Birds of Tanzania- Watch birds in Tanzania
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.
Lage waterbirds
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.
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.
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.
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 Valley lake 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.
Other large birds
Owls – Feared locally as harbingers of death, Tanzania’s 15 owl species range from the thrush-sized African scops-owl, which flattens its bark-coloured body to look like a tree trunk, to the immense Verreaux’s eagle-owl. These – and other widespread species such the spotted eagle-, barn and pearl-spotted owl – might be chanced upon almost anywhere, but it requires dedication to locate the endemic Usambara eagle-owl (Eastern Arc Mountains) or Pemba scops-owl (Pemba Island).
Turacos & go-away birds – Unique to Africa, turacos are colourful crested frugivores that draw attention to their presence with far-reaching guttural calls. The spectacular green-and-red Hartlaub’s turaco inhabits montane forest on Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro, while Schalow’s turaco occurs in lower-lying Saadani and Udzungwa. Ross’s turaco is sometimes seen along the Serengeti’s Grumeti River, while the comparatively drab go-away birds are associated with wooded savannah habitats.
Superb starling – Popular with first-time safarigoers, the most spectacular of the region’s ‘glossy starlings’ has glossy blue upperparts separated from the red belly by a white band. Locally abundant in the Serengeti, Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro, it is rare or absent in the south and west.
Red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers – Closely related to starlings, these otherwise nondescript birds spend much of their time picking ticks of buffaloes, antelope, giraffe and domestic cattle. They are now quite rare outside of game reserves.
Fork-tailed drongo – This pugnacious all-black bird has a deep forked tail and is common in wooded savannah, where it perches openly and often emits a series of harsh, nasal notes. It could be confused with the slighter black flycatcher.
Black-headed oriole – This is a common woodland bird with brilliant yellow feathers, black head, red bill and an attractive liquid call. The rarer green-headed oriole is an eagerly sought montane forest bird that’s most easily seen in Udzungwa or Amani.
Paradise flycatcher – This popular resident of woodland and forest is notable for the male’s extended tail, which is twice the body length. It is usually bright orange with a blue-black head and chest, but the black-and-white morph is locally common, and intermediate forms also exist.
Thrushes – This diverse family, represented by about 50 species, includes such prominent garden birds as thrushes (which resemble their European counterparts) and the beautiful robin-chats. It also includes the open country wheatears and chats, and the boldly marked mocking chat, which is associated with koppies such as those in the Serengeti.
Babblers – These robust thrush-sized birds habitually travel through the undergrowth in noisy parties of 5-10 individuals, and are often seen in hotel grounds. The most colourful species is the rufous chatterer, an orange-brown bird associated with dry country parks such as Tarangire and Mkomazi.
Medium-small birds
Cuckoos – Highly vocal but equally ventriloqual, most cuckoos are unlikely to be seen unless actively sought. The clamorous dee-dee-dee-Diederik of the Diederik cuckoo (often heard near the weaver colonies it parasitises) and persistent it-will-rain of the red-chested cuckoo are among the most familiar sounds of the African bush. Legendarily elusive, the emerald cuckoo is a forest species whose triumphal YOU-can’t-find-me drives birdwatchers to distraction as they scan the canopy in vain.
Trogons – Among the most eagerly sought of African birds thanks to their lustrous green back and contrasting crimson breast, trogons spend much of their time sitting motionless in forest interiors and are best located by call. The eagerly sought Narina trogon might be seen in any low-altitude riparian woodland or forest, while the localised bar-tailed trogon is sometimes observed in montane forests on Ngorongoro.
Hoopoes – Common in park-like savannah and suburban hotel gardens, the African hoopoe is a distinctive orange ground bird with a curved bill, prominent crest, and black and white wings. Closely related but very different in appearance, woodhoopoes are gregarious glossy-black woodland birds with long tails, heavy decurved red or black bills, often located by their cacophonous cackle.
Kingfishers – Tanzania’s dozen species are a variable bunch. The most widespread fish-eater is the pied kingfisher, which often hovers hummingbird-like above the water. The 50cm giant kingfisher is associated with tree-lined rivers and lakes, while the tiny malachite kingfisher perches low on waterside reeds and shrubs. The Halcyon kingfishers are insectivores and typically inhabit wooded areas, often some distance from water.
Bee-eaters – These sleek, colourful and sociable insectivores are well represented in Tanzania, with more than half the world’s 25 species present. Unusually, they can eat stinging insects, which they disarm by banging or scraping them against a branch with their long decurved bill. The ubiquitous little bee-eater might be seen anywhere, but most other species are relatively localised.
Barbets – Stocky and colourful, barbets occur in every habitat from desert to rainforest. Most likely to be seen on safari is the red-and-yellow barbet, a strikingly coloured bird that performs a clockwork-like duet on termite mounds in dry-country parks such as Tarangire. The southern equivalent is the crested barbet, whose unique high pitched trill is characteristic of Ruaha. The red-faced barbet is a regional endemic restricted to moist savannah west of Lake Victoria.
Swifts & swallows – The most aerially specialised of birds, the swifts can feed, mate and even sleep on the wing, and roost on vertical surfaces only. Most species are dully coloured and mixed flocks are often seen circling rapidly in the vicinity of cliffs, bridges and tall buildings. Similar in design and habits but more colourful, the unrelated swallows are typically blue with white, red or streaked underparts – several species are resident but most are outnumbered by the influx of European barn swallows during the northern winter.
Warblers – Almost 10% of Tanzania’s bird species belong to this family of small inconspicuous LBJs (‘little brown jobs’). This includes the most confusing of African bird genera, Cisticola, as well as the boldly marked, long-tailed leaf gleaners of the genus Apalis, and the almost tailless crombecs of the genus Sylvietta.
Weavers – A quintessential part of the African landscape, the sparrow-like weavers are named for the intricate ball-shaped nests built by the dextrous males. The various species of masked weaver are yellow with a distinct black facial mask, and often nest colonially in trees overhanging later. The finest nest in the family is the dome-like construction of the grosbeak weaver, which breeds in reedbeds. By contrast, the drab sparrow- and buffalo-weavers build scruffy nests, and include the rufous-tailed weaver, a Tanzania endemic whose range centres on Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.