Soomaaliya | الصومال | Somalia

SUB-REGION
Horn of Africa

SIZE
637,657 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Mostly Afrotropical avifauna, but with a Middle Eastern component
Approximately 670 recorded species

Endemics (E)
Somali Pigeon | Somali Stock Dove (DD)
Lesser Hoopoe-Lark (LC)
Russet Lark | Sharpe’s Lark (EN)
Somali Lark | Somali Long-billed Lark (LC)
Obbia Lark (DD)
Somali Thrush (LC)
Somali Golden-winged Grosbeak | Somali Grosbeak (NT)
Warsangli Linnet (NT)

Near-endemics (NE)
Black Boubou | Coastal Boubou | Manda Boubou
Red Weaver

Birds best found in Somalia but occurring more widely (BT)
Little Brown Bustard
Rufous-capped Lark (daaroodensis)
Philippa’s Crombec | Short-billed Crombec
Somali Wheatear

Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not NE or BT (1/2)
Chestnut-naped Spurfowl (castaneicollis)
Archer’s Lark
Socotra White-eye
Violet-breasted Sunbird
Arabian Golden Sparrow
Malindi Pipit

Birds best found in two territories but occurring in more (B2)
Heuglin’s Bustard
Somali Bee-eater
Somali Crow | Dwarf Raven
Gillett’s Lark (gilletti/arorihensis)
Collared Lark
Somali Short-toed Lark (perconfusa/somalica)

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Archer’s Francolin (B2 lorti)
White-breasted Cormorant (lucidus)
Archer’s Buzzard (E archeri)
“Daallo” Scops Owl (E)
Central African Hoopoe (senegalensis)
Blue-breasted Roller (lorti)
Barbary Falcon (pelegrinoides)
East Coast Puffback (affinis)
Ethiopian Puffback (erythreae)
Arabian Grey Shrike (aucheri)
Glossy-backed Drongo (lugubris)
Foxy Lark | Abyssinian Lark (intercedens/alopex)
Singing Bush Lark (marginata)
Degodi Lark (1/2 degodiensis)
Ash’s Lark (E ashi)
Dodson’s Bulbul (dodsoni)
Somali Bulbul (somaliensis)
Eastern Crombec (leucopsis)
Mangrove Reed Warbler (avicenniae)
African Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus)
“Daallo” Cisticola (E)
African Scrub Robin (minor/hamertoni)
White-winged Scrub Robin (leucoptera/eluta)
East Coast Flycatcher (erlangeri)
Ethiopian Grey Flycatcher (1/2 pumilus)
Red-backed Mannikin (nigriceps)

MAIN HABITATS
Arid grasslands, escarpments, temperate forest, coastal and riverine forest, arid savanna

