Zimbabwe Birds

Zimbabwe Birds

Zimbabwe has over 650 bird species and is an excellent birding destination. Although there are no endemic birds, several near-endemics can be found in the globally important Eastern Zimbabwe Mountains Endemic Bird.

Area (EBA) and many migratory birds are present from November to April. Overall the general number of birds that can be seen in Zimbabwe is remarkable.

*Notable birds are:*
Black-headed oriole	common		Livingstone's turaco		common
Carmine bee-eater	common	migratory	Southern yellow-billed hornbill		common
Greater painted snipe	rare		White-faced duck		common

*Near Endemics include:*
Briar warbler		Melodious lark
Chirinda apalis		Swee waxbill
Gurney's sugarbird		Swynnerton's robin
Lemon-breasted canary		Woodwards's batis

*Other birding specials are:*
African pitta		Cabanis's bunting		Southern hyliota
African skimmer		Buff-spotted flufftail		Southern pied babbler
Arnot's chat		Cinnamon-breasted tit		Spotted creeper
Ayre's hawk-eagle		Pennant-winged nightjar		Stripe cheek greenbul
Blue-mantled crested flycatcher		Racket-tailed roller		Swamp nightjar
Boulder chat		Red-faced crombec		Verreaux's eagle-owl
Bradfield's hornbill		Red-throated twinspot		White-breasted cuckoo-shrike
Bronze-winged courser		Robert's prinia
Bronzy sunbird		Rufous-bellied tit

Best time for bird watching is during the rainy season and summer from October to April. Many birds are resident and breed in Zimbabwe throughout the year, but the summer residents come to breed before migrating north in winter to other parts of Africa and the visitors who come mostly from Eurasia during the summer months before migrating north to breed.

The Eastern Highlands are well-known birding hotspots, but most National Parks including Mana Pools, Hwange and Matobo National Parks have a very rich birdlife.