Kenya

SUB-REGION
East Africa

SIZE
580,367 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 1,140 recorded species (2nd longest bird list of any country in the ABC region)

Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2), including ESS
Cape Teal
Vulturine Guineafowl
Hildebrandt’s Spurfowl
Sombre Nightjar
Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjar
Star-spotted Nightjar
Nyanza Swift
Forbes-Watson’s Swift
Heuglin’s Bustard
Hartlaub’s Bustard
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Black-headed Lapwing
Black-winged Lapwing
Somali Courser
Madagascar Pratincole
Northern White-faced Owl
Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Hemprich’s Hornbill
Green Tinkerbird | Eastern Green Tinkerbird
Eastern Grey Woodpecker | Grey-headed Woodpecker | Mountain Gray Woodpecker
Eastern Black-headed Batis
Jameson’s Wattle-eye
Pringle’s Puffback
Red-naped Bushshrike
Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike (ESS keniensis)
Long-tailed Fiscal
Mountain Oriole | Black-tailed Oriole
Fan-tailed Raven
Mouse-colored Penduline Tit
Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark
Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark
Red-winged Lark
Joyful Greenbul
Toro Olive Greenbul
Somali Crombec
Uganda Woodland Warbler
Highland Rush Warbler
Boran Cisticola
Ashy Cisticola
Lynes’s Cisticola
Coastal Cisticola
Tiny Cisticola
Pale Prinia
Black-collared Apalis
Brown-tailed Apalis
Grey Wren-Warbler
Yellow-vented Eremomela
Banded Parisoma | Banded Warbler (ESS marsabit)
Brown Parisoma
Rufous Chatterer
Bristle-crowned Starling
Magpie Starling
Abyssinian Ground Thrush
Chapin’s Flycatcher | Lendu Flycatcher
Rüppell’s Robin-Chat
Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat
East Coast Akalat
Moorland Chat | Alpine Chat
Anteater Chat | Northern Anteater Chat
Brown-tailed Rock Chat | Brown-tailed Chat
Grey Sunbird | Mouse-colored Sunbird
Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird
Scarlet-tufted Sunbird | Red-tufted Sunbird
Black-bellied Sunbird
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Grey-capped Social Weaver | Grey-headed Social Weaver
Black-capped Social Weaver
Brown-capped Weaver
Red-cowled Widowbird
Abyssinian Crimsonwing
Black-cheeked Waxbill (ESS kiwanukae)
Kandt’s Waxbill (ESS keniensis)
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
Steel-blue Whydah
Rosy-throated Longclaw | Rosy-breasted Longclaw
African Citril | Abyssinian Citril (ESS kikuyensis)
Reichenow’s Seedeater | Kenya Yellow-rumped Seedeater
Northern Grosbeak-Canary | Abyssinian Grosbeak-Canary
Stripe-breasted Seedeater

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Kirk’s Francolin (BT)
Crawshay’s Francolin
Archer’s Francolin
Black-fronted Spurfowl (1/2)
Schuett’s Spurfowl
Cranch’s Spurfowl
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Abyssinian Nightjar
Brown-faced Go-away-bird
Black-faced Go-away-bird
Eastern Black-billed Turaco
White-breasted Cormorant
Mackinder’s Eagle-Owl (B2)
Scheffler’s Owlet | Spot-fronted Owlet (BT)
Central African Hoopoe
African Hoopoe
Grant’s Wood Hoopoe (NE)
Blue-breasted Roller (B2)
Grey-headed Barbet (B2)
Coastal Tinkerbird | Fischer’s Tinkerbird (1/2)
Eastern Yellow-spotted Barbet
Streaky-throated Barbet
Brown-and-white Barbet | Snowy Barbet (E)
Thick-billed Honeyguide
Barbary Falcon
East African Pitta
Four-colored Bushshrike
Southern Rosy-patched Bushshrike (1/2)
East Coast Puffback | Zanzibar Puffback (B2)
Ethiopian Puffback
Glossy-backed Drongo
Buff-bellied Penduline Tit (1/2)
Foxy Lark | Abyssinian Lark (B2)
Singing Bush Lark
Northern Red-capped Lark (1/2)
Athi Short-toed Lark (1/2)
Stripe-faced Greenbul (1/2)
Placid Greenbul (B2)
Dodson’s Bulbul | White-eared Bulbul (B2)
Dark-capped Bulbul
Eastern Crombec | White-bellied Crombec (BT)
African Reed Warbler
Rufous-crowned Cisticola
Black-faced Prinia
Tawny-breasted Camaroptera
Kulal White-eye (E)
Miombo Blue-eared Starling
White-winged Scrub Robin (B2)
Bafirawar’s Flycatcher | Wajir Flycatcher (BT)
East Coast Flycatcher (BT)
Schalow’s Wheatear (1/2)
Reichenow’s Weaver (BT)
Black-fronted Red Bishop
Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (B2)
Red-backed Mannikin
Black-faced Quailfinch
Spectacled Quailfinch | African Quailfinch
Nairobi Pipit (BT)

