Nigeria

SUB-REGION
West Africa

SIZE
923,768 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 920 recorded species (7th longest bird list of any country in the ABC region)

Endemics (E)
Ibadan Malimbe (EN)

Near-endemics (NE)
Anambra Waxbill
Jos Plateau Indigobird

Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2)
Cameroon Olive Pigeon
Western Greenbul
Cameroon Olive Greenbul
Black-capped Woodland Warbler
Green Longtail
White-tailed Warbler
Cameroon Sunbird
Shelley’s Oliveback

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Pale-bellied Francolin
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Verreaux’s Turaco
Whistling Long-tailed Cuckoo
Western Piping Hornbill
Eastern Piping Hornbill
Eastern Yellow-spotted Barbet
Togo Yellow-billed Barbet
Thick-billed Honeyguide
Johnston’s Woodpecker (B2)
West African Pitta
Fanti Drongo
Glossy-backed Drongo
Western Square-tailed Drongo
Desert Grey Shrike
Highland Lark
Singing Bush Lark
Petit’s Saw-wing
Yellow-bellied Crombec
African Reed Warbler
Brown-backed Cisticola (1/2)
Western Stout Cisticola
Western Buff-throated Apalis
Black-crowned Capuchin Babbler
African Scrub Robin
Orange-breasted Forest Robin
Volcano Sunbird (B2)
Neumann’s Weaver
Black-faced Quailfinch
Grey Firefinch
Bannerman’s Pipit

National bird
Black Crowned Crane (EW in Nigeria)

MAIN HABITATS
Lowland forest, montane forest and grassland, gallery forest, savannas, Guinea woodlands

BIRD AREAS
Cameroon and Gabon lowlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
Cameroon mountains EBA
Lower Niger valley Secondary Area (SA)
South-west Nigeria SA
27 Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

