The Most Common Tnzanian Birds,,

Tanzania is a great ornithological destination. The national checklist of 1,100 bird species is the third-highest in Africa, representing more than 10% of the global avifauna, and a well-planned two-week itinerary is likely to result in a trip list of 300-plus species.

Popular savannah game reserves such as the Serengeti and Selous are no less rewarding for birds than for mammals, and make an ideal introduction to the more conspicuous and widespread species. For more experienced birders, the forested Eastern Arc Mountains are the country’s biggest attraction, since they harbour a high proportion of the 35-odd endemics whose range is limited to Tanzania.

Birding is good throughout the year, but the prime season is Sept-April, when resident populations are boosted by the many Palaearctic migrants that spend the northern hemisphere winter in Africa. The European winter also broadly coincides with East Africa’s rainy season, when several resident species undergo an ‘ugly duckling’ transformation from drab brown to bright breeding colours. 

Large ground birds

Ostrich   -    Secretary bird   -   Kori bustard     -   Ground hornbill    -    Francolins    -   Guineafowl

Ostrich - Hatching from an football-sized egg, the handsome male of the world’s largest bird is black and white, whereas the dowdy female is scruffy grey-brown. The domestic ostrich is a source of low-fat meat in South Africa, but isn’t farmed much in East Africa. A flightless resident of open savannah, it is common in the southeast Serengeti, but occurs in suitable habitats elsewhere in Tanzania.

Secretary bird - This name of this bizarre 1.5m tall grassland raptor could allude to its quill-like crest, but more likely derives from the Arabic saqr-et-tair (hunting bird). A terrestrial hunter, it feeds mainly on snakes, stamping them to death in a comical flailing dance. It roosts in trees, and will take off when disturbed, requiring a run up reminiscent of an aeroplane on a runway. It is widespread in Tanzania but particularly common in the southern Serengeti.

Kori bustard – The world’s heaviest flying bird, this sturdy grassland species has brown wings, speckled white belly, prominent backward crest, and a rather ponderous gait. A reluctant but strong flyer, it’s very common in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro but absent further south and west

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 Ground hornbill - One of Tanzania’s most striking birds, this black turkey lookalike has white underwings, red wattled throat and eyes, and flamboyant fluttering eyelashes. Typically seen marching through light woodland in small parties, it has a heavy casqued bill, used to secure live prey ranging from small insects to large rodents. 

Francolins – The African equivalent to pheasants and chickens, these plump game-birds are all but ubiquitous, and the dozen species recorded in Tanzania are as noisy as their domestic counterparts. Two species are endemic: the conspicuous grey-breasted francolin of the Serengeti and the Udzungwa forest partridge, first discovered in the eponymous mountains in 1991.

Guineafowl – The helmeted guineafowl is a widespread, common and somewhat panicky white-speckled grey bird with a blue head and ivory casque. The similar crested guineafowl is a localised forest resident with unruly black head feathers, while the stunning vulturine guinea-fowl, whose Tanzanian range is restricted to Mkomazi, has a cobalt chest covered in lacy black-and-white feathers.

            Large WaterBirds

Pelicans   -   Flamingos   -   Herons & egrets   -   Storks    -   Ibises & spoonbills    -  Crowned crane

Pelicans – The larder-billed great white pelican is a massive white bird with black underwings and a large yellow pouch. The smaller pink-backed pelican has a light grey back and dark flight feathers. Synchronised flotillas of either species might be seen bobbing on larger lakes, particularly Manyara, and around Rubondo Island.

Flamingos - The algae-sifting greater and lesser flamingos rank among East Africa’s most popular avian attractions, with an estimated 5-6 million present birds present. They breed on the inaccessible north of Lake Natron, but large flocks are frequent in Manyara, Arusha NP and Ngorongoro Crater

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Herons & egrets – This conspicuous family of long-legged birds is represented by 20 species, including the familiar grey heron, the truly spectacular goliath heron and various white or black egrets. Most species are water dependent, with the Rufiji River in Selous being good for varied sightings. The black-blacked heron often forages in grassland and cultivation, while the ubiquitous cattle egret flocks around buffalo herds to catch disturbed insects. 

 Storks –Tanzania’s eight stork species include three migrants, notably the familiar Eurasian variety. Of the resident species, the ubiquitous marabou is a fabulously ugly omnivore with scabrous scalp, fleshy neck pouch and the demeanour of a Victorian undertaker. The Serengeti is a stronghold for the saddle-billed stork, a handsome pied giant with a red and yellow bill, while Selous and Ngorongoro are good for the yellow-billed stork, which resembles its Eurasian counterpart but has a yellow bill.

Ibises & spoonbills – Ibises are robust birds with decurved bills designed to probe soil for molluscs. Most visible and audible is the hadeda, whose onomatopoeic cackle is characteristic of suburban hotel gardens. Also common, the sacred ibis was revered in ancient Egypt, while the related African spoonbill wades through shallow water sweeping its unique spatulate bill from side to side.

Crowned crane – Associated with marsh and rank grassland, this astonishing bird has grey feathering capped by a bristly gold crown and red neck wattle. It is common in suitable habitats in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro; listen out for its booming nasal call.

Small WaterBirds

Hamerkop   -   Cormorants & darters     -     African skimmer    -    Waterfowl     -   Waders and plovers    -    African jacana

Hamerkop – Placed in its own family, this rusty-brown frog-eater has a flattened bill and angular crest, creating the hammer-like appearance alluded to in its Afrikaans name ‘hammer head’. A widespread inhabitant of wooded freshwater habitats, it constructs a massive and untidy nest using branches, sticks, mud and anything else that comes to hand, usually in a tree fork close to the water. 

Cormorants & darters – Skilled fishers distinguished by disproportionately long necks, cormorants are represented by two species, both common in the vicinity of water. The equally widespread but more beautiful African darter has a kinked serpentine neck as long as its torso.

African skimmer – This eagerly sought tern lookalike feeds by flying low above the water, with the extended lower mandible of its bright red bill slicing the surface. Its favoured habitat is wide rivers fringed by permanent sandbanks, notably the Rufiji in Selous.

Waterfowl – About 20 species of ducks and geese are recorded, many as seasonal migrants. The conspicuous Egyptian goose is a large rufous-brown waterfowl known for its assertiveness and loud honk. Larger still is the spur-winged goose, weighing in at 8-10kg. Also common are the white-faced whistling-duck, knob-billed duck and yellow-billed duck, all of whose most obvious field characters are reflected in their names. Arusha and Ngorongoro during the rainy season support high waterfowl concentrations.

 Waders and plovers – Waders are a diverse family of small shorebirds. At least 30 species are known from Tanzania, many as vagrants, and most are quite difficult to identify. The superficially similar plovers, represented by almost 20 species, are generally less water dependent and more distinctly patterned. The most striking shorebirds are the black-winged stilt and pied avocet, both of which are quite common. Shorebird enthusiasts are pointed to  Rift Valleylake such as Manyara, Natron and Eyasi.

   

   

African jacana – Also known as the lily-trotter, this handsome has a rich chestnut torso, white neck, black cap, and blue bill and frontal shield, but is most notable for its wide-spreading toes, which allow it to walk on lilies and other floating vegetation. It is common on marshy or well-vegetated pools and river edges throughout Tanzania.

Birds Of Prey

Tanzania is home to 75 species of raptor, with the likes of Serengeti, Manyara, Selous and Ruaha each having checklists of 50-plus. Some of the more charismatic and common species are as follows:   

Verreoux's eagle    -    Fish eagle    -    Bateleur    -    Auger buzzard    -    Vultures    -    Kites

Verreaux's eagle - Africa’s second-largest raptor is Verreaux’s eagle, whose black feathering is offset by yellow beak and legs, and a distinctive white ‘V’ on its back. Associated with cliffs (Serengeti’s Lobo Hills are a good site), it feeds mainly on hyraxes and has a stunning courtship display, falling hundreds of metres in one swoop.

.Fish eagle - No other sound evokes Africa like the piercing cry of the fish eagle, a black-and-white piscivore with a chestnut belly and yellow bill. Monogamous pairs perch in waterside trees throughout Tanzania, but it’s particularly common along the Rufiji River in Selous, as is the palmnut vulture, which looks similar (but has a red mask) and feeds mainly on the fruit of raffia palms.

Bateleur - the bateleur is a heavyset black eagle named for its unique flight pattern, which recalls the wobbling of a tightrope walker. The red mask, beak and legs render it unmistakable, and its stunted orange tail and tilting motion are distinctive in flight. It could be seen in any savannah habitat, as might the massive martial eagle, which has a black back and speckled breast, and the uniform buff-brown tawny eagle and dark-brown steppe eagle.

Auger buzzard - The auger buzzard is a handsome pied raptor whose orange tail precludes confusion with anything but the bateleur. It is often seen soaring or perching openly in moist highlands (e.g. Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro, Arusha), as is the dark-brown long-crested eagle, whose foppishly windblown occipital crest and distinctive white wing bars (seen in flight) are unmistakable.

Vultures - A flock of vultures squabbling around a carcass might lack for dignity, but these scavengers perform a vital ecological role as ‘garbage men’. The white-backed vulture often comprises 90% of the headcount, while the ghoulish appearance of Africa’s largest raptor, the lappet-faced vulture,is reinforced by its custom of spreading its black wings open like a cape. Circling vultures may sometimes indicate the location of a kill, but they might also be exploiting a particularly good thermal!

Kites - Frequently seen in urban area, the black kite is Tanzania’s commonest raptor, and a bold scavenger, as routinely witnessed by picnickers in the Ngorongoro Crater. The smaller and plumper black-shouldered kite is often seen hovering spectacularly along the roadside.