Other taxa of interest (see also under Birding Sites), including more ESS
Common Ostrich
White-backed Duck
African Black Duck
Yellow-billed Duck
Southern Pochard
Crested Francolin (grantii)
Shelley’s Francolin (ESS macarthuri)
Yellow-necked Spurfowl
Nubian Nightjar
Slender-tailed Nightjar
Square-tailed Nightjar | Gabon Nightjar
Pennant-winged Nightjar
Mottled Spinetail
Böhm’s Spinetail | Bat-like Spinetail
African Black Swift | African Swift
Horus Swift
White-bellied Go-away-bird
Ross’s Turaco
Schalow’s Turaco (ESS loitanus)
Kori Bustard
Denham’s Bustard
Buff-crested Bustard
Blue-headed Coucal
White-browed Coucal
Green Malkoha
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
African Finfoot
African Rail | African Water Rail
Lesser Moorhen
Grey Crowned Crane
Lesser Flamingo
Quail-plover
Long-toed Lapwing
Blacksmith Lapwing
Senegal Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Chestnut-banded Plover
Greater Painted-snipe
Lesser Jacana
Crab-plover
Double-banded Courser
Three-banded Courser | Heuglin’s Courser
African Skimmer
Saddle-billed Stork
Black Heron | Black Egret
White-backed Night Heron
Malagasy Pond Heron
Pink-backed Pelican
Secretarybird
Rüppell’s Vulture | Rüppell’s Griffon
Western Banded Snake Eagle | Banded Snake Eagle
Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle
Verreaux’s Eagle
Eastern Chanting Goshawk
African Marsh Harrier
Grasshopper Buzzard
Augur Buzzard
African Grass Owl
African Scops Owl (ESS nivosus)
Southern White-faced Owl
Marsh Owl
Greyish Eagle-Owl
Spotted Eagle-Owl (ESS tanae)
Blue-naped Mousebird
Common Scimitarbill
Abyssinian Scimitarbill
Southern Ground Hornbill
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Von der Decken’s Hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
Trumpeter Hornbill
Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill | Grey-cheeked Hornbill
Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
Lilac-breasted Roller (caudatus)
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
White-fronted Bee-eater
Olive Bee-eater | Madagascar Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
White-eared Barbet
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (jacksoni)
Red-fronted Barbet
Spot-flanked Barbet
Black-throated Barbet
White-headed Barbet
Red-and-yellow Barbet
D’Arnaud’s Barbet
Green-backed Honeybird | Eastern Honeybird
Pallid Honeyguide
Scaly-throated Honeyguide
Red-throated Wryneck | Rufous-necked Wryneck
Nubian Woodpecker
Little Spotted Woodpecker | Green-backed Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker | Western Grey Woodpecker
Brown-backed Woodpecker
Pygmy Falcon
Meyer’s Parrot
Red-bellied Parrot | African Orange-bellied Parrot
Chinspot Batis
Black-throated Wattle-eye
Rosy-patched Bushshrike (hilgerti)
Black-backed Puffback (nairobiensis/hamatus)
Northern Puffback (malzacii)
Slate-colored Boubou
Retz’s Helmetshrike
Northern White-crowned Shrike | White-rumped Shrike
Grey-backed Fiscal
Somali Fiscal
Black-headed Oriole | African Black-headed Oriole
Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher | African Crested Flycatcher
Cape Crow | Cape Rook
Somali Crow | Dwarf Raven
White-necked Raven | White-naped Raven
Acacia Tit | Somali Tit | Northern Grey Tit (barakae)
Grey Penduline Tit | African Penduline Tit
Red-capped Lark (ESS williamsi)
Sombre Greenbul | Zanzibar Greenbul
Slender-billed Greenbul (ESS percivali)
Yellow-bellied Greenbul
Northern Brownbul
Grey-olive Greenbul
White-headed Saw-wing
Red-throated Rock Martin
Angola Swallow
Ethiopian Swallow
African Red-rumped Swallow
Red-faced Crombec
Lesser Swamp Warbler
Levaillant’s Cisticola (ESS oreophilus)
Short-winged Cisticola | Siffling Cisticola (ESS kericho)
Wing-snapping Cisticola (ESS mauensis)
Red-fronted Prinia | Red-fronted Warbler (ESS rufidorsalis)
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis (ESS pugnax)
White-winged Apalis (ESS chariessa)
Black-headed Apalis (ESS nigrodorsalis)
Grey-capped Warbler
Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Green-backed Eremomela (ESS elgonensis)
Green-capped Eremomela | Greencap Eremomela (ESS kikuyuensis)
Northern Yellow White-eye
Scaly Chatterer
Brown Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Black-lored Babbler (ESS vepres)
Wattled Starling
Black-bellied Starling
Rüppell’s Starling
Golden-breasted Starling
Superb Starling
Shelley’s Starling
Red-winged Starling
Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Red-billed Oxpecker
Orange Ground Thrush (ESS chuka + raineyi)
Bare-eyed Thrush | African Bare-eyed Thrush
Bearded Scrub Robin | Eastern Bearded Scrub Robin
Grey Tit-Flycatcher | Lead-colored Flycatcher
Northern Black Flycatcher
Southern Black Flycatcher
Silverbird
African Grey Flycatcher (ESS taruensis)
African Dusky Flycatcher (ESS marsabit)
White-starred Robin (ESS macarthuri)
Brown-chested Alethe (ESS akeleyae)
White-browed Robin-Chat
Red-capped Robin-Chat
Spotted Palm Thrush | Spotted Morning Thrush
Little Rock Thrush
Capped Wheatear
Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird
Amethyst Sunbird
Marico Sunbird | Mariqua Sunbird
Purple-banded Sunbird
Abyssinian Sunbird
Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow
Chestnut Sparrow
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
White-headed Buffalo Weaver
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Speckle-fronted Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Black-necked Weaver
Eastern Golden Weaver | African Golden Weaver
Holub’s Golden Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Vitelline Masked Weaver
Speke’s Weaver
Golden-backed Weaver
Chestnut Weaver
Dark-backed Weaver | Forest Weaver
Cardinal Quelea
Red-headed Quelea
Black Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Fan-tailed Widowbird
White-winged Widowbird
Long-tailed Widowbird (ESS delamerei)
African Silverbill
Green Twinspot | Green-backed Twinspot
Black-faced Waxbill
Cut-throat Finch | Cut-throat
Purple Grenadier
Red-headed Bluebill
Green-winged Pytilia
Orange-winged Pytilia
Jameson’s Firefinch
Purple Indigobird
Straw-tailed Whydah
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah | Eastern Paradise Whydah
Cuckoo-finch | Parasitic Weaver
Cape Wagtail
Southern Citril | East African Citril | Grey-faced Citril
White-bellied Canary
Brimstone Canary
Thick-billed Seedeater (ESS albifrons)
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting | Cinnamon-breasted Rock Bunting
Somali Bunting | Somali Golden-breasted Bunting
Golden-breasted Bunting

MAIN HABITATS
Arid savanna, semi-desert, coastal forest, montane forest and grassland, lowland rainforest, moist savanna

BIRD AREAS
East African coastal forests Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
Jubba and Shabeelle valleys EBA
Kenyan mountains EBA
Serengeti plains EBA
Tanzania – Malawi mountains EBA
Kakamega and Nandi forests Secondary Area (SA)
Mount Kulal SA
North Kenyan short grass plains SA
69 Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