BIRDING SITES
Forest Reserves in the South-west for Ibadan Malimbe
Niger Delta for Anambra Waxbill, waterbirds including Water Thick-knee, White-fronted Plover, Collared Pratincole, Little Tern (guineae), West African Crested Tern, Black Heron and Western Reef Heron, as well as Swamp Nightjar, Black Coucal, Palm-nut Vulture, White-spotted Flufftail, Shining-blue Kingfisher, Forest Penduline Tit, White-bibbed Swallow, Chattering Cisticola, Mangrove Sunbird, Reichenbach’s Sunbird, Carmelite Sunbird, Slender-billed Weaver and Orange Weaver
Jos Plateau (Amurum Forest Reserve (APLORI), Rennajj Fish Farm, Lamingo Dam & Shere Hills) for Rock Firefinch and Jos Plateau Indigobird, Rock-loving Cisticola, Neumann’s Starling, White-crowned Cliff Chat and Gosling’s Bunting, Violet Turaco, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Red-throated Bee-eater, Bearded Barbet, Fox Kestrel, Senegal Parrot, Yellow-billed Shrike, Emin’s Shrike, Piapiac, Sun Lark, Dorst’s Cisticola, Oriole Warbler, Senegal Eremomela, Blackcap Babbler, Purple Starling, White-crowned Robin-Chat, White-fronted Black Chat, Heuglin’s Masked Weaver, Grey-headed Oliveback, Lavender Waxbill, Black-rumped Waxbill and Black-bellied Firefinch, Speckled Mousebird and Anteater Chat, also Rufous-naped Lark (batesi), Red-capped Lark (ESS rufipecta), Jambandu Indigobird and Quailfinch Indigobird, as well as White-faced Whistling Duck, Stone Partridge, Double-spurred Spurfowl, Plain Nightjar, Freckled Nightjar (ESS pallidogriseus), Long-tailed Nightjar, African Palm Swift, Mottled Swift, Little Swift, White-rumped Swift, Western Plantain-eater, Senegal Coucal, Blue Malkoha, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Jacobin Cuckoo, Diederik Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Cuckoo, Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Vinaceous Dove, Laughing Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, African Crake, Lesser Moorhen, Black Crake, Little Grebe, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Senegal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, African Jacana, Temminck’s Courser, Reed Cormorant, Little Bittern, Little Egret, Striated Heron, Squacco Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Yellow-billed Egret, Grey Heron, Black-headed Heron, Hamerkop, Black-winged Kite, African Harrier-Hawk, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Gabar Goshawk, Shikra, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Yellow-billed Kite, Red-necked Buzzard, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Eurasian Hoopoe, Green Wood Hoopoe, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Vieillot’s Barbet, White-headed Barbet, Greater Honeyguide, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, African Grey Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Grey Kestrel, Lanner Falcon, Senegal Batis, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Black-crowned Tchagra, Northern Puffback, Tropical Boubou, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, African Paradise Flycatcher, Pied Crow, African Blue Flycatcher, Crested Lark, Yellow-throated Leaflove (flavicollis), Common Bulbul, Fanti Saw-wing, Banded Martin, Brown-throated Martin, Red-throated Rock Martin (bansoensis), Ethiopian Swallow, Lesser Striped Swallow, West African Swallow, Moustached Grass Warbler, Northern Crombec, Red-faced Cisticola, Singing Cisticola, Winding Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Short-winged Cisticola, Zitting Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Northern Yellow White-eye, Brown Babbler, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Violet-backed Starling, African Thrush, Pale Flycatcher, Northern Black Flycatcher, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Familiar Chat, Pygmy Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Little Weaver, Olive-naped Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Village Weaver, Black-winged Red Bishop, Northern Red Bishop, Yellow-mantled Widowbird, Bronze Mannikin, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Quailfinch (atricollis), Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Red-billed Firefinch, Village Indigobird, Pin-tailed Whydah and Yellow-throated Longclaw
Cross River National Park (NP) Okwangwo Division, Mbe Mountains Community Forest, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Sankwala Mountains, Obudu Plateau (Becheve Nature Reserve), Mambilla Plateau & Gotel Mountains (Gashaka Gumti NP) for the other 1/2 and B2 montane species listed above as well as African Black Duck, Scaly Spurfowl, Horus Swift, Lemon Dove, White-crested Turaco, African Grass Owl, Bar-tailed Trogon, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Western Tinkerbird (coryphaea), Red-throated Wryneck, Tullberg’s Woodpecker, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, Elliot’s Woodpecker (johnstoni), Speckled Mousebird, Grey-headed Broadbill, African Broadbill, Western Black-headed Batis, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, Brown-crowned Tchagra (emini), Pink-footed Puffback (boydi), Mountain Sooty Boubou, Grey Cuckooshrike, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Sharpe’s Drongo (sharpei), Mackinnon’s Shrike, Northern Fiscal, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, White-bellied Tit, Rufous-naped Lark (bamendae), Black Saw-wing (petiti), Red-throated Rock Martin, African Yellow Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Chubb’s Cisticola (adametzi), Stout Cisticola (santae), Banded Prinia, White-chinned Prinia, Black-collared Apalis, Red-winged Grey Warbler, Black-throated Apalis (bambuluensis), Grey Apalis, Rwenzori Hill Babbler, Forest White-eye, Blackcap Illadopsis (batesi), Grey-chested Babbler, Waller’s Starling (preussi), Crossley’s Ground Thrush, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, African Dusky Flycatcher (poensis), White-bellied Robin-Chat (roberti), Short-tailed Akalat (granti), Grey-winged Robin-Chat, African Stonechat (salax), Sooty Chat, Northern Double-collared Sunbird (preussi), Orange-tufted Sunbird, Thick-billed Weaver (saturata), Baglafecht Weaver (neumanni), Spectacled Weaver (crocatus), Black-billed Weaver (melanogaster), Dark-backed Weaver (tephronotus), Brown-capped Weaver, Yellow Bishop (phoenicomerus), Marsh Widowbird, Red-collared Widowbird, Red-faced Crimsonwing (reichenovii), Grey-headed Oliveback, Black-crowned Waxbill, Dybowski’s Twinspot, Brown Twinspot, Cameroon Indigobird, Mountain Wagtail, African Pipit (lynesi), Long-billed Pipit (bannermani), Oriole Finch, West African Seedeater (montanorum) and Thick-billed Seedeater (burtoni)
