuglin’s Bustard
Buff-crested Bustard
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
Black-faced Sandgrouse
Four-banded Sandgrouse
African Olive Pigeon | Rameron Pigeon
Dusky Turtle Dove
African Collared Dove
Bruce’s Green Pigeon
Black Crowned Crane
Wattled Crane
Great Crested Grebe (infuscatus)
Egyptian Plover
African Snipe
Double-banded Courser (ESS raffertyi)
Three-banded Courser | Heuglin’s Courser
Scissor-tailed Kite | African Swallow-tailed Kite
Bearded Vulture | Lammergeier
Egyptian Vulture
Rüppell’s Vulture
Golden Eagle (homeyeri)
Verreaux’s Eagle
Eastern Chanting Goshawk
Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk (ESS perspicillaris)
Mountain Buzzard
Little Owl (spilogastra + somaliensis)
Grant’s Wood Hoopoe
Black Scimitarbill (ESS notatus)
Abyssinian Scimitarbill
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Von der Decken’s Hornbill
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
Abyssinian Roller
Broad-billed Roller (ESS aethiopicus)
Half-collared Kingfisher
African Green Bee-eater
Olive Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird (ESS xanthostictus)
Red-fronted Barbet
Black-throated Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Red-and-yellow Barbet
D’Arnaud’s Barbet
Red-throated Wryneck (ESS aequatorialis)
Nubian Woodpecker
Little-spotted Woodpecker | Green-backed Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker (abessinicus)
Pygmy Falcon
Red-bellied Parrot | African Orange-bellied Parrot
Western Black-headed Batis
Pygmy Batis
Rosy-patched Bushshrike (cruentus + hilgerti)
Marsh Tchagra
Three-streaked Tchagra
Slate-colored Boubou
Brubru (ESS hilgerti)
Grey Cuckooshrike
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Northern White-crowned Shrike | White-rumped Shrike
Grey-backed Fiscal (intercedens)
Taita Fiscal
Red-billed Chough (ESS baileyi)
Cape Crow
White-winged Black Tit (ESS leucomelas)
Acacia Tit | Somali Tit
Greater Hoopoe-Lark (desertorum)
Desert Lark (assabensis)
Pink-breasted Lark
Red-winged Lark (ESS gallarum)
Flappet Lark (ESS rufocinnamomea + omoensis)
Collared Lark
Short-tailed Lark
Crested Lark (altirostris/somaliensis)
Northern Brownbul
Common Bulbul (schoanus)
Dark-capped Bulbul (ESS spurius)
Banded Martin (ESS erlangeri)
Brown-throated Martin | Plain Martin (ESS schoensis)
Rock Martin (pusilla/rufigula)
Red-chested Swallow (ESS rothschildi)
Ethiopian Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow (melanocrissus)
Red-faced Crombec
Brown Woodland Warbler (ESS omoensis)
Lesser Swamp Warbler (ESS tsanae)
Bamboo Warbler
Cinnamon Bracken Warbler
Little Rush Warbler (ESS abyssinicus)
Highland Rush Warbler (sudanensis)
Croaking Cisticola (ESS inexpectatus)
Red-pate Cisticola (scotopterus)
Pectoral-patch Cisticola (ESS wambera)
Red-winged Prinia (ESS major)
Red-fronted Prinia
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis (ESS abyssinica)
Grey-backed Camaroptera (ESS insulata)
Grey Wren-Warbler
African Hill Babbler (abyssinica)
Banded Parisoma (somalica)
Pale White-eye (jubaensis)
Scaly Babbler
White-headed Babbler | Cretzschmar’s Babbler
Dusky Babbler
African Spotted Creeper (ESS erlangeri)
Lesser Blue-eared Starling
Splendid Starling
Rüppell’s Starling
Golden-breasted Starling
Superb Starling
Slender-billed Starling (tenuirostris)
Somali Starling
Stuhlmann’s Starling
Sharpe’s Starling
Red-billed Oxpecker
Abyssinian Thrush (abyssinicus)
Bare-eyed Thrush
Silverbird
African Dusky Flycatcher (minima)
Rüppell’s Robin-Chat
White-crowned Robin-Chat (omoensis)
Spotted Palm Thrush
White-fronted Black Chat (ESS pachyrhyncha)
Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird
Collared Sunbird (ESS djamdjamensis)
Hunter’s Sunbird
Tacazze Sunbird (tacazze)
Black-bellied Sunbird (erlangeri)
Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow
Sahel Bush Sparrow
Chestnut Sparrow
Parrot-billed Sparrow
Somali Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
White-headed Buffalo Weaver
Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver
Grey-capped Social Weaver (ESS australoabyssinicus)
Speckle-fronted Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver (baglafecht)
Northern Masked Weaver
Speke’s Weaver
Yellow-crowned Bishop (ESS strictus)
Yellow Bishop (ESS xanthomelas)
Fan-tailed Widowbird (ESS traversii)
Red-cowled Widowbird (laticauda)
Grey-headed Silverbill
African Silverbill
Yellow-bellied Waxbill (quartinia)
Green Twinspot (chubbi)
Common Waxbill (ESS peasei)
Purple Grenadier
Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
Steel-blue Whydah
Straw-tailed Whydah
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah
Sahel Paradise Whydah
Exclamatory Paradise Whydah
Cuckoo-finch | Parasitic Weaver
Mountain Wagtail (ESS clara)
Golden Pipit
African Pipit (ESS cinnamomeus)
Bushveld Pipit (ESS australoabyssinicus)
Reichenow’s Seedeater
White-bellied Canary
Streaky Seedeater
Yellow-crowned Canary
Striolated Bunting
Somali Bunting