BIRDING SITES
Central Highlands (Aberdare/Nyandarua Mountains, Kinangop Plateau, Kieni and Gatamaiyu Forests, Mount Kenya, Nyambene Hills, Imenti and Njuki-ini Forests) for Aberdare Cisticola, Kikuyu White-eye and Sharpe’s Longclaw, Elgon Francolin, Jackson’s Spurfowl, Kenrick’s (ESS bensoni) and Abbott’s Starlings, Golden-winged (reichenowi) and Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds and Jackson’s Widowbird, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Olive Ibis, Cape Eagle-Owl (mackinderi), Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Eastern Grey Woodpecker (rhodeogaster), Mountain Oriole, Hunter’s Cisticola, Black-collared Apalis, Abyssinian Ground Thrush (kilimensis), Moorland (ernesti) and Anteater (cryptoleuca) Chats, Scarlet-tufted Sunbird (johnstoni), Baglafecht (reichenowi) and Brown-capped Weavers, Abyssinian Crimsonwing (kilimensis) and Kandt’s Waxbill (ESS keniensis), as well as Common Quail, Scaly Spurfowl (schuetti), Montane Nightjar (poliocephalus), Scarce Swift, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (montanus), African Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon and Dusky Turtle Doves, Blue-headed Coucal (monachus), Striped Flufftail, Black-winged Lapwing, African Snipe, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Mountain Buzzard, African Grass Owl, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker (hausburgi), Red-fronted Parrot, Black-fronted and Doherty’s Bushshrikes, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Slender-billed (ESS percivali), Kikuyu Mountain, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s (placidus) Greenbuls, Black Saw-wing (massaica), White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland (mackenzianus), Common Reed (cinnamomeus), Mountain Yellow, Evergreen Forest (mariae) and Cinnamon Bracken Warblers, Levaillant’s (ESS oreophilus) and Wing-snapping (ESS mauensis) Cisticolas, Black-throated, Black-headed (ESS nigrodorsalis), Chestnut-throated and Grey Apalises, African Hill Babbler (abyssinica), Slender-billed (theresae), Waller’s (walleri) and Sharpe’s Starlings, Orange Ground Thrush (ESS chuka), Abyssinian Thrush (abyssinicus), Brown-backed Scrub Robin, White-eyed Slaty (fischeri) and African Dusky (pumila) Flycatchers, White-starred Robin (intensa), Brown-chested Alethe (ESS akeleyae), Cape Robin-Chat (iolaema), Rüppell’s Robin-Chat (intercedens), African Stonechat (axillaris), Collared (garguensis), Green-headed (viridisplendens), Olive (neglecta), Tacazze (jacksoni), Bronze (kilimensis), Malachite (cupreonitens) and Northern Double-collared (reichenowi) Sunbirds, Long-tailed Widowbird (delamerei), Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps), Yellow-bellied Waxbill (kilimensis), Grey-headed Nigrita (diabolicus), Cape Wagtail (wellsi), Oriole Finch (elgonensis), Thick-billed (ESS albifrons) and Streaky Seedeaters, and Yellow-crowned Canary, also Green Malkoha, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, White-eared Barbet (kilimensis), Pallid Honeyguide, Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher (changamwensis), Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, White-headed Saw-wing, Green-capped Eremomela (ESS kikuyuensis), Black-bellied Starling, Green Twinspot and Red-headed Bluebill, and, at least formerly, Mottled Spinetail, Red-chested Owlet (medje), Abyssinian Owl (graueri) and African Broadbill (medianus)
Thika for Hinde’s Babbler as well as Purple-crested Turaco, Brown-hooded Kingfisher (prentissgrayi), White-headed Barbet (ESS senex), Green-backed Honeybird, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Sombre and Grey-olive Greenbuls, and Mountain Wagtail
Taita Hills Forests for Taita Apalis, Taita White-eye and Taita Thrush, Black-headed Mountain (usambarae) and Olive-headed (striifacies) Greenbuls, Abbott’s Starling and Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, as well as Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler (minullus), Evergreen Forest Warbler (usambarae), Black-headed Apalis (moschi), Orange Ground Thrush (ESS raineyi), African Dusky Flycatcher (murina), White-starred Robin (helleri), Olive Sunbird (changamwensis) and Striped Pipit, also Scarce Swift, Lemon Dove, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Brown-breasted Barbet, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied and Cabanis’s (placidus) Greenbuls, Yellow-breasted Apalis (golzi), Sharpe’s Starling, Bearded Scrub Robin, Cape and Rüppell’s Robin-Chats, African Stonechat, Collared Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Yellow-bellied Waxbill and Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps)
Coast (Shimba Hills National Reserve (NR), Nguuni Nature Sanctuary, Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Dakatcha Woodlands, Tana River Delta, Dodori and Boni NRs) for Clarke’s Weaver, Fischer’s Turaco, Sokoke Scops Owl, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (fischeri), Forest Batis, Amani Sunbird, Red Weaver and Sokoke Pipit, Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Crested Francolin (rovuma), Forbes-Watson’s Swift, African Barred Owlet (scheffleri), Mangrove Kingfisher, Green Tinkerbird, Mombasa Woodpecker, Eastern Black-headed Batis (suahelica), Three-streaked Tchagra (ESS mandanus), Black-backed Puffback (affinis), East Coast Boubou, Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike (kirki), Long-tailed Fiscal, Fischer’s and Lowland Tiny Greenbuls, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Coastal Cisticola, Scaly Babbler, Fischer’s and Magpie Starlings, Pale Flycatcher (subalaris), East Coast Akalat (sokokensis), Plain-backed (yokanae), Uluguru Violet-backed, Grey (fischeri) and Violet-breasted Sunbirds, Golden Palm Weaver, Zanzibar Red Bishop, Pangani Longclaw and Malindi Pipit, as well as African Pygmy Goose, Coqui Francolin (coqui), Red-necked Spurfowl (leucoparaeus), Fiery-necked (shelleyi) and Square-tailed Nightjars, Mottled and Böhm’s Spinetails, Black Coucal, Green Malkoha, Thick-billed and Lesser Cuckoos, Allen’s Gallinule, Palm-nut Vulture, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Spotted Eagle-Owl (ESS tanae), Silvery-cheeked and Trumpeter Hornbills, Brown-hooded Kingfisher (orientalis), Northern Carmine Bee-eater, White-eared, Green (olivacea), Black-collared and Brown-breasted Barbets, Pallid and Scaly-throated Honeyguides, Little Spotted Woodpecker (cailliautii), Brown-headed Parrot, African Broadbill (suahelicus), Pale Batis, Gorgeous (nigricauda) and Red-naped (kismayensis) Bushshrikes, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Green-headed (amani) and African Golden Orioles, Square-tailed Drongo, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Nicator, Flappet Lark (fischeri), Sombre (insularis), Yellow-bellied (centralis) and Little (zombensis) Greenbuls, Terrestrial (suahelicus) and Northern Brownbuls, Black Saw-wing, Lesser Swamp Warbler (leptorhynchus), Little Rush Warbler (tongensis), Short-winged Cisticola (reichenowi), Yellow-breasted (neglecta) and Black-headed (melanocephala) Apalises, Green-backed Camaroptera (pileata), Green-capped Eremomela (scotops), Scaly Chatterer (keniana), Red-tailed Ant Thrush (rufus), Spotted Ground Thrush (fischeri), Grey Tit-Flycatcher (orientalis), Black-bellied and Shelley’s Starlings, Bearded Scrub Robin, Ashy Flycatcher (cinereola), Red-capped Robin-Chat (intensa), Spotted Palm Thrush (rufipennis), Collared (elachior), Olive (changamwensis) and Purple-banded (microrhynchus) Sunbirds, Dark-backed Weaver (kersteni), Red-headed Quelea, Black-winged Red Bishop (hordeaceus), Fan-tailed Widowbird (zanzibaricus), Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps), Green Twinspot, Golden Pipit and Yellow-fronted Canary (mozambica), also Mascarene Martin, Lesser Blue-eared Starling (elisabeth), Collared Palm Thrush and Red-throated Twinspot and, at least formerly, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (patulus), Grey Penduline Tit (robertsi) and Magpie Mannikin
Manda Island for Black Boubou
Mida Creek, Whale Island, Sabaki River Mouth and Offshore Waters for Madagascar Pratincole, waders/shorebirds including Eurasian Oystercatcher (longipes), Tibetan and Greater Sand Plovers, White-fronted Plover, Eurasian Curlew (orientalis), Terek and Broad-billed Sandpipers, and Crab-plover, as well as for Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Red-necked Phalarope, African Skimmer, Brown and Lesser Noddys, Sooty, Bridled, Saunders’s, Gull-billed, Caspian, Common, White-cheeked, Roseate, Sandwich, Lesser Crested and Greater Crested Terns, Pallas’s, Sooty and Lesser Black-backed (heuglini) Gulls, Pomarine Jaeger, White-tailed Tropicbird, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Tropical Shearwater, African Woolly-necked Stork, Lesser Frigatebird, Brown and Masked Boobys, Black Heron, Dimorphic Egret, Western Reef Heron and Malagasy Pond Heron
Lower Tana River Valley for, at least formerly, Tana River Cisticola and White-winged Apalis (ESS chariessa)
Garissa for Collared Lark and Pale Flycatcher (bafirawari)