BIRD AREAS
Central Somali coast Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
East African coastal forests EBA
Jubba and Shabeelle valleys EBA
North Somali mountains EBA
North-west Somalia Secondary Area (SA)
Northern Ethiopia SA
24 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Burti Hills and Golis Range (Gacan Libaax/Ga’an Libah, Shiikh Pass and Mount Wagar) for Somali Pigeon, Chestnut-naped Spurfowl (castaneicollis) and Socotra White-eye, as well as Dusky Turtle Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Yellow-breasted Barbet (somalicus), Black-crowned Tchagra (habessinicus), Ethiopian Boubou, Fan-tailed Raven (rhipidurus), Arabian Warbler (somaliensis), White-rumped Babbler (smithii), Violet-backed Starling (arabicus), Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (minor), Gambaga Flycatcher, Blackstart (aussae), Brown-tailed Rock Chat (spectatrix), Sombre Rock Chat, Nile Valley Sunbird, Red-headed Weaver (leuconotos) and Striolated Bunting (striolata)
Daallo Forest for Augur Buzzard (ESS archeri), Daallo Scops Owl (undescribed form), Daallo Cisticola (undescribed form), Somali Thrush, Somali Golden-winged Grosbeak and Warsangli Linnet as well as Orange River Francolin (lorti), Alpine Swift (archeri), Nyanza Swift (somalicus), White-browed Coucal, African Olive Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Verreaux’s Eagle, Narina Trogon (narina), Black-billed Wood Hoopoe (somaliensis), Hemprich’s Hornbill, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (uropygialis), Peregrine Falcon (pelegrinoides), Black-crowned Tchagra (ESS warsangliensis), African Paradise Flycatcher (ferreti), Pale Crag Martin (arabica), European Red-rumped Swallow, Brown Woodland Warbler (ESS williamsi), Grey-backed Camaroptera (abessinica), Somali Starling, Little Rock Thrush (rufocinereus), Abyssinian Wheatear (ESS vauriei), Long-billed Pipit (nivescens) and Brown-rumped Seedeater
Burco area for arid savanna and grassland species
Qoryaale, Tuuyo, Aroori, Ban Caade and Saraar Plains for bustards, coursers and larks as well as Common Quail, Caspian Plover, Greater Kestrel (fieldi), African Pipit (annae) and Plain-backed Pipit (saphiroi)
Wajaale area for, at least formerly, Archer’s Lark as well as Black-winged Lapwing (melanopterus), Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark (leucotis) and Shelley’s Sparrow
Saylac area for, at least formerly, Collared Kingfisher (abyssinicus), Clamorous Reed Warbler (brunnescens), Common Reed Warbler (avicenniae), Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (ESS alulensis) and Arabian Golden Sparrow, Arabian Bustard (arabs) and Black Scrub Robin (podobe), as well as waterbirds including Yellow-billed Stork, Eurasian Spoonbill (archeri), Goliath Heron and Osprey
Jasiirada Sacadadiin/Sa’ad ad-Din Islands/Zeila Archipelago and Jasiira Maydh/Rabshie Island for breeding seabirds
Berbera area and Gulf of Aden for African Collared Dove (arabica), House Crow and Graceful Prinia (gracilis), resident waterbirds listed above as well as non-breeding migrants including Greater Flamingo, Pacific Golden Plover, Tibetan Sand Plover, Greater Sand Plover, Red-necked Phalarope, Terek Sandpiper, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Little Tern, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, White-winged Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull (fuscus/heuglini), Parasitic Jaeger, Pomarine Jaeger, Wilson’s Storm Petrel, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Persian Shearwater, Tropical Shearwater, Jouanin’s Petrel, Socotra Cormorant, Little Bittern, Black Heron, Squacco Heron, Grey Heron and Purple Heron
Central Somali Coast/Hobyo Grasslands and Shrublands, Jubba and Shabeelle Valleys, Bajuni Archipelago and Lag Badana-Bushbushle for, at least formerly, Somali Lark (ashi) and Obbia Lark, White-winged Collared Dove, Black Boubou, Gillett’s Lark (degodiensis), Violet-breasted Sunbird, Juba Weaver, Red Weaver and Malindi Pipit (ESS mallablensis/melindae), as well as White-faced Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Knob-billed Duck, African Pygmy Goose, Red-billed Teal, Southern Pochard, Eastern Crested Guineafowl, Vulturine Guineafowl, Slender-tailed Nightjar, African Palm Swift (laemostigma), Fischer’s Turaco (fischeri), Black-bellied Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Green Malkoha, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Black-faced Sandgrouse (ellenbecki), Mourning Collared Dove (elegans), Tambourine Dove, African Finfoot, Lesser Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, Allen’s Gallinule, Black Crake, Common Buttonquail, Water Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Black-headed Lapwing (latifrons), Senegal Lapwing, Kittlitz’s Plover, White-fronted Plover, Greater Painted-snipe, African Jacana, Three-banded Courser (balsaci), Temminck’s Courser, Somali Courser (littoralis), Collared Pratincole, Madagascar Pratincole, Lesser Noddy, Whiskered Tern, Roseate Tern, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, African Woolly-necked Stork, African Darter, Reed Cormorant, Great Cormorant (lucidus), Hadada Ibis, Glossy Ibis, African Spoonbill, Dwarf Bittern, Malagasy Pond Heron, Little Heron (atricapilla), Yellow-billed Egret, African Harrier-Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, White-backed Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Brown Snake Eagle, Southern