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Zimbabwe has about 670 recorded bird species, and the best time for birding is November to March, when the country’s more than 140 migrant species have arrived for the summer. BirdLife Zimbabwe counts 674 species. The top areas are the Eastern Highlands for forest and grassland specials, the Zambezi Valley for waterbirds, Hwange for Kalahari-sand species, Matobo for eagles, and Victoria Falls and Kazungula for floodplain birds. Written by Bryan Fawcett.
Last reviewed: 21 October 2026 against BirdLife Zimbabwe’s site guides and Important Bird Area accounts, its journal Honeyguide (June 2021 and June 2022) and the Avibase checklist. Full list under Sources.

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How many bird species?

  • BirdLife Zimbabwe: 674 species (“over 670” on its birding pages). BirdLife Zimbabwe is Zimbabwe’s BirdLife International partner.
  • Avibase: 706 species, including 5 introduced species, using the Howard and Moore (4th edition) taxonomy.
The totals differ because checklists use different taxonomies and treat rare vagrants differently. More than 140 species are migrants, according to BirdLife Zimbabwe.

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The best birding areas

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Eastern Highlands

A 260 km mountain chain along the Mozambique border, with montane forest, grassland and lowland forest. BirdLife Zimbabwe says it supports 23 Afrotropical Highland biome species and a set of restricted-range birds found nowhere else in the country.
  • Nyanga: 246 species. Zimbabwe’s most important grasslands for the Blue Swallow (an estimated 400–600 birds), plus Wattled Crane and Roberts’s Warbler.
  • Bvumba: 242 species. Bunga Forest holds Swynnerton’s Robin, Orange Ground-thrush and other Afromontane forest birds.
  • Chimanimani: 221 species. Roberts’s Warbler, Gurney’s Sugarbird and Blue Swallow on the plateau. Footpath access only.
  • Chirinda Forest (Mount Selinda): a 950 ha rainforest south of Chipinge and the type locality of Swynnerton’s Robin. It is also home to the Big Tree, a National Monument.

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Zambezi Valley, Mana Pools and Kariba

More than 400 species. Highlights include large colonies of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters (an estimated 10,500 birds), African Skimmers on the sandbanks, Rock Pratincoles, Lilian’s Lovebirds, Pel’s Fishing-owl, Dickinson’s Kestrel and about 90 waterbird species. At least 52 raptor species, including owls, are recorded. Birding by canoe on the river is excellent. See Mana Pools, Lake Kariba and walking and canoe safaris.

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Hwange National Park

449 species on the park checklist. Hwange probably holds the largest protected population of Bradfield’s Hornbill, and possibly the largest protected population of Yellow-billed Oxpecker in the region. Its seasonal pans attract migrant waterbirds such as Woolly-necked Stork. See Hwange.

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Matobo Hills: raptors

About 340 species, and one of the densest raptor populations in the world: at least 50 raptor species, 32 known to breed. Matobo has the world’s highest concentration of Verreaux’s (Black) Eagles per square kilometre, about 45 pairs. BirdLife Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland branch has surveyed them every year since 1964. Boulder Chat and Mocking Cliff-chat are easy at the campsites. See Matobo Hills.

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Victoria Falls and Kazungula

The Zambezi floodplains near Kazungula hold specials such as Slaty Egret, Long-toed Lapwing, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Swamp Nightjar and Hartlaub’s Babbler. Around the falls look for Schalow’s Turaco, Brown Firefinch and Collared Palm-thrush. The town’s sewage ponds attract waders, African Skimmer and Rock Pratincole.
Taita Falcon: the Batoka Gorge below the falls is famous for this rare falcon, but BirdLife Zimbabwe warns that adventure activities in the gorges have threatened it there, and that it has become locally extinct in some parts of Zimbabwe. Treat a sighting as a bonus. BirdLife’s Important Bird Area accounts also list it for Nyanga and Chimanimani, and it was seen in Chizarira’s Mucheni Gorge in 2021.
See Victoria Falls.

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Other areas

  • Miombo woodland around Harare: “miombo specials” such as Spotted Creeper. Try Mukuvisi Woodlands, Monavale Vlei and Lake Chivero.
  • Masvingo and Lake Mutirikwi: Swee Waxbill and Black Saw-wing, hard to find elsewhere in Zimbabwe.
  • Gonarezhou and the south-east lowveld: birds shared with Kruger and Mozambique.

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Migrant calendar

BirdLife Zimbabwe says most migrants arrive in summer, just before the rains start, and leave at the end of the rainy season. They come from Europe and Asia (Palearctic migrants) and from elsewhere in Africa (intra-African migrants). In Zimbabwe the rains usually start in November and end in April (see weather by month). The months below come from first-arrival records that BirdLife Zimbabwe members reported in Honeyguide (June 2021 and June 2022 issues). Arrival dates vary from year to year. Species named “European”, “Eurasian”, “Steppe” or “Amur”, plus Barn Swallow, House Martin, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, White Stork, Red-backed Shrike and the waders, are Palearctic migrants. The cuckoos, Woodland Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Abdim’s Stork, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Yellow-billed Kite, the carmine bee-eaters and the Blue Swallow are intra-African migrants.

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Special species to look for

The Blue Swallow months are our reading of BirdLife Zimbabwe’s “arrives in September” and its summer stay; confirm with a local guide.

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Important Bird Areas

BirdLife Zimbabwe runs a programme to protect Zimbabwe’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), also called Key Biodiversity Areas. They are numbered from Z001 to Z020. BirdLife Zimbabwe’s website has accounts for these: We could not confirm the names of Z004, Z005 and Z015 from BirdLife Zimbabwe’s website, and the site also uses the code Z012 for a Bakota Gorge page. Check with BirdLife Zimbabwe for the definitive list.

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Tips for birders

  • Get a site checklist: BirdLife Zimbabwe publishes bird lists for many areas on its website.
  • Bring a field guide or app: BirdLife Zimbabwe suggests the Roberts’ Bird app, Sasol Birds of Southern Africa or the free Merlin Bird ID app.
  • Log your sightings on the BirdLasser app, which BirdLife Zimbabwe recommends.
  • Respect breeding colonies: keep boats and people well back from bee-eater banks and skimmer sandbars.

Animals and birds

Eastern Highlands

Weather by month

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Sources

Last modified on October 21, 2026