Birdwatching in Africa

Once labelled ‘the Dark Continent’ due to its dense, unexplored interior, naturalists have since shown that the wildlife here brings light and joy to all that visit this vast terrain. With Africa also considered the land of a thousand habitats, the continent also hosts a staggering 25% of all the world’s birds. Continue reading to see our recommendations on where to go birdwatching in Africa.

Zambia

Wildlife Worldwide has a longer and stronger affinity with South Luangwa than virtually any national park in the world. Considered Zambia’s crown jewel, the austral season signals the start of the green season as huge colonies of carmine bee-eaters nest along the banks of the Luangwa River. And with the park home to everything from storks to cranes and hornbills to turacos, who knows you might even be able to find time to look at a mammal or two as well?!

The Gambia

Ask any birder where to achieve both quality and quantity of species in West Africa, and it's highly likely they’ll select The Gambia as the ultimate birding break. Representing the perfect introduction to African birding, this tiny delta of a country offers a range of terrific tropical birds, with superb local field guides all waiting to show you quality species like Senegal thicknee, Egyptian plover and the fabulously plumaged yellow-crowned gonolek.

Ghana

Considered a living fossil, the white-necked picathartes is surely one of the most sought-after birds across the entire African continent. Led by expert local guides, birders visiting this country will soon discover Ghana’s tropical and deciduous forests are also teeming with plenty of other rare and stunning birds, such as the rollers, turacos and finfoot.

Image by Lucas Lombardo

South Africa

You could spend a year birdwatching in South Africa and be forgiven for thinking you hadn’t even scratched the surface! But for those who have seen most of the country’s common wildlife, then perhaps our ‘Rare Mammals and Birds Trip’ is for you. Offering a golden opportunity to catch up with mercurial mammals such as aardvark and aardwolf by night, the day is left for the birders to search for stunning blue cranes, superb secretary birds and a bevy of rare bustards.

Botswana

Home to the incomparable wetland that's the Okavango Delta, no wildlife enthusiast will leave Botswana without an awe-inspiring list of birds and mammals with which to impress family and friends. Here the best time to go is between December to February, as Northern Hemisphere birders should be able to banish the winter blues while searching for fishing owls, flamboyantly plumaged nightjars and six different species of eagle.

View all our wildlife holidays and safaris to Africa or browse our extensive portfolio of birdwatching holidays around the world. To start planning your next trip contact us.