Banded Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Bat Hawk, Martial Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, African Goshawk (sparsimfasciatus), Little Sparrowhawk (tropicalis), Black Sparrowhawk, African Marsh Harrier, African Fish Eagle, African Barred Owlet (scheffleri), African Scops Owl (senegalensis), Pel’s Fishing Owl, African Wood Owl (nigricantior), Speckled Mousebird (mombassicus), White-headed Mousebird (leucocephalus), Blue-naped Mousebird (pulcher), Narina Trogon (littorale), Common Scimitarbill (schalowi), Crowned Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller (suahelicus), Grey-headed Kingfisher (hyacinthina), Brown-hooded Kingfisher (orientalis), Striped Kingfisher (chelicuti), Mangrove Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher (picta), Malachite Kingfisher (stuartkeithi), Pied Kingfisher (rudis), Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (affinis), Black-throated Barbet (stigmatothorax), Brown-breasted Barbet, D’Arnaud’s Barbet (boehmi), Lesser Honeyguide (teitensis), Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Nubian Woodpecker (pallida), Mombasa Woodpecker, Little Spotted Woodpecker (cailliautii), African Hobby, Eastern Black-headed Batis (ESS minor), Black-throated Wattle-eye (cryptoleuca), Grey-headed Bushshrike (approximans), Orange-breasted Bushshrike (similis), Gorgeous Bushshrike (nigricauda), Black-crowned Tchagra (orientalis), Black-backed Puffback (affinis), Red-naped Bushshrike (kismayensis), East Coast Boubou, White-crested Helmetshrike (vinaceigularis), Retz’s Helmetshrike (graculinus), Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike (kirki), Black Cuckooshrike, Black-headed Oriole (reichenowi), African Golden Oriole (auratus), Fork-tailed Drongo (jubaensis), Square-tailed Drongo (muenzneri), Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher (bivittatus), African Paradise Flycatcher (ferreti), Long-tailed Fiscal, Taita Fiscal, Acacia Tit (barakae), Eastern Nicator, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark (madaraszi), Pink-breasted Lark, Red-winged Lark (hypermetra), Flappet Lark (fischeri), Thekla’s Lark (ESS mallablensis), Sombre Greenbul (insularis), Yellow-bellied Greenbul (centralis), Terrestrial Brownbul (suahelicus), Northern Brownbul, Fischer’s Greenbul, Wire-tailed Swallow, Lesser Striped Swallow, Mosque Swallow, Little Yellow Flycatcher, Lesser Swamp Warbler (leptorhynchus), Common Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus), Ashy Cisticola (schillingsi), Coastal Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola (argenteus), Tiny Cisticola, Short-winged Cisticola (reichenowi), Tawny-flanked Prinia (tenella), Pale Prinia (erlangeri), Brown-tailed Apalis (flavocincta), Black-headed Apalis (melanocephala), Grey-backed Camaroptera (erlangeri), Pale White-eye (jubaensis), Rufous Chatterer (heuglini), Scaly Babbler (jubaensis/carolinae/squamulata), Black-bellied Starling (corusca), Rüppell’s Starling (purpuroptera), Fischer’s Starling, Bristle-crowned Starling, Bare-eyed Thrush, Bearded Scrub Robin (quadrivirgata), Pale Flycatcher (ESS erlangeri), Ashy Flycatcher (cinereola), Southern Black Flycatcher (tropicalis), African Grey Flycatcher (neumanni/burae), White-browed Robin-Chat (intermedia), Red-capped Robin-Chat (intensa), Spotted Palm Thrush (rufipennis), Collared Sunbird (elachior), Olive Sunbird (changamwensis), Grey Sunbird (fischeri), Amethyst Sunbird (kalckreuthi), Black-bellied Sunbird (erlangeri), Purple-banded Sunbird (microrhynchus), Abyssinian Sunbird (turkanae), Parrot-billed Sparrow, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (melanorhynchus), Donaldson-Smith’s Sparrow-Weaver, Grey-capped Social Weaver (arnaudi), Black-capped Social Weaver, Thick-billed Weaver (unicolor), Black-necked Weaver (melanoxanthus), Eastern Golden Weaver (aureoflavus), Golden Palm Weaver, Village Weaver (nigriceps), Dark-backed Weaver (kersteni), Fire-fronted Bishop, Fan-tailed Widowbird (zanzibaricus), Black-and-white Mannikin (nigriceps), Common Waxbill (minor), Crimson-rumped Waxbill (centralis), Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (brunneigularis), Red-throated Twinspot (macrospilotus), Village Indigobird (amauropteryx), Pin-tailed Whydah, African Pied Wagtail, Pangani Longclaw and Reichenow’s Seedeater

TIMING (Apr-May, Oct)
Being an arid country, best during the rains when most birds breed (Mar-May, Aug-Oct)
Passage migrants are most common Sep-Oct and Mar-Apr
Avoid coastal areas May-Aug due to heat

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa

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

Further reading
Birds of Somalia by J S Ash & J E Miskell (1998)
Somalia by Peter Robertson in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Endemic and Special Birds of Somaliland by Callan Cohen, Michael Mills & Julian Francis (2011)
Birding in and around Hargeisa, Somaliland, December 2010 by Bram Piot
Birding in and around Hargeisa, Somaliland, April 2014 by Bram Piot
Articles in Scopus, Bull. ABC, etc.

Blogs
Birding for a Lark: Away day in Somaliland by Rob Tovey (2018)
Birding in Somaliland by Richard Fleming (2011)

ORGANISATIONS

There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Somalia

Bird or conservation organisations active in Somalia include –
Somali Wildlife & Natural History Society (SWNHS)
Somali Ecological Society (SES)
Nature Somaliland
Blue Ventures