Birds of Somalia

About 700 species of birds live in Somalia. The country is located between the tropical and temperate zones, potentially explaining the diversity in avifauna here. Some endemic birds found here include the Somali Pigeon, the Somali Boubou, and the Somali Thrush.

Birds of Somalia

List of Common Birds Found in Somalia

Native Birds

  • Abyssinian Scimitarbill
  • African Cuckoo-hawk
  • African Fish Eagle
  • African Goshawk
  • African Gray Hornbill
  • African Harrier Hawk
  • African Olive Pigeon
  • African Openbill
  • African Pygmy Goose
  • African Sacred Ibis
  • African Spoonbill
  • African Wattled Lapwing
  • African White-backed Vulture
  • Ash’s Lark
  • Banded Prinia
  • Beautiful Sunbird
  • Black-capped Social Weaver
  • Black-crowned Night Heron
  • Black-headed Heron
  • Blacksmith Lapwing
  • Blue-breasted Bee-eater
  • Brown-breasted Barbet
  • Brown-crowned Tchagra
  • Brown Woodland Warbler
  • Brubru
  • Bruce’s Green Pigeon
  • Common Bulbul
  • Crowned Lapwing
  • Dark Chanting Goshawk
  • Double-banded Courser
  • Eastern Black-headed Batis
  • Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Gabar Goshawk
  • Glossy Ibis
  • Goliath Heron
  • Gray-capped Social Weaver
  • Gray Kestrel
  • Gray Wren-warbler
  • Greater Honeyguide
  • Greater Sand Plover
  • Hemprich’s Hornbill
  • Hooded Vulture 
  • Hunter’s Sunbird
  • Jackson’s Hornbill
  • Knob-billed Duck
  • Lanner Falcon
  • Lappet-faced Vulture
  • Lesser Honeyguide
  • Lesser Hoopoe-lark
  • Lesser Kestrel
  • Lesser Sand Plover
  • Lilac-breasted Roller 
  • Little Bee-eater 
  • Little Green Bee-eater
  • Little Weaver
  • Lizard Buzzard
  • Madagascar Bee-eater
  • Marabou Stork 
  • Namaqua Dove
  • Northern Bald Ibis
  • Northern Fiscal
  • Northern Red-billed Hornbill 
  • Obbia Lark
  • Pale Prinia
  • Pied Crow 
  • Pink-breasted Lark
  • Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
  • Red-eyed Dove
  • Red-fronted Tinkerbird
  • Rock Kestrel
  • Rosy-patched Bushshrike
  • Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture
  • Saddle-billed Stork
  • Scarlet-chested Sunbird
  • Senegal Thick-knee
  • Slate-coloured Boubou
  • Somali Babbler
  • Somali Barbet
  • Somali Bee-eater
  • Somali Black-capped Social Weaver
  • Somali Black-headed Oriole
  • Somali Boubou
  • Somali Bulbul
  • Somali Bunting
  • Somali Chestnut-winged Starling
  • Somali Cisticola
  • Somali Courser
  • Somali Fiscal
  • Somali Golden-breasted Bunting
  • Somali Lark
  • Somali Long-billed Crombec
  • Somali Ostrich
  • Somali Pigeon
  • Somali Short-toed Lark
  • Somali Sparrow
  • Somali Starling
  • Somali Thrush
  • Somali Wheatear
  • Speckled Pigeon 
  • Speckle-fronted Weaver
  • Spur-winged Lapwing
  • Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
  • Swahili Sparrow
  • Tambourine Dove
  • Temminck’s Courser
  • Three-streaked Tchagra
  • Tropical Boubou
  • Village Weaver 
  • Vinaceous Dove
  • Violet Woodhoopoe
  • Von der Decken’s Hornbill
  • Water Thick-knee
  • White-bellied Go-away-bird 
  • White-browed Sparrow Weaver
  • White-faced Whistling Duck
  • White-fronted Bee-eater
  • White-headed Vulture
  • White-throated Bee-eater
  • Woolly-necked Stork
  • Yellow-bellied Hyliota
  • Yellow-billed Stork
  • Yellow-breasted Apalis

Non-native Birds

  • House Crow
  • House Sparrow
  • Rock Pigeon

Due to the country’s volatile political state and overall instability, the infrastructure required for birdwatching in Somalia has yet to develop entirely. But in the future, if the situation improves, we could see birding opportunities grow in the various coastal habitats, wetlands, and savannas.

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