Botswana Ramsar wetland
Okavango Delta
94 bird species recorded; the most in August.
Hp.Baumeler · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
0 species in January.1 species in February.0 species in March.1 species in April.0 species in May.57 species in June.64 species in July.75 species in August.33 species in September.61 species in October.0 species in November.1 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
VUNo records for this month.
VU
VUVU
NT
No records for this month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
94 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 94Speciesrecorded more than once
- 61Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 4ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 423Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 956 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 4Raptors
- 8Waders
- 1Gulls & seabirds
- 6Ducks & geese
- 14Herons, ibises & grebes
- 4Storks & cranes
- 31Songbirds
- 26Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 94 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African Fish EagleHaliaeetus vocifer
- BateleurTerathopius ecaudatus
- Dickinson's KestrelFalco dickinsoni
- White-backed VultureGyps africanusCR
Waders8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African JacanaActophilornis africanus
- Blacksmith LapwingVanellus armatus
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
- Long-toed LapwingVanellus crassirostris
- Crowned lapwingVanellus coronatus
- Water DikkopBurhinus vermiculatus
- Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
Gulls & seabirds1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
Ducks & geese6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
- Red-billed TealAnas erythrorhyncha
- Spur-winged GoosePlectropterus gambensis
- White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
- Pygmy GooseNettapus auritus
- Knob-billed DuckSarkidiornis melanotos
Herons, ibises & grebes14 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
- African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- HadadaBostrychia hagedash
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
- DarterAnhinga rufa
- HamerkopScopus umbretta
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Black HeronEgretta ardesiaca
- Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
- Slaty EgretEgretta vinaceigulaVU
Storks & cranes4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Wattled CraneBugeranus carunculatusVU
- SaddlebillEphippiorhynchus senegalensisNT
- Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
- Openbill StorkAnastomus lamelligerus
Songbirds31 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-billed OxpeckerBuphagus erythrorhynchus
- Meves's StarlingLamprotornis mevesii
- Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilis
- Wattled StarlingCreatophora cinerea
- African Red-eyed BulbulPycnonotus nigricans
- Burchell's Glossy-starlingLamprotornis australis
- African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
- Red-billed Buffalo-weaverBubalornis niger
- Cape SparrowPasser diffusus
- Swamp BoubouLaniarius bicolor
- Dark-capped BulbulPycnonotus tricolor
- Yellow-billed OxpeckerBuphagus africanus
- Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis
- Hartlaub's BabblerTurdoides hartlaubii
- Arrow-marked BabblerTurdoides jardineii
- Rattling CisticolaCisticola chiniana
- Mirafra africanaMirafra africana
- Southern PuffbackDryoscopus cubla
- Black-headed OrioleOriolus larvatus
- Greater Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chalybaeus
- Plain-backed PipitAnthus leucophrys
- African PipitAnthus cinnamomeus
- White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
- Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
- Chirping CisticolaCisticola pipiens
- Banded MartinRiparia cincta
- African Sand MartinRiparia paludicola
- Rosy-breasted LongclawMacronyx ameliae
- Magpie ShrikeUrolestes melanoleucus
- Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinica
- Marico SunbirdCinnyris mariquensis
Other birds26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Lilac-breasted RollerCoracias caudatus
- Black-collared BarbetLybius torquatus
- Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
- Red-billed SpurfowlPternistis adspersus
- Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
- Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
- African Green-pigeonTreron calvus
- Crested BarbetTrachyphonus vaillantii
- Meyer's ParrotPoicephalus meyeri
- Bearded WoodpeckerChloropicus namaquus
- Grey LourieCorythaixoides concolor
- Southern Ground HornbillBucorvus leadbeateriVU
- African HoopoeUpupa africana
- Greater HoneyguideIndicator indicator
- Emerald-spotted DoveTurtur chalcospilos
- Senegal CoucalCentropus senegalensis
- Double-banded SandgrousePterocles bicinctus
- Red-faced MousebirdUrocolius indicus
- Green WoodhoopoePhoeniculus purpureus
- Striped KingfisherHalcyon chelicuti
- Coppery-tailed CoucalCentropus cupreicaudus
- White-browed CoucalCentropus superciliosus
- Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in August.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan33°/21°131 mm
- Feb32°/20°102 mm
- Mar32°/20°77 mm
- Apr31°/17°25 mm
- May29°/12°2 mm
- Jun26°/9°3 mm
- Jul26°/8°0 mm
- Aug30°/11°0 mm
- Sep34°/16°2 mm
- Oct37°/20°13 mm
- Nov36°/22°48 mm
- Dec34°/22°108 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Okavango Delta.
River delta in Botswana
Okavango Delta is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Botswana, 956 m above the sea.
94 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 423 open records.
The most recorded are the African Jacana, the Egyptian Goose and the Wattled Crane.
2 species come for the summer, 58 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
4 are threatened worldwide, including Wattled Crane, Southern Ground Hornbill and White-backed Vulture.
The most species are recorded in August.
Get there and watch
- Maun International Airport (MUB)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 84 km in a straight lineCar hire at MUB airport (Maun)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- campsites within 10 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Okavango Delta.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Okavango Delta
Botswana
- 60Birdyas Score
- 94Species
- 61Migrants
- 4Threatened
Victoria Falls National Park
Zimbabwe · 349 km
- 93Birdyas Score
- 474Species
- 165Migrants
- 12Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q650872) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 423 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit