List of birds of the Gambia

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (English and scientific names) are those of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition.

These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating.

Order: Galliformes   Family: Numididae Guineafowl are a group of African, seed-eating, ground-nesting birds that resemble partridges, but with featherless heads and spangled grey plumage.

Order: Phoenicopteriformes   Family: Phoenicopteridae Flamingos are wading birds, usually 3 to 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 m) tall, found in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres.

Their oddly shaped beaks are specially adapted to separate mud and silt from the food they consume and, uniquely, are used upside-down.

Order: Otidiformes   Family: Otidae Bustards are large terrestrial birds mainly associated with dry open country and steppes in the Old World.

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Burhinidae The thick-knees are a group of waders found worldwide within the tropical zone, with some species also breeding in temperate Europe and Australia.

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Haematopodidae The oystercatchers are large and noisy plover-like birds with strong bills used for smashing or prising open molluscs.

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Charadriidae Lapwings, plovers and dotterels are small to medium-sized birds with compact bodies, short, thick necks and long, usually pointed, wings.

Order: Charadriiformes   Family: Rostratulidae Painted-snipes are short-legged, long-billed birds similar in shape to the true snipes, but more brightly coloured.

They are identifiable by their huge feet and claws which enable them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallow lakes that are their preferred habitat.

They generally glide low above the water on stiff wings, and feed on fish, squid and similar oceanic food.

Order: Ciconiiformes   Family: Ciconiidae Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long stout bills.

Order: Suliformes   Family: Anhingidae Anhingas or darters are large waterbirds, found primarily in fresh and brackish water habitats.

Order: Suliformes   Family: Phalacrocoracidae Cormorants are medium to large seabirds, found primarily along the coast, but occasionally ranging some way inland in aquatic environments.

Order: Pelecaniformes   Family: Scopidae Hamerkops are medium-sized, all-brown wading birds named for their hammer-headed appearance, which is created by the combination of their shaggy backwards-pointing crests and their heavy black bills.

Order: Coliiformes   Family: Coliidae The mousebirds are slender grayish or brown birds with soft, hairlike body feathers and very long thin tails.

Order: Bucerotiformes   Family: Upupidae Hoopoes have black, white and orangey-pink colouring with a large erectile crest on their head.

Order: Bucerotiformes   Family: Bucerotidae Hornbills are a group of birds whose bill is shaped like a cow's horn, but without a twist, sometimes with a casque on the upper mandible.

Order: Coraciiformes   Family: Coraciidae Rollers resemble crows in size and build, but are more closely related to the kingfishers and bee-eaters.

They are named for the greater honeyguide which leads traditional honey-hunters to bees' nests and, after the hunters have harvested the honey, feeds on the remaining contents of the hive.

Order: Piciformes   Family: Picidae Woodpeckers are small to medium-sized birds with chisel-like beaks, short legs, stiff tails and long tongues used for capturing insects.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Platysteiridae The wattle-eyes, or puffback flycatchers, are small stout passerine birds of the African tropics.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Vangidae The helmetshrikes are similar in build to the shrikes, but tend to be colourful species with distinctive crests or other head ornaments, such as wattles, from which they get their name.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Malaconotidae Bushshrikes are similar in habits to shrikes, hunting insects and other small prey from a perch on a bush.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Macrosphenidae African warblers are small to medium-sized insectivores which are found in a wide variety of habitats south of the Sahara.

Some are colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage.

As another common name, Old World warblers, implies, they mainly occur as breeding species in Europe, Asia and, to a lesser extent, Africa.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Zosteropidae The white-eyes are small and mostly undistinguished, their plumage above being generally some dull colour like greenish-olive, but some species have a white or bright yellow throat, breast, or lower parts, and several have buff flanks.

Order: Passeriformes   Family: Buphagidae As both the English and scientific names of these birds imply, they feed on ectoparasites, primarily ticks, found on large mammals.

The white-faced whistling duck is the country's most common and widespread duck. [ 3 ]
Little grebes are locally common in freshwater ponds, creeks and rice fields, particularly in the Western Division. [ 3 ]
Red-eyed dove ( Streptopelia semitorquata )
Senegal coucal ( Centropus senegalensis )
Long-tailed nightjar ( Caprimulgus climacurus climacurus ) male
African palm-swift ( Cypsiurus parvus )
Black-crowned crane ( Balearica pavonina )
Spur-winged plovers are ubiquitous throughout the country, though seldom far from water. [ 3 ]
The greater painted-snipe is largely crepuscular , or most active around dawn and dusk.
Common redshanks are common to abundant throughout the country during the winter months. [ 3 ]
Common sandpipers are among the handful of waders which regularly hunt fiddler crabs . [ 3 ]
Ruddy turnstones are found in parties of 15-40 along the coast, principally between October and March. [ 3 ]
Grey-headed gulls are abundant along the coast, sometimes gathering in flocks of hundreds or thousands. [ 3 ]
Caspian tern
Pink-backed pelicans are abundant along the coast, less common most places upriver. [ 3 ]
Wilson's storm petrels are sometimes abundant offshore between April and September. [ 3 ]
Yellow-billed storks are most common near the coast. [ 3 ]
Northern gannets are sometimes seen offshore, generally after strong harmattan winds. [ 3 ]
The African darter is sometimes called the "snake bird" due to its habit of swimming with only its head and neck sticking out of the water. [ 8 ]
The often-gregarious hamerkop builds one of the largest and most complex of all bird nests . [ 9 ]
The huge Goliath heron is shy and solitary, typically preferring narrower creeks to more open areas. [ 3 ]
Western reef egret ( Egretta gularis gularis ) dark morph.jpg
African fish eagles are typically found perched near rivers, creeks or coastal lagoons. [ 3 ]
Hooded vultures are abundant throughout the country, particularly around human settlements. [ 3 ]
The medium-sized Wahlberg's eagle is common throughout the country all year round. [ 3 ]
Pearl-spotted owlet ( Glaucidium perlatum )
The widespread pied kingfisher is quite gregarious and is often found in small noisy groups.
Little bee-eater ( Merops pusillus pusillus )
Blue-bellied roller
African grey woodpecker
Senegal parrot ( Poicephalus senegalus )
Yellow-billed shrike
Pied crows are abundant along the coast, less common upriver. [ 3 ]
Sedge warbler ( Acrocephalus schoenobaenus )
The long-tailed glossy-starling is common and widespread throughout the country. [ 3 ]
Village weaver ( Ploceus cucullatus cucullatus ) female
Red-billed firefinches forage on the ground in small family groups, often with one or more village indigobird foster chicks in tow.
The ground-feeding red-cheeked cordon-bleu is widespread throughout the country. [ 3 ]
The pin-tailed whydah (male pictured above) is a brood parasite of various waxbill species.
The yellow-fronted canary is a common resident breeder throughout the country. [ 3 ]