Shaba, Samburu and Buffalo Springs NRs for Williams’s Lark, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted, Friedmann’s and Masked (ESS intensa) Larks and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, as well as Somali Ostrich, Vulturine Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjar, Heuglin’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied (olivascens), Black-faced (ellenbecki) and Lichtenstein’s (sukensis) Sandgrouse, Somali Courser, White-headed Mousebird (ESS turneri), Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Somali Bee-eater, Pygmy Batis, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (hilgerti), Three-streaked Tchagra (jamesi), Pringle’s Puffback, Taita and Somali Fiscals, Fan-tailed Raven, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Northern (leucopsis) and Somali Crombecs, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Red-winged Lark, Singing Bush Lark (marginata), Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Pale (erlangeri) and Red-fronted (smithi) Prinias, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Banded Parisoma (ESS marsabit), Fischer’s, Bristle-crowned and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (intercalans), Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Hunter’s, Black-bellied (erlangeri) and Shining (turkanae) Sunbirds, Black-capped Social Weaver, Golden Palm Weaver, Black-cheeked Waxbill (charmosyna) and Golden Pipit
Lake Baringo for Northern Masked Weaver and Northern Red Bishop as well as Nubian (torridus) and Slender-tailed Nightjars, Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Allen’s Gallinule, Senegal Thick-knee, Black-headed Lapwing (tectus), Three-banded Courser, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Pink-backed Pelican, Verreaux’s Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills, Olive Bee-eater, Pygmy Batis, Fan-tailed Raven, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Pink-breasted Lark, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Lesser Swamp Warbler, Pale and Red-fronted Prinias, Brown-tailed Apalis (flavocincta), Grey Wren-Warbler, Brown Babbler, Red-winged, Bristle-crowned and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (guttata), Mocking Cliff Chat, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Hunter’s and Beautiful Sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Little Weaver (luteolus), Lesser and Vitelline Masked Weavers, Golden-backed Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Grey-headed Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill and Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
Laikipia Plateau for Hildebrandt’s Starling and Jackson’s Widowbird as well as Common and Somali Ostriches, Stone Partridge, Shelley’s Francolin, Denham’s Bustard, Black-winged Lapwing, Secretarybird, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Taita Fiscal, Fan-tailed Raven, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored (intercedens), White-tailed and Red-capped (ESS williamsi) Larks, Boran, Short-winged and Pectoral-patch Cisticolas, Banded Parisoma, Rufous and Scaly Chatterers, Brown and Black-lored (ESS vepres) Babblers, African (centralis) and Abyssinian Thrushes, Little Rock Thrush, Anteater Chat, Hunter’s Sunbird, Grey-capped (arnaudi) and Black-capped Social Weavers, Orange-winged Pytilia and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
Meru National Park (NP) for Hinde’s Babbler, Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted Lark and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, many arid savanna species as well as Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Mottled Spinetail, African Finfoot, Scissor-tailed Kite, Palm-nut Vulture, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Grasshopper Buzzard, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Trumpeter Hornbill, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, White-eared Barbet, Retz’s and Chestnut-fronted (ESS keniensis) Helmetshrikes, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Nicator, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Black-bellied Sunbird, Golden Palm Weaver and Orange-winged Pytilia
Tsavo East and West NPs for Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), Pink-breasted and Friedmann’s Larks, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Tsavo Sunbird and Fire-fronted Bishop, as well as Common and Somali Ostriches, Vulturine Guineafowl, Nubian and Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjars, Mottled Spinetail, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied and Black-faced (decoratus) Sandgrouse, Black-headed Lapwing (latifrons), Somali Courser, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Somali Bee-eater, Eastern Black-headed and Pygmy Batises, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (cathemagmenus), Three-streaked Tchagra, Pringle’s Puffback, Red-naped Bushshrike (rufinuchalis), Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Chestnut-headed and Fischer’s Sparrow-Larks, Fawn-colored, Red-winged, Flappet (torrida) and Singing Bush Larks, Sombre Greenbul, Northern (leucopsis) and Somali Crombecs, Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Pale and Red-fronted (ESS rufidorsalis) Prinias, Brown-tailed Apalis, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Scaly Chatterer (keniana), Arrow-marked Babbler (kirkii), Fischer’s, Shelley’s and Magpie Starlings, Spotted Palm Thrush (intercalans), Hunter’s and Black-bellied (nectarinioides) Sunbirds, Black-capped Social Weaver, Grey-headed Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Jameson’s Firefinch, Purple Indigobird, Steel-blue Whydah, Pangani Longclaw and Golden Pipit
Chyulu Hills for Mbulu White-eye and Grey Penduline Tit (sylviella/rothschildi) as well as Shelley’s Francolin (ESS macarthuri), Olive-headed Greenbul, Brown Woodland Warbler (dorcadichroa), Bar-throated Apalis (griseiceps), White-starred Robin (ESS macarthuri) and Southern Citril (hyposticta)
Lake Jipe for Taveta Weaver as well as Common Reed (cinnamomeus) and Lesser Swamp (leptorhynchus) Warblers, Zanzibar Red Bishop and waterbirds including African Skimmer and Black Heron
Loitokitok for Black-headed Mountain and Olive-headed Greenbuls, Mbulu and Broad-ringed White-eyes, Kenrick’s Starling (kenricki), Tsavo Sunbird, Taveta Weaver and Southern Grosbeak-Canary, as well as Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-eared (kilimensis) and Brown-breasted Barbets, Sombre and Grey-olive Greenbuls, Bar-throated Apalis, White-starred Robin (guttifer), Zanzibar, Black-winged and Southern Red Bishops, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Red-throated Twinspot, Southern Citril and Thick-billed Seedeater (kilimensis)
Amboseli NP for Sentinel Lark (ESS harterti), Hildebrandt’s Starling and Taveta Weaver, as well as Common Ostrich, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied, Yellow-throated and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Caspian Plover, Double-banded Courser, Secretarybird, Southern White-faced Owl, White-headed Mousebird (leucocephalus), Greater Kestrel, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (cathemagmenus), Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Pink-breasted, Singing Bush, Short-tailed (delamerei) and Red-capped Larks, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Ashy Cisticola, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Fischer’s Starling, Gorgeous Sunbird, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Golden-backed Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, Crimson-rumped Waxbill and Pangani Longclaw, also Dickinson’s Kestrel and waterbirds including Cape Teal, Lesser Flamingo, Pied Avocet, Long-toed Lapwing, Chestnut-banded Plover, Saddle-billed Stork and Black Heron
Ol Doinyo Orok for Tanzanian Illadopsis (at least formerly) as well as Abyssinian Thrush (deckeni) and Oriole Finch (kilimensis)
Magadi Road for Red-throated Tit, Swahili Sparrow, Hildebrandt’s Starling and Southern Grosbeak-Canary as well as Black-faced Sandgrouse, Double-banded Courser, Southern White-faced Owl, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Pringle’s Puffback, Taita Fiscal, Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored, Singing Bush and Short-tailed Larks, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Lynes’s, Ashy and Tiny Cisticolas, Red-fronted Prinia (smithi), Grey Wren-Warbler, Banded Parisoma (boehmi), Spotted Palm Thrush, Little Rock Thrush, Anteater Chat, Abyssinian Wheatear (schalowi), Gorgeous Sunbird, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Black Bishop (friederichseni), Grey-headed and African Silverbills, Black-cheeked Waxbill (ESS kiwanukae), Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Steel-blue Whydah and Bushveld Pipit (blayneyi)
Nairobi NP for over 500 recorded species including Violet Wood Hoopoe (granti), White-headed Barbet (ESS senex), Red-throated Tit, Sentinel Lark (athi), Somali Short-toed Lark (athensis), Northern Pied Babbler, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Jackson’s Widowbird, Pangani Longclaw, Long-billed Pipit (chyuluensis) and African Citril (ESS kikuyuensis), also Common Ostrich (massaicus), Shelley’s Francolin (uluensis), Harlequin Quail, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, African Finfoot, African Rail, Temminck’s Courser, Malagasy Pond Heron, Secretarybird, Green-backed Honeybird (ellenbecki), Lesser Honeyguide, Brown-backed Woodpecker (ingens), Long-tailed Fiscal, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Fawn-colored, White-tailed, Short-tailed and Red-capped Larks, Banded Martin, Moustached Grass Warbler, Highland Rush Warbler (elgonensis), Stout (nuchalis), Short-winged (katonae) and Pectoral-patch (hindii) Cisticolas, Yellow-breasted Apalis (ESS pugnax), Banded and Brown (jacksoni) Parisomas, Pale White-eye (flavilateralis), Yellow-crowned Bishop, Red-cowled Widowbird (suahelicus), Black-faced Waxbill (delamerei), Quailfinch (muelleri), Orange-breasted Waxbill, Cuckoo-finch and Rosy-throated Longclaw
