Niger

SUB-REGION
Sahel

SIZE
1,267,000 kmĀ² (6th largest country in Africa)

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity

Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 540 recorded species

Quail-plover (Tasso Leventis)
Golden Nightjar (Nik Borrow)
Desert Lark (Paul van Giersbergen)

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Central African Hoopoe
Desert Grey Shrike
Glossy-backed Drongo
Singing Bush Lark
West African Swallow
African Reed Warbler
African Scrub Robin
Grey Firefinch

Other taxa of interest, including endemic subspecies (ESS)
Stone Partridge
Double-spurred Spurfowl
Clapperton’s Spurfowl
Golden Nightjar
Plain Nightjar
Western Plantain-eater
Violet Turaco
Nubian Bustard
Savile’s Bustard
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
Spotted Sandgrouse
Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse
Four-banded Sandgrouse
African Collared Dove
Black Crowned Crane
Quail-plover
Black-headed Lapwing
Egyptian Plover
Cream-colored Courser
Scissor-tailed Kite | African Swallow-tailed Kite
Egyptian Vulture
RĆ¼ppell’s Vulture | RĆ¼ppell’s Griffon
Grasshopper Buzzard
Northern White-faced Owl
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
Blue-naped Mousebird
Black Scimitarbill
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
Abyssinian Roller
Blue-bellied Roller
Red-throated Bee-eater
African Green Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Vieillot’s Barbet
Bearded Barbet
Yellow-breasted Barbet
Fine-spotted Woodpecker
Little Grey Woodpecker | Sahelian Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Brown-backed Woodpecker
Fox Kestrel
Senegal Parrot
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Senegal Batis
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Yellow-billed Shrike
Piapiac
Brown-necked Raven
Fan-tailed Raven
White-shouldered Black Tit
Sennar Penduline Tit
Yellow Penduline Tit
Greater Hoopoe-Lark
Rufous-rumped Lark
Desert Lark
Bar-tailed Lark
Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark
Highland Lark
Rusty Bush Lark
Kordofan Lark
Sun Lark
Crested Lark (ESS jordansi)
Dunn’s Lark
Pale Crag Martin
Red-throated Rock Martin
Pied-winged Swallow
Preuss’s Cliff Swallow
Northern Crombec
Rock-loving Cisticola
River Prinia
Cricket Warbler
Buff-bellied Warbler
Oriole Warbler
Senegal Eremomela
Fulvous Babbler
Brown Babbler
Lesser Blue-eared Starling
Splendid Starling
Purple Starling
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Chestnut-bellied Starling
Neumann’s Starling
Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Black Scrub Robin
White-crowned Robin-Chat
Anteater Chat
Heuglin’s Wheatear
White-fronted Black Chat
Blackstart
White-crowned Wheatear
Pygmy Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Sahel Bush Sparrow
Desert Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
Speckle-fronted Weaver
Heuglin’s Masked Weaver
Northern Red Bishop
African Silverbill
Lavender Waxbill
Black-rumped Waxbill
Red-winged Pytilia
Sahel Paradise Whydah
Trumpeter Finch
White-rumped Seedeater
West African Seedeater
House Bunting
Gosling’s Bunting
Brown-rumped Bunting

Scissor-tailed Kite (Kevin Ravno)

MAIN HABITATS
Desert, arid savanna

BIRD AREAS
17 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Termit and Tin-Toumma National Nature Reserve for Nubian Bustard
W National Park for Savile’s Bustard
Zinder area for Rusty Bush Lark and Kordofan Lark

TIMING (Octā€“Nov, Feb)
Being arid, most birds breed at the end of the rains (Sepā€“Nov)
The cooler months (Decā€“Feb), when most migrants are present, are also good
Avoid Aprā€“Jun due to heat

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
Niger by Joost Brouwer, S FranƧois Codjo & Wim C MulliĆ© in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Les Oiseaux du Complexe WAP by Gilles BalanƧa, Daniel CornƩlis & Roger Wilson (2007)
Articles in Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.

Websites
UNESCO World Heritage List: AĆÆr and TĆ©nĆ©rĆ© Natural Reserves and W-Arly-Pendjari Complex

Facebook groups
Birds of Pendjari , W and Arly Parks

ORGANISATIONS

There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Niger

The West African Bird DataBase (WABDaB) accepts records and images of birds from Niger

Bird or conservation organisations active in Niger include –
Contribution Ć  la Gestion des Zones Humides du Niger (COGEZOH)
AmĆ©nagement des Terroirs et Productions ForestiĆØres (ATPF)
Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF)
Parcs de NoƩ (PDN): RƩserve Naturelle Nationale de Termit et Tin-Toumma
Association des Campements Touristiques pour l’Appui Ć  la Gestion du Parc RĆ©gional W (ACTAG-PRW)

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