South Sudan

SUB-REGION
Central Africa

SIZE
644,329 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 820 recorded species (10th longest bird list of any country in the ABC region)

Birds occurring in only two territories of the ABC region but not near-endemics (1/2)
Cinnamon Weaver

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Archer’s Francolin
Schuett’s Spurfowl
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Abyssinian Nightjar
Eastern Black-billed Turaco
White-breasted Cormorant
Red-chested Goshawk
Ethiopian Goshawk
Central African Hoopoe (senegalensis/waibeli)
Eastern Piping Hornbill
Grey-headed Barbet
Streaky-throated Barbet
Ethiopian Puffback
Glossy-backed Drongo (lugubris)
Desert Grey Shrike
Singing Bush Lark
Dark-capped Bulbul (tricolor)
Ethiopian Saw-wing (1/2)
Mangbettu Saw-wing (1/2)
Shari Saw-wing (chalybea)
West African Swallow
Eastern Crombec
African Reed Warbler
Rufous-crowned Cisticola (nuchalis)
Mongalla Cisticola (1/2 mongalla)
Eastern Buff-throated Apalis
Tawny-breasted Camaroptera
African Scrub Robin
White-winged Scrub Robin
Ethiopian Stonechat
Emin’s Weaver
Abyssinian Waxbill (1/2)
Black-faced Quailfinch (ugandae)
Grey Firefinch (nigricollis)
Ethiopian Firefinch