Lekki Conservation Centre, LUFASI Nature Park, University of Lagos & Badagri Creek for Guineo-Congolian species including White-spotted Flufftail, West African Pied Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (fistulator), Speckled Tinkerbird, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Simple Greenbul, Green Hylia, Mangrove Sunbird, Buff-throated Sunbird, Carmelite Sunbird, Chestnut-and-black Weaver, Red-vented Malimbe, Blue-billed Malimbe, Western Bluebill and Black-bellied Seedcracker, as well as Long-tailed Nightjar, Mottled Spinetail, African Palm Swift, Little Swift, Western Plantain-eater, Senegal Coucal, Black Coucal, Diederik Cuckoo, Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Laughing Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Tambourine Dove, Common Moorhen, Black Crake, Little Grebe, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Jacana, Collared Pratincole, Reed Cormorant, Little Bittern, Black Heron, Little Egret, Western Reef Heron, Striated Heron, Squacco Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, African Harrier-Hawk, Palm-nut Vulture, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Shikra, Yellow-billed Kite, Northern White-faced Owl, Green Wood Hoopoe, African Grey Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Little Green Woodpecker, African Grey Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Senegal Parrot, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Piapiac, Pied Crow, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Black-crowned Tchagra, Northern Puffback, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, African Blue Flycatcher, Little Greenbul, Common Bulbul, Ethiopian Swallow, Winding Cisticola, Zitting Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Oriole Warbler, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Northern Yellow White-eye, Splendid Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, African Thrush, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Collared Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Splendid Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Northern Grey-headed Weaver, Olive-naped Weaver, Village Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Bronze Mannikin, Black-and-white Mannikin, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Red-billed Firefinch, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Village Indigobird, Pin-tailed Whydah, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Plain-backed Pipit and Yellow-fronted Canary
IITA Ibadan Campus for Guineo-Congolian species including Guinea Turaco, West African Pied Hornbill, Speckled Tinkerbird, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Velvet-mantled Drongo (atactus), Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Western Nicator, Grey-headed Bristlebill, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Simple Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul, Red-tailed Leaflove, Baumann’s Olive Greenbul, Kemp’s Longbill, Green Crombec (flaviventris), Green Hylia, Olive-green Camaroptera, Chestnut-winged Starling, Forest Robin (gabonensis), Yellow-mantled Weaver, Red-vented Malimbe, Blue-billed Malimbe, Red-headed Malimbe and Western Bluebill, as well as White-faced Whistling Duck, Double-spurred Spurfowl, Long-tailed Nightjar, Mottled Spinetail, African Palm Swift, Little Swift, Western Plantain-eater, Senegal Coucal, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue Malkoha, Diederik Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Laughing Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Tambourine Dove, African Green Pigeon, Allen’s Gallinule, Black Crake, Senegal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, White-crowned Lapwing, African Jacana, African Openbill, Hadada Ibis, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Black-headed Heron, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Black Sparrowhawk, Yellow-billed Kite, Northern White-faced Owl, African Wood Owl, African Grey Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, White-throated Bee-eater, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Common Kestrel, Grey Kestrel, Piapiac, Pied Crow, Tropical Boubou, Slender-billed Greenbul, Little Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Common Bulbul, Ethiopian Swallow, Red-faced Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Oriole Warbler, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Splendid Starling, African Thrush, Collared Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Splendid Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Olive-naped Weaver, Village Weaver, Bronze Mannikin, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Pin-tailed Whydah, African Pied Wagtail and Plain-backed Pipit
