Birds of Senegal

List of Common Birds Found in Senegal

Native Birds

• Abdim’s Stork
• Abyssinian Roller
• African Collared Dove
• African Crake
• African Darter
• African Finfoot
• African Fish Eagle
• African Goshawk
• African Gray Flycatcher
• African Gray Hornbill
• African Green Pigeon
• African Harrier-hawk
• African Jacana
• African Openbill
• African Palm Swift
• African Paradise Flycatcher
• African Pied Wagtail
• African Purple Swamphen
• African Sacred Ibis 
• African Skimmer
• African Spoonbill
• African Swamphen
• African Wattled Lapwing
• African Wood Owl
• Allen’s Gallinule
• Baillon’s Crake
• Beautiful Sunbird
• Black-billed Wood Dove
• Black Crake
• Black-headed Heron
• Black-headed Lapwing
• Black Heron
• Black Scimitarbill
• Black Stork
• Black-winged Stilt
• Blue-headed Coucal
• Blue-naped Mousebird
• Broad-billed Roller
• Brown-chested Lapwing
• Brown Snake Eagle
• Bruce’s Green Pigeon
• Collared Pratincole
• Common Hoopoe 
• Common Ringed Plover
• Coqui Francolin
• Double-spurred Francolin
• European Roller
• Fulvous Whistling Duck
• Giant Kingfisher
• Glossy Ibis
• Goliath Heron
• Grasshopper Buzzard
• Gray Crowned Crane
• Grayish Eagle Owl
• Greater Striped Swallow
• Great White Pelican
• Hadada Ibis 
• Hamerkop 
• Harlequin Quail
• Helmeted Guinea Fowl 
• Hooded Vulture 
• Hottentot Teal
• Intermediate Egret
• Kittlitz’s Plover
• Lappet-faced Vulture
• Lesser Flamingo
• Little Bee-eater 
• Little Bittern
• Little Green Bee-eater
• Little Swift
• Long-crested Eagle
• Long-toed Lapwing
• Malachite Kingfisher
• Marabou Stork 
• Mosque Swallow
• Mottled Swift
• Namaqua Dove
• Northern Carmine Bee-eater
• Northern Red-billed Hornbill 
• Northern Red Bishop
• Northern White-faced Owl
• Osprey
• Pied Crow 
• Pied Kingfisher 
• Pink-backed Pelican
• Pin-tailed Whydah 
• Preuss’s Cliff Swallow
• Purple Heron
• Purple Swamphen
• Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill
• Red-billed Quelea
• Red-eyed Dove
• Red-necked Falcon
• Red-throated Bee Eater 
• Reed Cormorant
• Rose-ringed Parakeet
• Rosy Bee-eater
• Ruff
• Saddle-billed Stork
• Secretary Bird
• Senegal Coucal
• Shikra
• Speckled Pigeon 
• Spur-winged Goose
• Spur-winged Lapwing
• Squacco Heron
• Striated Heron
• Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
• Village Weaver 
• Vinaceous Dove
• Wattled Lapwing
• Western Banded Snake Eagle
• Western Marsh Harrier
• Western Red-billed Hornbill
• Western Reef Heron
• White-backed Duck
• White-backed Night Heron
• White-backed Vulture
• White-crested Tiger Heron
• White-faced Whistling Duck
• White-fronted Bee-eater
• White-rumped Swift
• White-throated Bee-eater 
• White-throated Francolin
• Woodland Kingfisher 
• Woolly-necked Stork
• Yellow-billed Egret
• Yellow-billed Kite
• Yellow-billed Oxpecker
• Yellow-crowned Gonolek

Non-native Birds

• Black Redstart
• Corn Bunting
• Eurasian Linnet
• Gray Wagtail
• Heuglin’s Wheatear
• House Sparrow
• Meadow Pipit
• Moltoni’s Warbler
• Parasitic Weaver
• Song Thrush

Some of the best birding sites in Senegal include Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary, Langue de Barbarie National Park, and Delta du Saloum National Park. The peak season for birding in Senegal typically corresponds to the northern hemisphere’s winter months, the country’s dry season. The best time to visit for birdwatching is from November to March. During this period, the weather is mild and comfortable, with lower rain chances.