Lake Nakuru NP, Lakes Naivasha and Oloiden and Hell’s Gate NP for Grey-crested Helmetshrike, waterbirds including Cape Teal, Lesser Moorhen, Black-necked Grebe, Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Long-toed Lapwing, Pied Avocet, African Skimmer, Slender-billed, Black-headed, Grey-headed and Lesser Black-backed (fuscus) Gulls, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns and Pink-backed Pelican, as well as Coqui Francolin (hubbardi), Hildebrandt’s Spurfowl, Mottled, Nyanza, African Black and Horus Swifts, Secretarybird, Verreaux’s Eagle, White-fronted Bee-eater, Brown-backed Honeybird, Scaly-throated and Greater Honeyguides, Red-throated Wryneck, White-bellied Tit, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Red-capped Lark, Grey-rumped Swallow, Lesser Swamp Warbler (parvus), Highland Rush Warbler, Lynes’s, Stout and Pectoral-patch (nakuruensis) Cisticolas, Brown Parisoma, Arrow-marked (emini) and Black-lored (sharpei) Babblers, African and Abyssinian Thrushes, Little Rock Thrush, African Stonechat, Mocking Cliff Chat, Anteater Chat, Capped and Abyssinian (schalowi) Wheatears, Red-cowled and Long-tailed Widowbirds, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Long-billed (hararensis) and Plain-backed (goodsoni) Pipits
Mau Narok/Molo Grasslands for Aberdare Cisticola and Sharpe’s Longclaw as well as Jackson’s Widowbird, also Maccoa Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Common Quail, Black-winged Lapwing, African Snipe, Red-capped Lark, Hunter’s, Levaillant’s and Wing-snapping Cisticolas, African Stonechat, Anteater Chat, Malachite and Golden-winged Sunbirds, Cape Wagtail and Yellow-crowned Canary, and, at least formerly, Elgon Francolin
Mau Forest Complex for Tanzanian Illadopsis (at least formerly) as well as Western Crested Guineafowl, Ross’s Turaco, Red-chested Owlet, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Grey-throated (cinereiceps), Yellow-spotted (duchaillui) and Eastern Yellow-billed (elgonensis) Barbets, Least Honeyguide (pachyrhynchus), Lühder’s Bushshrike, Joyful, Kakamega and Cabanis’s (sucosus) Greenbuls, Chubb’s Cisticola, Black-faced (melanops) and White-chinned (reichenowi) Prinias, Black-faced Rufous Warbler (vulpinus), Mountain Illadopsis, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat (melanonota), Equatorial Akalat, Black-billed Weaver, Black-crowned Waxbill and Red-headed Bluebill, also Jackson’s and Scaly Spurfowls, Montane Nightjar, Scarce Swift, African Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon and Dusky Turtle Doves, Hartlaub’s Turaco, Mountain Buzzard, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker, Red-fronted Parrot, Black-fronted and Doherty’s Bushshrikes, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, Mountain Oriole, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Kikuyu Mountain and Yellow-whiskered Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland, Mountain Yellow, Evergreen Forest and Cinnamon Bracken Warblers, Hunter’s Cisticola, Black-collared, Black-throated, Chestnut-throated and Grey Apalises, African Hill Babbler, Slender-billed, Waller’s and Sharpe’s Starlings, Abyssinian Ground Thrush (piaggiae), Abyssinian Thrush, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, White-starred Robin, Brown-chested Alethe (carruthersi), Cape Robin-Chat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive, Tacazze, Bronze and Northern and Eastern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht and Brown-capped Weavers, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Oriole Finch, African Citril, Thick-billed (kilimensis) and Streaky Seedeaters
Nguruman Hills for many of the same taxa occurring in the Mau Forest Complex as well as Black-headed Mountain Greenbul (nigriceps), Cabanis’s Greenbul (ESS ngurumanensis), Abyssinian Ground Thrush (rowei) and Southern Citril (hyposticta)
Maasai Mara NR for Usambiro Barbet, Red-throated Tit, Grey Penduline Tit (sylviella), Maasai Apalis, Hildebrandt’s Starling, Rufous-tailed Weaver and Jackson’s Widowbird as well as Common Ostrich, Coqui (hubbardi) and Red-winged (kikuyuensis) Francolins, Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Swamp and Square-tailed Nightjars, Bare-faced Go-away-bird (leopoldi), Ross’s and Schalow’s (ESS loitanus) Turacos, Denham’s Bustard, Black Coucal, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Black-winged and African Wattled Lapwings, Caspian Plover, Temminck’s Courser, Saddle-billed Stork, Rufous-bellied Heron, Secretarybird, White-headed Vulture, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Marsh Owl, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Grey-throated, White-headed (albicauda) and Double-toothed (aequatorialis) Barbets, Golden-tailed (kavirondensis) and Little Spotted (nyansae) Woodpeckers, Grey Kestrel, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Magpie Shrike, African Blue Flycatcher, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Rufous-naped (tropicalis), Flappet (kawirondensis) and Melodious Larks, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, Red-breasted Swallow, Moustached Grass Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Trilling, Rock-loving (emini), Stout, Long-tailed, Black-backed and Pectoral-patch Cisticolas, Miombo Wren-Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela (citriniceps), Arrow-marked Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Ashy (brevicauda), Northern Black (lugubris) and African Dusky Flycatchers, Silverbird, Sooty and Familiar (falkensteini) Chats, Swahili Sparrow, Grey-capped Social Weaver (dorsalis), Yellow-mantled Widowbird (macroura), Black-rumped Waxbill, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Plain-backed (goodsoni) and Bushveld Pipits
Ruma NP for Blue Swallow and Shelley’s Sparrow, also Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Bare-faced Go-away-bird (leopoldi), Black Coucal, African Wattled Lapwing, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Double-toothed Barbet, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks, Red-breasted Swallow, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Trilling Cisticola, African Thrush, Northern Black Flycatcher, Silverbird, Copper Sunbird, Little Weaver (kavirondensis), Black (ansorgei) and Black-winged Red (craspedopterus) Bishops
Lake Victoria/Nyanza (Kisumu Waterfront, Ndere Island, Yala Swamp and Lake Kanyaboli) for Swamp Nightjar, Eastern Plantain-eater, Blue-headed Coucal (fischeri), Brown-chested Lapwing, African Skimmer, Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed, Whiskered and White-winged Terns, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Double-toothed and Black-billed Barbets, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Marsh Tchagra, Black-headed and Papyrus Gonoleks, Pale-throated Greenbul (flavicola), African Blue Flycatcher, Common Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus), Papyrus Yellow Warbler, Greater (ansorgei) and Lesser (jacksoni) Swamp Warblers, White-winged Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Carruthers’s Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia (rhodoptera), Yellow-breasted Apalis (caniceps), Black-lored Babbler, African Thrush, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested and Copper Sunbirds, Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Black-headed (fischeri) and Golden-backed Weavers, Red-headed Quelea, Southern Red Bishop, Fan-tailed (phoeniceus) and Yellow-mantled (macrocercus) Widowbirds, and Papyrus Canary
Kakamega and Nandi Forests for Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Joyful and Toro Olive Greenbuls, Uganda Woodland Warbler, Turner’s Eremomela (ESS turneri), Chapin’s Flycatcher (lendu) and Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat as well as Sabine’s Spinetail, Great Blue and Black-billed (emini) Turacos, White-spotted Flufftail, Red-chested Owlet, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Grey-throated, Yellow-spotted, Hairy-breasted (ansorgii) and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Cassin’s Honeybird, Least Honeyguide, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared and Yellow-crowned Woodpeckers, Grey Parrot, Chestnut and Yellow-bellied Wattle-eyes, Bocage’s and Lühder’s Bushshrikes, African Shrike-flycatcher, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Western Oriole, Velvet-mantled and Sharpe’s Drongos, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Dusky Crested Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Honeyguide, Plain, Little Grey and Ansorge’s Greenbuls, Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia, Buff-throated Apalis (nigrescens), Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Olive-green Camaroptera (toroensis), Brown, Pale-breasted and Scaly-breasted Illadopsises, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Little Green, Grey-chinned and Green-throated Sunbirds, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Red-headed Malimbe and White-breasted Nigrita, also Western Crested Guineafowl, Scaly Spurfowl, Ross’s Turaco, Blue Malkoha, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Brown-backed Honeybird, Lesser (conirostris) Honeyguide, African Broadbill (meinertzhageni), Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Pink-footed Puffback, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Mackinnon’s Shrike, Slender-billed (gracilirostris), Kakamega, Little (virens), Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s (sucosus/ESS nandensis) Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, Chubb’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia (melanops), Black-collared and Black-throated Apalises, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey-chested Babbler, Southern Hyliota (slatini), Stuhlmann’s Starling, African Thrush, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Ashy (brevicauda), White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, Brown-chested Alethe (carruthersi), Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Equatorial Akalat, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive (ragazzii), Bronze and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed, Dark-backed (mentalis) and Brown-capped Weavers, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Black-and-white Mannikin (poensis), Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Black-crowned Waxbill, Red-headed Bluebill, Southern Citril (brittoni), Cape Wagtail, Plain-backed Pipit (zenkeri), Oriole Finch and Streaky Seedeater