Emerald Forest Reserve for Ibadan Malimbe and other Guineo-Congolian species including Ahanta Spurfowl, Guinea Turaco, Black-throated Coucal, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Blue-headed Wood Dove, West African Pied Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (fistulator), Eastern Long-tailed Hornbill, Blue-throated Roller, White-bellied Kingfisher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Fiery-breasted Bushshrike, Red-billed Helmetshrike, Black-winged Oriole, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Western Nicator, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Grey-headed Bristlebill, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Honeyguide Greenbul, Red-tailed Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul, Baumann’s Olive Greenbul, Kemp’s Longbill, Green Crombec, Green Hylia, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Olive-green Camaroptera, Chestnut-winged Starling, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Forest Robin (gabonensis), Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Red-vented Malimbe, Blue-billed Malimbe and Red-headed Malimbe, as well as Blue Malkoha, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Tambourine Dove, Red-chested Goshawk, Black Sparrowhawk, African Wood Owl, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Slender-billed Greenbul, Little Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Collared Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Black-and-white Mannikin and Grey-headed Nigrita among other lowland forest taxa
Omo Forest (Biosphere) Reserve & Okomu NP for more Guineo-Congolian species including Latham’s Francolin, Sabine’s Spinetail, Cassin’s Spinetail, Great Blue Turaco, Yellow-billed Turaco (verreauxii), Guinea Turaco, Black-throated Coucal, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo (lemaireae), Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Blue-headed Wood Dove, White-spotted Flufftail, West African Pied Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (fistulator), White-thighed Hornbill, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Black-casqued Hornbill, Yellow-casqued Hornbill, Eastern Long-tailed Hornbill, Blue-throated Roller, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Black Bee-eater, Bristle-nosed Barbet, Naked-faced Barbet, Speckled Tinkerbird, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Yellow-spotted Barbet (duchaillui), Hairy-breasted Barbet, Western Yellow-billed Barbet (togoensis), Fire-bellied Woodpecker, Grey Parrot, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Fiery-breasted Bushshrike, Sabine’s Puffback, Red-billed Helmetshrike, Blue Cuckooshrike, Western Oriole, Black-winged Oriole, Velvet-mantled Drongo (atactus/coracinus), Shining Drongo, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Western Nicator, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Grey-headed Bristlebill, Spotted Greenbul, Honeyguide Greenbul, Western Bearded Greenbul (ESS ansorgeanus), Red-tailed Greenbul, Plain Greenbul, Icterine Greenbul, Grey Longbill, Green Crombec, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Green Hylia, Buff-throated Apalis (sanderi), Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Brown Illadopsis, Purple-headed Starling, White-tailed Ant Thrush, Fire-crested Alethe, White-browed Forest Flycatcher, Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher, Cassin’s Flycatcher, Forest Robin (gabonensis), Fraser’s Sunbird, Little Green Sunbird, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, Buff-throated Sunbird, Superb Sunbird (nigeriae), Chestnut-and-black Weaver, Maxwell’s Black Weaver, Red-vented Malimbe, Blue-billed Malimbe, Red-headed Malimbe, Crested Malimbe, Chestnut-breasted Nigrita and Pale-fronted Nigrita, as well as Western Crested Guineafowl, Blue Malkoha, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Tambourine Dove, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Red-chested Goshawk, Black Sparrowhawk, African Wood Owl, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Slender-billed Greenbul, Little Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Fanti Saw-wing, Collared Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Black-and-white Mannikin and Grey-headed Nigrita among other lowland forest taxa
Cross River NP Oban & Okwangwo Divisions for Grey-necked Rockfowl, Forest Swallow and Rachel’s Malimbe among more lowland forest taxa including Black Guineafowl, Brown Nightjar, Fernando Po Swift, Afep Pigeon, Spot-breasted Ibis, Sjöstedt’s Barred Owlet, Bare-cheeked Trogon, Congo Pied Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (sharpii), Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet (purpuratus), Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, African Piculet, Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Red-fronted Parrot, White-spotted Wattle-eye, Lowland Sooty Boubou, Lühder’s Bushshrike, Eastern Wattled Cuckooshrike, Velvet-mantled Drongo (coracinus), Dusky Tit, Yellow-lored Bristlebill, Sjöstedt’s Greenbul, Eastern Bearded Greenbul, White-bearded Greenbul, Xavier’s Greenbul, Yellow Longbill, Green Crombec (virens), Buff-throated Apalis (rufogularis), Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Yellow-footed Flycatcher, Green-throated Sunbird (crossensis), Vieillot’s Black Weaver and Red-bellied Malimbe
Yankari Game Reserve for Four-banded Sandgrouse, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Violet Turaco, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Blue-bellied Roller, Red-throated Bee-eater, Bearded Barbet, Fox Kestrel, Senegal Parrot, Yellow-billed Shrike, Piapiac, Yellow Penduline Tit, Pied-winged Swallow, Dorst’s Cisticola, Rufous Cisticola, Oriole Warbler, Senegal Eremomela, Blackcap Babbler, Bronze-tailed Starling, Purple Starling, White-crowned Robin-Chat, White-fronted Black Chat, Sahel Bush Sparrow, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Red-winged Pytilia, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah and Brown-rumped Bunting, also Savile’s Bustard and Chestnut-bellied Starling, as well as Helmeted Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, Double-spurred Spurfowl, Plain Nightjar, Standard-winged Nightjar, Mottled Spinetail, African Palm Swift, Western Plantain-eater, Black-bellied Bustard, Senegal Coucal, Blue-headed Coucal, Blue Malkoha, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Diederik Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Cuckoo, Speckled Pigeon, Mourning Collared Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Vinaceous Dove, Laughing Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Black Crake, Senegal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, African Jacana, [Saddle-billed Stork,] Abdim’s