Birdlife of Botswana

The wide range of natural habitats and the fact that most of the country has remained relatively undisturbed have resulted in a flourishing avifauna: more than 550 species of birds have been recorded in Botswana and you can move from one habitat to another in the space of few metres with the resulting change in birdlife.

Spend an hour patrolling the banks of a river or lagoon for waterbirds and waders and then head into the riverine forest for robins, chats and woodpeckers. Turn off your engine and sit quietly next to a waterhole in the dry season and marvel at the clouds of queleas and sandgrouse wheeling in the air, scattering at the arrival of a hawk or falcon. Head for the vulture-draped trees that surround a lion kill for the scavengers and eagles, or follow the antics of raptors and insectivores as they feast on the insect swarms triggered by a fire or rain storm.

The summer rains herald the arrival of intra-African and Palaearctic migrants such as storks, swallows, bee-eaters and cuckoos, plus many rarities and vagrants, particularly in the Chobe River region and the now green grasslands of Savuti.

There are more than 450 species of birds in the Okavango Delta alone including the highly prized Pel's fishing owl and slaty egret and the Chobe River boasts 500 recorded species. Most birders head for Moremi Game Reserve for Botswana's top birding destination but tucked away in the south-east is the Tuli Block, also an area renowned for its birdlife.

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