Busia for Fiery-necked Nightjar (nigriscapularis), Eastern Plantain-eater, Senegal Coucal, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Wattled Lapwing, Rock Pratincole, Beaudouin’s and Western Banded Snake Eagles, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, White-headed (leucocephalus) and Black-billed Barbets, Speckle-breasted and African Grey (centralis) Woodpeckers, Grey Kestrel, Red-headed Lovebird, Western Black-headed Batis, Marsh Tchagra, Black-headed Gonolek, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, Piapiac, African Blue Flycatcher, Northern (carnapi) and Green Crombecs, Whistling Cisticola, White-chinned Prinia, Brown Babbler, Splendid and Purple Starlings, African Thrush, Silverbird, Olive-bellied (orphogaster), Orange-tufted, Purple-banded (bifasciatus), Superb (buvuma) and Copper Sunbirds, Compact Weaver, Red-headed Quelea, Black (ansorgei) and Black-winged Red (craspedopterus) Bishops, Fan-tailed and Marsh (humeralis) Widowbirds, Magpie Mannikin, Black-faced, Black-crowned, Fawn-breasted and Black-rumped Waxbills, Quailfinch (ugandae), Locust Finch, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Brown Twinspot, Black-bellied and Bar-breasted Firefinches, Cuckoo-finch, Western Citril, Black-throated (somereni) and Yellow-fronted (barbata) Canaries
Mount Elgon for Elgon Francolin and Jackson’s Spurfowl, Western Crested Guineafowl, Ross’s and Hartlaub’s Turacos, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Red-chested Owlet, Cape Eagle-Owl, Grey-throated and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Doherty’s and Lühder’s Bushshrikes, Grey Penduline Tit (roccattii), Joyful and Kikuyu Mountain Greenbuls, Hunter’s and Chubb’s Cisticolas, Buff-throated Apalis, Mountain Illadopsis, Abyssinian Ground (piaggiae), African and Abyssinian Thrushes, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Moorland and Anteater Chats, Malachite and Golden-winged Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed and Brown-capped Weavers, Black-crowned and Kandt’s Waxbills, also Common Quail, Scaly Spurfowl, Montane Nightjar, Scarce Swift, African Olive and Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeons, Lemon and Dusky Turtle Doves, Mountain Buzzard, Bar-tailed Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Moustached Tinkerbird, Fine-banded Woodpecker (taeniolaema), Red-fronted Parrot, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, Mountain Oriole, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, Black and White-headed Saw-wings, White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland, Mountain Yellow, Evergreen Forest and Cinnamon Bracken Warblers, Black-collared, Black-throated, Chestnut-throated and Grey Apalises, African Hill Babbler, Brown Parisoma, Slender-billed, Waller’s and Sharpe’s Starlings, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, White-starred Robin (elgonensis), Cape Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Collared, Green-headed, Olive, Tacazze, Bronze and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Black-and-white Mannikin (poensis), Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Oriole Finch, Thick-billed (kilimensis) and Streaky Seedeaters, and Yellow-crowned Canary, and, at least formerly, Forest Scimitarbill, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Kakamega Greenbul, Equatorial Akalat and Sharpe’s Longclaw
Cherengani Hills for many of the same taxa occurring on Mount Elgon as well as Bearded Vulture, African Spotted Creeper and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
Saiwa Swamp NP for Eastern Plantain-eater, Ross’s Turaco, Blue-headed Coucal, African Olive Pigeon, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Double-toothed and Eastern Yellow-billed Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Lühder’s Bushshrike, Grey and Purple-throated Cuckooshrikes, African Blue Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Pale-throated, Joyful, Yellow-whiskered and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, White-headed Saw-wing, White-browed Crombec, Lesser Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Chubb’s and Levaillant’s Cisticolas, Black-collared and Grey Apalises, Mountain Illadopsis, Splendid Starling, African and Abyssinian Thrushes, White-eyed Slaty and African Dusky Flycatchers, Snowy-crowned and Grey-winged Robin-Chats, Olive and Northern Double-collared Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-billed and Brown-capped Weavers, Fan-tailed, Yellow-mantled and Marsh Widowbirds, Black-and-white Mannikin, Black-crowned Waxbill and Streaky Seedeater
Kongelai Escarpment and Keringet Swamp for Stone Partridge, Eastern Plantain-eater, Ross’s and White-crested Turacos, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Wattled Lapwing, Jackson’s and Hemprich’s Hornbills, White-headed (leucocephalus), Black-billed and Double-toothed Barbets, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Western Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gonolek, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Yellow-billed Shrike, African Blue Flycatcher, Grey Penduline Tit (roccattii), Pale-throated Greenbul, Lesser Swamp and Highland Rush Warblers, Chubb’s, Boran, Stout and Foxy Cisticolas, Black-collared Apalis, Green-backed Eremomela (ESS elgonensis), Brown Babbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Lesser Blue-eared, Bronze-tailed, Splendid and Slender-billed Starlings, African Thrush, Little Rock Thrush, Familiar Chat (omoensis), Western Violet-backed, Shining and Copper Sunbirds, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Heuglin’s Masked, Black-headed and Golden-backed Weavers, Fan-tailed and Marsh Widowbirds, Cape Wagtail, Southern Citril (brittoni) and Stripe-breasted Seedeater, also, at least formerly, Ring-necked Francolin, White-shouldered Black Tit, West African Seedeater and Brown-rumped Bunting
Kerio Valley for Ross’s and White-crested Turacos, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Jackson’s, Hemprich’s and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbills, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-headed (leucocephalus) and Double-toothed Barbets, Pallid Honeyguide, African Grey Woodpecker, Western Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Gonolek, Fan-tailed Raven, Boran Cisticola, Green-backed Eremomela, Brown Babbler, Red-winged Starling, Grey Tit-Flycatcher (plumbea), Silverbird, Gambaga Flycatcher, Little Rock Thrush, Mocking Cliff and Anteater Chats, Hunter’s Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Little and Golden-backed Weavers, Dusky Indigobird, Long-billed Pipit and Stripe-breasted Seedeater
Lokichogio for Plain, Long-tailed and Standard-winged Nightjars, Arabian Bustard, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Vinaceous and Black-billed Wood Doves, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Black-headed Lapwing, Grasshopper Buzzard, Eurasian Hoopoe (waibeli), Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Jackson’s Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Fox Kestrel, Red-pate Cisticola, River Prinia, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Heuglin’s Wheatear, Pygmy and Beautiful Sunbirds, White-billed Buffalo Weaver and Little Weaver
Lake Turkana for waterbirds including Cape Teal, Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Senegal Thick-knee, Pied Avocet, African Skimmer, Little, Gull-billed and Caspian Terns, Slender-billed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed (fuscus) Gulls, Black and Western Reef Herons, and Pink-backed Pelican, also, at least formerly, Black Crowned Crane
Marsabit for Williams’s Lark and Kafa White-eye (ESS kulalensis), Masked Lark (yavelloensis/ESS mcchesneyi) and Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, as well as Crested (spilogaster) and Orange River (archeri) Francolins, Chestnut-naped Spurfowl (atrifrons), Bare-faced Go-away-bird (personatus), Heuglin’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied and Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Somali Courser, Scissor-tailed Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Greyish Eagle-Owl, White-headed Mousebird (ESS turneri), Black-billed Wood Hoopoe (somaliensis), Greater Kestrel, Taita Falcon, Lilac-breasted Roller (lorti), Ethiopian, Somali and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Grey-headed and Pygmy Batises, Northern Puffback (erythreae), Ethiopian Boubou, Fork-tailed Drongo (lugubris), Taita and Somali Fiscals, Somali Crow, Acacia Tit (thruppi), Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Short-tailed (megaensis), Thekla’s (huriensis), Crested (somaliensis) and Somali Short-toed (megaensis) Larks, Boran Cisticola, Banded Parisoma (ESS marsabit), Pale White-eye (jubaensis), Scaly Chatterer (boranensis), White-crowned (horrensis) and Magpie Starlings, Northern Black (schistaceus) and African Dusky (ESS marsabit) Flycatchers, Rüppell’s Robin-Chat (semirufa), Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Swainson’s and Somali (fulgens) Sparrows, Northern Grosbeak-Canary and Striolated Bunting
Rhamu for White-winged Collared Dove, Eurasian Hoopoe (senegalensis), Gillett’s Lark, White-crowned Starling (albicapillus) and Juba Weaver