Stork, Reed Cormorant, Hadada Ibis, Little Egret, Striated Heron, Squacco Heron, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Egret, Grey Heron, Black-headed Heron, [Goliath Heron,] Hamerkop, [Secretarybird,] African Harrier-Hawk, Palm-nut Vulture, [White-backed Vulture, Rüppell’s Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Lappet-faced Vulture,] Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Martial Eagle, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Tawny Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Gabar Goshawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Shikra, Grasshopper Buzzard, Yellow-billed Kite, African Fish Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, African Scops Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Narina Trogon, Eurasian Hoopoe, Green Wood Hoopoe, Black Scimitarbill, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Purple Roller, Abyssinian Roller, Broad-billed Roller, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Striped Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Little Bee-eater, African Green Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Vieillot’s Barbet, Greater Honeyguide, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, African Grey Woodpecker, Grey Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Senegal Batis, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Grey-headed Bushshrike, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Black-crowned Tchagra, Northern Puffback, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Brubru, White-crested Helmetshrike, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, African Golden Oriole, Fork-tailed Drongo (lugubris), Sharpe’s Drongo (occidentalis), African Paradise Flycatcher, White-shouldered Black Tit, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, Flappet Lark (buckleyi), Grey-rumped Swallow, Red-breasted Swallow, Lesser Striped Swallow, West African Swallow, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Common Bulbul, Moustached Grass Warbler, Northern Crombec, Greater Swamp Warbler, Singing Cisticola, Winding Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Short-winged Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Northern Yellow White-eye, Brown Babbler, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Violet-backed Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, African Thrush, Pale Flycatcher, Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Northern Black Flycatcher, Swamp Flycatcher, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, White-crowned Cliff Chat, Pygmy Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Beautiful Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Little Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Village Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Red-billed Firefinch, Village Indigobird, Wilson’s Indigobird, Yellow-fronted Canary and Gosling’s Bunting
Lake Chad Basin & Hadejia-Nguru Wetlands for arid savanna species including [Common Ostrich,] Clapperton’s Spurfowl, Golden Nightjar, [Arabian Bustard,] Savile’s Bustard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, African Collared Dove, [Black Crowned Crane,] Quail-plover, Black-headed Lapwing, Cream-colored Courser, Marabou Stork, Scissor-tailed Kite, [Egyptian Vulture,] Blue-naped Mousebird, Yellow-breasted Barbet, Little Grey Woodpecker, Grey-headed Batis, Great Grey Shrike (leucopygos), Grey-backed Fiscal, Brown-necked Raven, Sennar Penduline Tit, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Singing Bush Lark (chadensis), [White-tailed Lark,] Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Red-pate Cisticola, Desert Cisticola, River Prinia, Cricket Warbler, Buff-bellied Warbler, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Chestnut-bellied Starling, Black Scrub Robin, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (minor), Heuglin’s Wheatear, Sudan Golden Sparrow, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, African Silverbill, Cut-throat Finch, Green-winged Pytilia, Sahel Paradise Whydah and Golden-breasted Bunting, also waterbirds including Fulvous Whistling Duck, [White-backed Duck,] Spur-winged Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Egyptian Goose, [Cape Teal,] Striped Crake, [Long-toed Lapwing,] Lesser Jacana, White-breasted Cormorant and Glossy Ibis, Black-headed Gonolek, Lesser Swamp Warbler (neglectus), Common Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus), Little Rush Warbler and Fan-tailed Widowbird, as well as White-faced Whistling Duck, Coqui Francolin (spinetorum), White-bellied Bustard, Senegal Coucal, Speckled Pigeon, Mourning Collared Dove, Laughing Dove, Namaqua Dove, Spotted Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, Yellow-billed Stork, Reed Cormorant, African Spoonbill, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Black-headed Heron, Hamerkop, Black-winged Kite, Gabar Goshawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Northern White-faced Owl, Eurasian Hoopoe, Green Wood Hoopoe, Black Scimitarbill, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Striped Kingfisher, White-throated Bee-eater, African Green Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Vieillot’s Barbet, African Grey Woodpecker, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Ring-necked Parakeet, Black-crowned Tchagra, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Fork-tailed Drongo, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, Crested Lark, Common Bulbul, Ethiopian Swallow, Northern Crombec, Zitting Cisticola, Black-backed Cisticola, Brown Babbler, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Anteater Chat, Pygmy Sunbird, Beautiful Sunbird, Sahel Bush Sparrow, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Little Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Northern Red Bishop, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu and White-rumped Seedeater
Also Weppa Farm (Agenebode), Finima Nature Park (Bonny Island) & Millennium Park and Jabi Lake (Abuja)