MAIN HABITATS
Montane moorlands, escarpments and forests, arid savanna

BIRD AREAS
Central Ethiopian highlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
Jubba and Shabeelle valleys EBA
South Ethiopian highlands EBA
Northern Ethiopia Secondary Area
68 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Bale Mountains National Park (NP), Jemma Valley, Bishangari Lodge, Harenna Forest and Debre Libanos for montane and escarpment species
Negele, Yabello, Awash NP and Lake Langano for arid savanna species
Gambela and South West Region for more typically western African species, including Long-tailed Nightjar, Vinaceous Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Red-throated Bee-eater, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Red-headed Lovebird, Black-headed Gonolek, White-shouldered Black Tit, West African Swallow, Brown Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Heuglin’s Wheatear, Pygmy Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Black-rumped Waxbill, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Wilson’s Indigobird and Brown-rumped Bunting

TIMING (Oct, Mar-Apr)
Best to visit at the start of the rains in the highlands (Mar–May) and the main rains in the arid lowlands (Apr–May, Oct), when most birds breed
Afro-Palearctic migrants are present Oct–Mar and best on passage Sep–Oct
Avoid the main rains in the highlands (Jun–Sep)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)

Field guides
Birds of the Horn of Africa by Nigel Redman, Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe (2011)
Birds of Eastern Africa by Ber Van Perlo (2009)

Sounds
Bird Recordings from Ethiopia by Steve Smith

Site guides
Where to Watch Birds in Ethiopia by Claire Spottiswoode, Merid Gabremichael & Julian Francis (2010)
Birding Ethiopia: a Guide to the Country’s Birding Sites by Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes & Christian Boix (2010)

Atlases
Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: an Atlas of Distribution by John Ash & John Atkins (2009)

Further reading
Ethiopia by Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS) in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
A Guide to Endemic Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea by Jose Luis Vivero Pol (2001)
Bird Diversity of Chebera Churchura National Park, Ethiopia: the Study of Avian Relative Abundance, Distribution and Seasonal Habitat Association by Dereje Woldejohannes Tanga (2011)
The Search for the Rarest Bird in the World by Vernon R L Head (2014)
Ethiopia: in Search of Endemic Birds, a trip report by Julian Francis & Hadoram Shirihai (1999)
A Survey of Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia by J W Duckworth (1992)
Articles in Walia (journal of the EWNHS), Agazen (EWNHS educational newsletter), SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science, Scopus, Bull. ABC, etc.

Websites
Simien National Park – UNESCO World Heritage List
Tadele Travel
Ethiopia Tours – Ashanti African Tours

Blogs
Ethiopia’s Endemics – 10,000 Birds by Adam Riley (2012)
Tribes and Birds of the Lower Omo Valley – 10,000 Birds by Adam Riley (2015)

ORGANISATIONS

The Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS) is the BirdLife Partner in Ethiopia

The BirdLife International UNDP/GEF Migratory Soaring Birds Project works in Ethiopia

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Ethiopia include –
Ethio Wetlands and Natural Resources Association (EWNRA)
Wildlife Conservation and Environmental Development Association of Ethiopia (WildCODE) 
Wildlife for Sustainable Development (WSD)
Lem, the Environment & Development Society of Ethiopia (Lem Ethiopia)
Forum for Environment (FfE)
Ethiopian Heritage Trust
Berga Bird Lovers Group
Lalibela Bird Club
Menagesha Suba Forest Lovers Group
SOS Sahel Ethiopia
Biodiversity Inventory for Conservation (BINCO)
WeForest
NABU
Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)