TIMING (Apr–May, Nov)
Being a mainly arid country, it is best to visit during the rains (Apr–May and Oct–Nov) when birds breed, although timing and quality of rainfall can be quite unpredictable
Afro-Palearctic migrants are mostly present Oct–Mar
Any time of the year is good, though

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
eGuide to Birds of East Africa

Field guides
Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Dale A Zimmerman, Donald A Turner & David J Pearson (1996), also available in an abridged, lighter edition (2005)
Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe (2020)
Birds of Eastern Africa by Ber Van Perlo (2009)
Birds of Kenya: a Photographic Guide by Amedeo Buonajuti (2010)
Pocket Guide Birds of East Africa by Dave Richards (2016)
Birds of the Masai Mara by Adam Scott Kennedy (2012)
Birds of Kenya’s Rift Valley by Adam Scott Kennedy (2014)
Collins Traveller’s Guide to Wildlife of Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda by David Hosking & Martin Withers (2007) is a pocket-sized photographic guide covering over 475 commonly-seen species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, trees and flowers

Sounds
100 Common Bird Calls in East Africa by Dave Richards & Brian Finch
The Bird Song of Kenya and Tanzania: an Introductory Aid to Identification by John Hammick

Site guides
50 Top Birding Sites in Kenya by Catherine Ngarachu (2017)
Where to Watch Birds in World Cities by Paul Milne (2006) covers sites in and around Nairobi
Birding Northern Kenya: in Search of Masked Lark by Kevin Vang & Wojciech Dabrowka (2007)
Birding in Kieni Forest by Nick Gardner (1996)
Birding Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and Kenya’s Northern Coast by John Fanshawe (1994)
Where to Watch Birds in Kenya by Ray Moore (1982)

Atlases
Kenya Bird Map (KBM), a member of the African Bird Atlas Project
A Bird Atlas of Kenya by Adrian Lewis & Derek Pomeroy (1989), the data from which has been digitised and published on GBIF
Biodiversity Atlas Kenya aggregates Kenya biodiversity data and makes it available and usable online
Kenya’s Natural Capital: a Biodiversity Atlas (2015)

Checklists
Checklist of the Birds of Kenya by the Nature Kenya Bird Committee (2019)
Annotated Checklist of the Birds of East Africa by Lester L Short, Jennifer F M Horne & Cecilia Muringo-Gichuki (1990)
Nairobi National Park Bird Check List by Brian Finch (2012)
Nature Kenya has published checklists of the birds of Boni-Dodori (by Fleur Ng’weno, John Musina & Rajan Amin), Dakatcha Woodland, which gives bird names in the Giriama language (by Fleur Ng’weno, Dominic Mumbu, Alex Ngari, Samson Katisho, Japhet Garama, Samuel Kenga, Tom Jefwa & Patrick Changawa), Kakamega Forest (by Itai Shanni & Bernd de Bruijn), Meru National Park (by Mark Mallalieu) and Sabaki Estuary (by Fleur Ng’weno, Colin Jackson, Francis Kagema & Edwin Utumbi)
Rhino Ark has published a checklist of the birds of Eburu Forest compiled by Washington Wachira
Elsamere Field Study Centre has published A Checklist of the Birds of Elsamere including Lake Naivasha and Hell’s Gate National Park compiled by Anthony Kuria (2009)