National bird
African Fish Eagle | Kuëi

MAIN HABITATS
Afromontane forest, Guinea woodlands, moist savannas, swamps

BIRD AREAS
12 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
The Sudd (Shambe National Park (NP), Ez Zeraf Game Reserve (GR), Meshra GR and Fanyikang GR) and Lake No for Cinnamon Weaver (ESS axillaris), waterbirds including Shoebill, also White-faced Whistling Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Common Quail, Blue-headed Coucal (fischeri), Black Coucal, African Crake, Black Crake, Black Crowned Crane, Black-winged Stilt, Long-toed Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Caspian Plover, Lesser Jacana, African Jacana, Common Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Black-winged Pratincole, Collared Pratincole, Whiskered Tern, White-winged Tern, Black-headed Gull, African Openbill, Marabou Stork, Yellow-billed Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, Abdim’s Stork, African Woolly-necked Stork, White Stork, African Darter, Reed Cormorant, African Sacred Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, African Spoonbill, Little Bittern, Little Egret, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Great Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Black-headed Heron, Goliath Heron, Great White Pelican and Pink-backed Pelican, as well as Secretarybird, Black-winged Kite, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, African Marsh Harrier, Montagu’s Harrier, African Fish Eagle, Grasshopper Buzzard, Marsh Owl, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Marsh Tchagra (minuta), Greater Swamp Warbler (ansorgei), Lesser Swamp Warbler (jacksoni), Common Reed Warbler (cinnamomeus), Highland Rush Warbler (sudanensis), Winding Cisticola (marginatus), Zitting Cisticola (uropygialis), Swamp Flycatcher (infulata), Red-chested Sunbird, Thick-billed Weaver (melanota), Yellow-crowned Bishop (ladoensis), Northern Red Bishop, Common Waxbill (macmillani), Orange-breasted Waxbill (subflava), Western Yellow Wagtail, Yellow-throated Longclaw and Red-throated Pipit
Imatong Mountains (Lotti Forest), Dongotona Mountains and Didinga Hills for highland and some lowland forest taxa including, at least formerly, African Black Duck, Scaly Spurfowl (schuetti), Montane Nightjar (poliocephalus), Scarce Swift, Black-billed Turaco (emini), Blue-headed Coucal (fischeri), Black Cuckoo, African Olive Pigeon, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (sharpei), Lemon Dove (larvata), Dusky Turtle Dove, Tambourine Dove, African Green Pigeon (gibberifrons), Striped Flufftail, African Rail, African Snipe, Bearded Vulture, Crowned Eagle, Verreaux’s Eagle, African Goshawk (sparsimfasciatus), Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Mountain Buzzard, Augur Buzzard, Narina Trogon (narina), White-headed Wood Hoopoe (jacksoni), Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Spot-flanked Barbet, Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet (elgonensis), Cassin’s Honeybird, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Cardinal Woodpecker (lepidus), Chinspot Batis (puella), Pink-footed Puffback, Lühder’s Bushshrike, Grey Cuckooshrike (purus), Purple-throated Cuckooshrike (martini), Sharpe’s Drongo, Northern Fiscal (humeralis), White-bellied Tit, Dusky Tit (funereus), Joyful Greenbul (laetissima), Cabanis’s Greenbul (sucosus), Toro Olive Greenbul, White-headed Saw-wing (albiceps), Banded Martin (suahelica), Brown-throated Martin (ducis), Red-throated Rock Martin (fusciventris), Red-breasted Swallow (gordoni), Mosque Swallow (saturatior), Lesser Striped Swallow (unitatis), African Red-rumped Swallow (emini), Northern Crombec (carnapi), Brown Woodland Warbler (mackenzianus), African Yellow Warbler (massaica), Mountain Yellow Warbler, Bamboo Warbler (alfredi), Fan-tailed Grassbird (alexinae), Cinnamon Bracken Warbler (cavei), Rock-loving Cisticola (petrophilus), Wing-snapping Cisticola (imatong), Black-collared Apalis, Black-throated Apalis (jacksoni), Grey Apalis, Grey-capped Warbler, Black-faced Rufous Warbler (vulpinus), Rufous-crowned Eremomela (ESS latukae), African Hill Babbler, Brown Parisoma (jacksoni), Ethiopian White-eye, Red-winged Starling (rueppellii), Waller’s Starling (elgonensis), Stuhlmann’s Starling, Sharpe’s Starling, Spotted Ground Thrush (ESS maxis), Abyssinian Ground Thrush (ESS hadii), Abyssinian Thrush (abyssinicus), Pale Flycatcher (murinus), Ashy Flycatcher (brevicauda), White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher (fischeri), African Dusky Flycatcher (pumila), White-starred Robin (ESS pallidiflava), Brown-chested Alethe (ESS giloensis), Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat (bartteloti), Cape Robin-Chat (iolaemus), Equatorial Akalat (ESS acholiensis), Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Little Rock Thrush, African Stonechat (albofasciatus), Grey-chinned Sunbird, Collared Sunbird (garguensis), Amethyst Sunbird (kirkii), Scarlet-chested Sunbird (lamperti), Tacazze Sunbird (jacksoni), Malachite Sunbird (cupreonitens), Northern Double-collared Sunbird (reichenowi), Marico Sunbird (osiris), Variable Sunbird (falkensteini), Baglafecht Weaver (emini), Black-billed Weaver (stephanophorus), Golden-backed Weaver, Dark-backed Weaver (mentalis), Brown-capped Weaver, Yellow Bishop (crassirostris), Black-and-white Mannikin (poensis), Yellow-bellied Waxbill (kilimensis), Green Twinspot (chubbi), Abyssinian Crimsonwing (kilimensis), Grey-headed Nigrita (schistaceus), Black-crowned Waxbill (nonnula), Oriole Finch (elgonensis), Southern Citril (brittoni), Streaky Seedeater (striolata) and Yellow-crowned Canary (flavivertex)
Bangangai GR for lowland forest species including Hartlaub’s Duck, Latham’s Francolin, Blue Malkoha, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, White-naped Pigeon, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, White-spotted Flufftail, Grey-throated Rail, Nkulengu Rail, Long-tailed Hawk, African Goshawk (canescens), Congo Pied Hornbill, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (duboisi), Black-casqued Hornbill, Eastern Dwarf Hornbill, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, African Dwarf Kingfisher (lecontei), Black-headed Bee-eater, Spotted Honeyguide, Buff-spotted Woodpecker (herberti), Little Green Woodpecker (permista), Yellow-crested Woodpecker, Lowland Sooty Boubou, African Shrike-Flycatcher (aequatorialis), Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher (musicus), Velvet-mantled Drongo (coracinus), Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher (nitens), Dusky Crested Flycatcher (nigromitrata), Yellow-eyed Bristlebill (ugandae), Simple Greenbul, Red-tailed Greenbul (emini), Little Greenbul (virens), Yellow Longbill (hypochondriacus), Buff-throated Apalis (nigrescens), Olive-green Camaroptera (toroensis), Spotted Thrush-Babbler (turdina), Puvel’s Illadopsis (strenuipes), Chestnut-winged Starling (hartlaubii), Fraser’s Rufous Thrush, Fire-crested Alethe, Yellow-breasted Forest Robin (xanthogaster), Collared Sunbird (somereni), Olive-bellied Sunbird (orphogaster), Black-necked Weaver, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Blue-billed Malimbe, Red-bellied Malimbe, Green Twinspot (schlegeli) and Black-bellied Seedcracker