TIMING (Oct, Mar–Apr)
The north is probably best after the rains (Oct–Dec) and the south in the dry season (Feb–Apr)
Avoid the main rains (May–Sep)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)

Field guides
Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014)
Common Birds of IITA by Taiye Adeyanju, Ulf Ottosson & Shiiwua Manu (2012)

Sounds
African Bird Sounds Vol 2: West and Central Africa by Claude Chappuis

Atlases
Nigerian Bird Atlas Project (NiBAP), a member of the African Bird Atlas Project

Further reading
Discovering Birds: an Introduction to the Birds of Nigeria by Anne Nason (1992)
The Birds of Nigeria: an Annotated Checklist by J H Elgood, J B Heignham, A M Moore, A M Nason, R E Sharland & N J Skinner (1994)
Comments on the Ornithology of Nigeria, including Amendments to the National List by Robert J Dowsett (2015)
Nigeria by Augustine U Ezealor in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Critical Sites for Biodiversity Conservation in Nigeria edited by Augustine U Ezealor (2002)
Kagoro Forest Conservation Study: Forest Outliers in Jema’s Division, Kaduna State, Nigeria by Roger Wilkinson & Roger Beecroft (1988)
A New Ornithological Institute in Nigeria by Juliet Vickery & Peter Jones (2002)
Articles in Malimbus (formerly the Bulletin of the Nigerian Ornithologists’ Society), The Nigerian Field, Bull. ABC, etc.

Blogs
NiBAP Articles

Facebook groups
Nigerian Bird Atlas Project is the official Facebook group for NiBAP

ORGANISATIONS

The Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) is the BirdLife Partner in Nigeria

Ibadan Bird Club and Lekki Bird Club were both started by NCF and are just two of many more active bird clubs across Nigeria which are initiatives of NiBAP

The A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI), an autonomous field station of the University of Jos, is the foremost ornithological research and conservation training centre in West Africa

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Nigeria include –
Nigerian Field Society (NFS)
Nigerian Environmental Study Action Team (NEST)
Better Earth Foundation
Biodiversity Preservation Center
Mbe Mountain Conservation Initiative (MMCI)
Savanna Conservation Nigeria (SCN), formerly Yankari Initiative
Centre for Environmental Resources and Sustainable Ecosystems (CERASE)
Niger Delta Wetlands Centre (NDWC)
Centre for Education, Research & Conservation of Primates and Nature (CERCOPAN)
Eden Creation Care Initiative (A Rocha International)
Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation (Nigeria): Gashaka Gumti and Okomu
WCS Nigeria

The IITA Forest Center at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture headquarters in Ibadan also has a focus on birds