Further reading
The Birds chapter in Kenya: a Natural History by Stephen Spawls & Glenn Mathews (2012)
Kenya by Leon Bennun & Peter Njoroge in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool& Michael I Evans (2001)
Kenya’s Important Bird Areas: Status and Trends (2004-2016)
Monitoring Important Bird Areas in Africa: Towards a Sustainable and Scaleable System by Leon Bennun, Paul Matiku, Ronald Mulwa, Solomon Mwangi & Paul Buckley (2005)
Birds, People and Conservation in Kenya by Mercy Njeri Muiruri & Patrick Maundu in Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society edited by Sonia Tidemann & Andrew Gosler (2010)
Sound, Sight, Stories and Science: Avoiding Methodological Pitfalls in Ethno-ornithological Research, with Examples from Kenya by Fleur Ng’weno in Ethno-ornithology: Birds, Indigenous Peoples, Culture and Society edited by Sonia Tidemann & Andrew Gosler (2010)
Turaco Country: Reminiscences of East African Birding by Dale A Zimmerman (2015)
Birds of Nairobi: Status, Distribution and Ecology (eBook) by James Bradley (2020)
Birds of Dakatcha Woodland IBA by Fleur Ng’weno, Japhet Garama, Julio Mwambire, Samson Katisho & Albert Baya (2018)
A Guide to Taita Hills Unique Natural History by Lawrence Wagura (2014)
The Study and Ringing of Palaearctic Birds at Ngulia Lodge, Tsavo West National Park, Kenya, 1969-2012: an Overview and Update by David Pearson, Graeme Backhurst & Colin Jackson (2014)
The Avifauna of an Upland Seasonal Woodland in Central Kenya: Ecology, Behavior, Breeding by Lester L Short & Jennifer F M Horne (2006)
Birds to Watch in East Africa: a Preliminary Red Data List by Leon Bennun & Peter Njoroge (1996)
The Birds of Watamu by Robin Cahill (1992)
The Cultural and Economic Importance of Birds Among the Boran People of Northern Kenya by Hussein Adan Isack in The Value of Birds edited by A W Diamond & F L Filion (1987)
The Birds of Lake Baringo by Terry Stevenson (1980)
Birds of East Africa: Their Habitat, Status and Distribution edited by P L Britton (1980)
The Breeding Seasons of East African Birds by L H Brown & P L Britton (1980)
The Avifauna of the Kakamega Forest, Western Kenya, Including a Bird Population Study by Dale A Zimmerman (1972)

Journals
Scopus: Journal of East African Ornithology is published by the Bird Committee of the East Africa Natural History Society (EANHS)
Journal of East African Natural History (JEANH) is published jointly by the EANHS and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK)
African Journal of Ecology, formerly East African Wildlife Journal, is published in association with the East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS)
Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and National Museum (1965-1993) merged with Utafiti to form JEANH
Bulletin of the African Bird Club

Magazines and newsletters
Kenya Birding is the Nature Kenya magazine
Nature Net is the Nature Kenya newsletter
Swara is the magazine of the EAWLS
Kenya Birds (1992-2008) was a magazine published jointly by the EANHS and NMK
Nature East Africa (2003-2007) was a magazine published by Nature Kenya in succession to the EANHS Bulletin (1971-2001)

Listservs
Kenyabirdsnet is a Google group whose goal is to improve communication among Kenyan birders and others who are interested in Kenya’s birds by informing one another about interesting bird findings and rare observations, as well as announcing birding activities held in the country

Websites
Rupi the African Trotter
Cisticola Tours: Birding and Nature Tours in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda
Kenya Birding: Bird Watching in Magical Kenya
Kenya Birds
UNESCO World Heritage List: Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley, Lake Turkana National Parks and Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest

Blogs
Nature Kenya Blog by the EANHS
Kenya Bird Map Blog is a blog for sharing information, updates and tips relating to the KBM project
Dr Liv’s Blog: Wildlife and Small Conservation Projects in Africa by Luca Borghesio
Birders of Kenya, 2016: Yale University Press by Nancy J Jacobs

Facebook groups
Kenya Bird Map is the official group for the KBM project for posts related to bird mapping in Kenya
Birding in Kenya is a group to discuss birding activities/events, birding sites and species of Kenya
Birds of East Africa is a group for everybody who is interested with Eastern African birdlife
Wings over Kenya was created to highlight Kenya’s avifauna
Bird Watching in Kenya is for sharing your views and best shots of birds in Kenya

ORGANISATIONS

Nature Kenya – The East Africa Natural History Society (EANHS) is the BirdLife Partner in Kenya and Africa’s oldest environmental society

The Ringing Scheme of Eastern Africa coordinates and promotes bird ringing/banding throughout the East African region and beyond through issuing of rings to qualified ringers, curating ringing data and tracking ring recoveries

The East African Rarities Committee assesses records of new and very rare birds occurring in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi

The Ornithology Section of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) manages databases of bird records, curates NMK’s collection of bird specimens, and conducts action-oriented research, training, and documentation and dissemination of information on birds and their habitats

The following Site Support Groups (SSGs) at priority IBAs work in partnership with Nature Kenya –
Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Adjacent Dwellers Association (ASFADA)
Busia Environmental Conservation Education Program (BECEP)
Chebororwa Sekemiat Self-help Group
Dakatcha Woodland Conservation Group
Dawida Biodiversity Conservation CBO (DaBiCo)
Friends of Dunga Swamp (formerly Lake Victoria Sunset Birders)
Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FoKP)
Friends of Nature Bogoria (FoNB)
Ithugi Self-help Group
Kakamega Environmental Education Programme (KEEP)
Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO)
Lake Elementaita Ecosystem Group
Lake Naivasha Biodiversity Conservation Group
Maasai Mara Wildlife Ambassadors
Mida Creek Conservation and Awareness Group (MCCAG)
Mount Kenya Biodiversity Conservation Group (Mt Kebio)
Mumoni SSG
Mukurwe-ini Environmental Volunteers Organization (MEVO)
Murguiywet CBO
Mutitu SSG
Nyahururu Bird Club
Ruma Park SSG
Sabaki River Conservation Development Organization (SARICODO)
South Nandi Biodiversity Conservation Group (SONABIC)
Tana Delta Conservation Network (TDCN)
Yala Ecosystem Site Support Group (YESSG)

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Kenya include –
East African Wild Life Society (EAWLS)
A Rocha Kenya (ARK)
Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK)
Community Action for Nature Conservation (CANCO)
Kenya Bird of Prey Trust
Kenya Women Birders
Cranes Conservation Volunteers (CCV)
Kilusu Bird Club
Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA)
The Green Belt Movement (GBM)
Rhino Ark
Mount Kenya Trust
Kijabe Forest Trust
Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust
Tsavo Trust
Natural Africa Concern (NAC)
Watamu Marine Association
Oceans Alive Trust
Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean – East Africa (CORDIO-EA)
Blue Ventures
Seacology
NABU
Fauna & Flora International (FFI)
WCS Kenya
WWF-Kenya
Wetlands International Eastern Africa
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)
Eden Reforestation Projects