Bangangai GR to Imatong Mountains for Western Crested Guineafowl, Fiery-necked Nightjar (nigriscapularis), Great Blue Turaco, African Emerald Cuckoo, Palm-nut Vulture, Black Sparrowhawk, African Wood Owl (nuchalis), Grey-throated Barbet (cinereiceps), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (mfumbiri), Double-toothed Barbet (aequatorialis), Least Honeyguide (pachyrhynchus), Brown-eared Woodpecker, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Brown-crowned Tchagra (emini), Western Oriole (laetior), Black-winged Oriole, Western Nicator, Slender-billed Greenbul (gracilirostris), Red-tailed Bristlebill (woosnami), Honeyguide Greenbul (indicator), Yellow-whiskered Greenbul (latirostris), Plain Greenbul (curvirostris), White-throated Greenbul (albigularis), Green Crombec (baraka), Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia (reichenowi), Brown Illadopsis (ugandae), Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Little Green Sunbird, Olive Sunbird (ragazzii), Green-throated Sunbird, Red-headed Malimbe, Red-headed Bluebill and Dybowski’s Twinspot
Yambio area for, at least formerly, Niam-niam Parrot
Aloma Plateau for Afep Pigeon, African Green Pigeon (uellensis), Ross’s Turaco, Blue-breasted Kingfisher (malimbica), Shining-blue Kingfisher (guentheri), Hairy-breasted Barbet (ansorgii), Golden-tailed Woodpecker (chrysura), Leaf-love (orientalis), Black Saw-wing (mangbettorum), Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Sooty Flycatcher, Palestine Sunbird (decorsei), Splendid Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver (eremobius) and Vieillot’s Black Weaver
Boma Hills for White-cheeked Turaco, Lemon Dove (bronzina), Dusky Turtle Dove, African Goshawk (unduliventer), African Wood Owl (umbrina), Speckled Mousebird (leucotis), Crowned Hornbill, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Half-collared Kingfisher, Ethiopian Bee-eater, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (uropygialis), Eastern Grey Woodpecker (spodocephalus), Brown-throated Wattle-eye (aethiopica), Northern Puffback (erythreae), Ethiopian Boubou, Northern Fiscal (humeralis), Flappet Lark (omoensis), Common Bulbul (schoanus), Black Saw-wing (oleaginea), Lesser Striped Swallow (abyssinica), Red-faced Cisticola (pyrrhomitra), Boran Cisticola (bodessa), Croaking Cisticola (argenteus), Short-winged Cisticola (zedlitzi), Foxy Cisticola (ferrugineus), Green-backed Eremomela (abyssinica), White-rumped Babbler, Red-winged Starling (rueppellii), Abyssinian Ground Thrush (piaggiae), Pale Flycatcher (parvus), Rüppell’s Robin-Chat, White-crowned Robin-Chat, Mocking Cliff Chat (subrufipennis), Scarlet-chested Sunbird (proteus), Variable Sunbird (fazoqlensis), Baglafecht Weaver (baglafecht), Rüppell’s Weaver, Red-cowled Widowbird, Bronze Mannikin (scutata), Fawn-breasted Waxbill (ochrogaster), Jameson’s Firefinch (rhodopareia), Black-faced Firefinch (larvata), African Pipit (stabilis), Plain-backed Pipit (omoensis) and Yellow-fronted Canary (grotei)
Extreme south-east (Loelle NP and Ilemi Triangle) for arid savanna species including Crested Francolin (grantii), Orange River Francolin (lorti), Yellow-necked Spurfowl (infuscatus), Sombre Nightjar, Donaldson-Smith’s Nightjar, Star-spotted Nightjar, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Kori Bustard (struthiunculus), Heuglin’s Bustard, White-bellied Bustard (canicollis), Buff-crested Bustard, White-browed Coucal, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (olivascens), Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse (sukensis), Ring-necked Dove (tropica), Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Crowned Lapwing, Somali Courser (littoralis), Temminck’s Courser, Three-banded Courser (cinctus), Secretarybird, Scissor-tailed Kite, Egyptian Vulture, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Blue-naped Mousebird (pulcher), African Hoopoe (africana), Abyssinian Scimitarbill (cabanisi), Jackson’s Hornbill, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Little Bee-eater (cyanostictus), Olive Bee-eater, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (affinis), Black-throated Barbet, Red-and-yellow Barbet, D’Arnaud’s Barbet (darnaudii), Cardinal Woodpecker (hemprichii), Pygmy Falcon, Taita Falcon, Pygmy Batis, Rosy-patched Bushshrike (hilgerti), Three-streaked Tchagra (jamesi), Slate-coloured Boubou, Brubru (minor), Northern White-crowned Shrike, Grey-backed Fiscal (intercedens), Taita Fiscal, Fan-tailed Raven, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark (harrisoni), Pink-breasted Lark, Kidepo Lark (kathangorensis/kidepoensis), Singing Bush Lark (marginata), Crested Lark (somaliensis), Northern Brownbul, Northern Crombec (leucopsis), Red-faced Crombec (loringi), Rattling Cisticola (fricki), Ashy Cisticola (schillingsi), Tiny Cisticola, Pale Prinia (erlangeri), Red-fronted Prinia (smithi), Brown-tailed Apalis, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-bellied Eremomela (griseoflava), Rufous Chatterer, Wattled Starling, Greater Blue-eared Starling (cyaniventris), Superb Starling, Shelley’s Starling, Magpie Starling, Red-billed Oxpecker, White-browed Scrub Robin (leucoptera), African Grey Flycatcher (neumanni), Familiar Chat (omoensis), Brown-tailed Rock Chat (turkana), Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Hunter’s Sunbird, Abyssinian Sunbird (turkanae), Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow (pyrgita), Parrot-billed Sparrow, Swainson’s Sparrow, Somali Sparrow (fulgens), White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver (intermedius), White-headed Buffalo Weaver, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (melanorhynchus), Lesser Masked Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver (uluensis), Grey-headed Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill (charmosyna), Crimson-rumped Waxbill (centralis), Cut-throat Finch (alexanderi), Purple Grenadier, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Steel-blue Whydah, Straw-tailed Whydah, Long-billed Pipit (hararensis), Reichenow’s Seedeater, White-bellied Canary, Striolated Bunting (saturatior) and Somali Bunting
Far north for Egyptian Nightjar, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (exustus), Quail-plover, Cream-colored Courser, Caspian Tern, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Egyptian Vulture, Blue-naped Mousebird (macrourus), Black-crowned Tchagra (remigialis), Great Grey Shrike (leucopygos), Sennar Penduline Tit, Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark (albifrons), Kordofan Lark, White-tailed Lark, Crested Lark (isabellina), Common Bulbul (arsinoe), Croaking Cisticola (tonga), Red-pate Cisticola (scotopterus), Yellow-bellied Eremomela (alexanderi), Chestnut-bellied Starling, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin (minor), Nile Valley Sunbird, House Sparrow, Sudan Golden Sparrow, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Cut-throat Finch (fasciata), White Wagtail and Golden-breasted Bunting (flavigaster)
Also Badingilo NP, Boma NP, Southern NP, Bire Kapatuos GR, Mbarizunga GR, Lantoto NP, Nimule NP, Kidepo GR, Boro GR, Chelkou GR, Ashana GR, Numatina GR, Juba GR, Lake Abiad and Lake Ambadi

