Birds of Ivory Coast

There are close to 800 species of birds in the Ivory Coast. While there were once a lot of tropical rainforests for this avifauna to thrive, deforestation has increased due to a population boom. As a result, several of these species are at risk of going extinct.

The White-cheeked Turaco is the national bird of the Ivory Coast. Other notable species include the African Fish-eagle, the African Gray Hornbill, and the Little Bee-eater.

List of Common Birds Found in Ivory Coast

Native Birds

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
African Black-headed Oriole
African Blue Flycatcher
African Cuckoo Hawk
African Emerald Cuckoo
African Finfoot
African Fish-eagle
African Golden Oriole
African Gray Hornbill
African Green Pigeon
African Harrier Hawk
African Hobby
African Jacana
African Moustached Warbler
African Openbill
African Palm Swift
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Pied Hornbill
African Pygmy Kingfisher
African Spoonbill
African Swamphen
African Thrush
African Yellow White-eye
Allen’s Gallinule
Angola Swallow
Bearded Barbet
Beautiful Sunbird
Black-and-white Mannikin
Black Bee-eater
Black-bellied Firefinch
Black-billed Wood Dove
Black Crake
Black-crowned Crane
Black-crowned Tchagra
Black-headed Heron
Black-rumped Waxbill
Black Scimitarbill
Black-winged Stilt
Blue-breasted Kingfisher
Blue Malkoha
Blue-moustached Bee-eater
Brown Illadopsis
Brown Sunbird
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Buff-spotted Flufftail
Cardinal Woodpecker
Cassin’s Malimbe
Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch
Chestnut-breasted Nigrita
Chestnut-capped Flycatcher
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-weaver
Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike
Chestnut-winged Starling
Collared Sunbird
Common Bulbul
Copper Sunbird
Crowned Hornbill
Dark-capped Bulbul
Double-spurred Francolin
Dusky-blue Flycatcher
Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo
Dusky Tit
Eastern Gray Plantain-eater
Egyptian Goose
Egyptian Plover
Eurasian Hobby
Fiery-breasted Bushshrike
Forbes’s Plover
Fülleborn’s Longclaw
Gabon Woodpecker
Golden-tailed Woodpecker
Gray Go-away-bird
Gray-headed Kingfisher
Gray-headed Nigrita
Gray Heron
Gray Kestrel
Gray Plover
Gray Woodpecker
Great Blue Turaco
Great Sparrowhawk
Great White Pelican
Green Turaco
Guinea Turaco
Hairy-breasted Barbet
Hamerkop
Hartlaub’s Duck
Hartlaub’s Marsh Widowbird
Hartlaub’s Turaco
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Heuglin’s Masked Weaver
Hooded Vulture
Icterine Greenbul
Kemp’s Longbill
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Lafresnaye’s Piculet
Latham’s Francolin
Little Bee-eater
Little Gray Greenbul
Little Greenbul
Little Stint
Little Swift
Little Tern
Locust Finch
Long-billed Crombec
Long-crested Eagle
Long-legged Pipit
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Magpie Mannikin
Malachite Kingfisher
Marsh Tchagra
Montagu’s Harrier
Mosque Swallow
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Olive Sunbird
Orange Weaver
Oriole Warbler
Painted Snipe
Pied Crow
Pied Kingfisher
Pin-tailed Whydah
Plain Greenbul
Red-Throated Bee Eater
Red-vented Malimbe
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Senegal Parrot
Village Weaver
Violet Turaco
Western Bluebill
White-backed Vulture
White-cheeked Turaco
White-throated Bee Eater
Woodland Kingfisher

Non-native Birds

Bluethroat
Common Chiffchaff
Eleonora’s Falcon
Greater Swamp Warbler
House Sparrow
Northern Wheatear
Rufous Cisticola
Tawny Pipit
Western Olivaceous Warbler
Western Red-billed Hornbill

Some of the best places to go birding in the Ivory Coast include Comoé National Park, Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, and Taï National Park. The last one is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The best time to go birdwatching in Ivory Coast is during the dry season, generally from November to March.