TIMING (Jan–Mar)
Best in the dry season (Nov–Mar) when access is easier and Afro-Palearctic migrants are present

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)

Field guides
Birds of Africa South of the Sahara by Ian Sinclair & Peter Ryan (2010)
Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe (2020) treats almost all species
Birds of the Horn of Africa by Nigel Redman, Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe (2011) and Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014) each have most species

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

Atlases
Distribution Atlas of Sudan’s Birds with Notes on Habitat and Status by Gerhard Nikolaus (1987)

Further reading
Birds of South Sudan by Gerhard Nikolaus (1989)
Sudan 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)
Bird Observations from South-east Sudan by Marc de Bont (2009)
Bird Observations around Juba, South Sudan by Mark Mallalieu (2013)
Articles in Scopus, Bull. ABC, etc.

Blogs
Birding South Sudan by Mark Mallalieu (2011-2012)
South Sudan Safaris – Bahr el Jebel Safaris (2015-2016)
Wildlife Advocacy South Sudan

ORGANISATIONS

There is currently no BirdLife Partner in South Sudan

Bird or conservation organisations active in South Sudan include –
South Sudan Wildlife Society (SSWS)
South Sudan Nature Conservation Organisation (SSNCO)
African Parks: Badingilo & Boma National Parks
Fauna & Flora International (FFI)
WCS South Sudan