Bird Checklist of Lake Naivasha
Bird Checklist of Lake Naivasha : Lake Naivasha is a recognized as a Ramsar Site and the second site listed by Kenya as a wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar convention, the lake lies on the Rift Valley approximately 80 kilometers north-west of Nairobi.
Lake Naivasha consists of a shallow freshwater lake and fringing Acacia woodland, the lake’s water is supplied by the permanent Malewa and Gilgil and the seasonal Karati rivers which all drain the Aberdare Mountains along with substantial ground-water seepage.
Lake Naivasha is the highest of the Rift Valley Lakes liening at 1,880 meters and is the second largest freshwater lake and is one of the only 2 freshwater lakes in Kenya.
Lake Naivasha is one of the best birding destinations in Kenya with a fascinating birdlife of over 350 species of birds, the bird population is supported by the availability of dense vegetation at the lake edge.
Lake Naivasha is a diverse water bird community with more than 80 species, abundant Paleartic ducks most especially in November and February, the lake is famous known for its high density of African Fish Eagles nesting in the surrounding Acacia woodland and regionally threatened species include Podiceps cristatus, Oxyura maccoa, Anhinga rufa, Casmerodius albus, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, Thalassornis leuconotus, Porzana pusilla, Rynchops flavirostris, and the Phalacrocorax carbo. Globally threatened species include Grey-crested Helmeted-shrike, Basra Reed Warbler, Lesser Flamingo, along with large congregations of Red-knobbed Coot, African Spoonbill, and Little Grebe.
Ducks: Anatidae
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
White-backed Duck
Egyptian Goose
Garganey
Blue-billed Teal
Northern Shoveler
Yellow-billed Duck
Red-billed Duck
Northern Pintail
Southern Pochard
Tufted Duck
Maccoa Duck
Guineafowl: Numididae
Helmeted Guineafowl
Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies: Phasianidae
Coqui Francolin
Common Quail
Flamingos: Phoenicopteridae
Greater Flamingo
Lesser Flamingo
Grebes: Podicipedidae
Little Grebe
Pigeons and Doves: Columbidae
Speckled Pigeon
Mourning Collared-Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Ring-necked Dove
Laughing Dove
Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
Namaqua Dove
Cuckoos: Cuculidae
Red-chested Cuckoo
Black Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
White-browed Coucal
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Dideric Cuckoo
Nightjars and Allies: Caprimulgidae
Eurasian Nightjar
Swifts: Apodidae
Common Swift
Nyanza Swift
Horus Swift
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots: Rallidae
African Rail
African Crake
Lesser Moorhen
Eurasian Moorhen
Red-knobbed Coot
African Swamphen
Striped Crake
Black Crake
Cranes: Gruidae
Gray Crowned-Crane
Thick-knees: Burhinidae
Eurasian Thick-knee
Stilts and Avocets: Recurvirostridae
Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet
Plovers and Lapwings: Charadriidae
Black-bellied Plover
Long-toed Lapwing
Blacksmith Lapwing
Spur-winged Lapwing
Senegal Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Lesser Sand-Plover
Greater Sand-Plover
Caspian Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Three-banded Plover
Jacanas: Jacanidae
African Jacana Actophilornis africanus
Sandpipers and Allies: Scolopacidae
Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Ruff
Curlew Sandpiper
Temminck’s Stint
Sanderling
Little Stint
Terek Sandpiper
Great Snipe
Common Snipe
African Snipe
Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Spotted Redshank
Common Greenshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Common Redshank
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers: Laridae
Gray-hooded Gull
Black-headed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
White-winged Tern
Whiskered Tern
African Skimmer
Storks: Ciconiidae
African Openbill
Black Stork
White Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
Yellow-billed Stork
Cormorants and Shags: Phalacrocoracidae
Long-tailed Cormorant
Great Cormorant
Pelicans: Pelecanidae
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican
Hamerkop: Scopidae
Hamerkop
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns: Ardeidae
Gray Heron
Black-headed Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Little Egret
Black Heron
Cattle Egret
Squacco Heron
Striated Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Ibises and Spoonbills: Threskiornithidae
Glossy Ibis
African Sacred Ibis
Hadada Ibis
Eurasian Spoonbill
African Spoonbill
Secretary-bird: Sagittariidae
Secretarybird
Osprey: Pandionidae
Osprey
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites: Accipitridae
Black-winged Kite
European Honey-buzzard
Long-crested Eagle
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Greater Spotted Eagle
Wahlberg’s Eagle
Booted Eagle
Steppe Eagle
Imperial Eagle
Verreaux’s Eagle
Grasshopper Buzzard
Eurasian Marsh-Harrier
African Marsh-Harrier
Pallid Harrier
Little Sparrowhawk
Black Goshawk
Black Kite
African Fish-Eagle
Augur Buzzard
Owls: Strigidae
Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl
Mousebirds: Coliidae
Speckled Mousebird
Hoopoes: Upupidae
African Hoopoe
Woodhoopoes and Scimitarbills: Phoeniculidae
Green Woodhoopoe
Violet Woodhoopoe
Common Scimitarbill
Hornbills: Bucerotidae
Crowned Hornbill
African Gray Hornbill
Kingfishers: Alcedinidae
Malachite Kingfisher
African Pygmy Kingfisher
Gray-headed Kingfisher
Giant Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Bee-eaters: Meropidae
White-fronted Bee-eater
White-throated Bee-eater
Madagascar Bee-eater
European Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Rollers: Coraciidae
European Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller
African Barbets: Lybiidae
White-headed Barbet
Honeyguides: Indicatoridae
Green-backed Honeyguide
Wahlberg’s Honeyguide
Lesser Honeyguide
Greater Honeyguide
Woodpeckers: Picidae
African Gray Woodpecker
Nubian Woodpecker
Falcons and Caracaras: Falconidae
Lesser Kestrel
Eurasian Kestrel
Greater Kestrel Falco
Amur Falcon
Eleonora’s Falcon
Sooty Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Saker Falcon
Parrots: Psittaculidae
Fischer’s Lovebird
Yellow-collared Lovebird
Old World Orioles: Oriolidae
Eurasian Golden Oriole
African Black-headed Oriole
Wattle-eyes and Batises: Platysteiridae
Chinspot Batis
Bushshrikes: Malaconotidae
Brubru Nilaus afer
Tropical Boubou
Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
Drongos: Dicruridae
Fork-tailed Drongo
Monarch Flycatchers: Monarchidae
- African Paradise-Flycatcher
Shrikes: Laniidae
- Red-backed Shrike
- Isabelline Shrike
- Lesser Gray Shrike
- Gray-backed Fiscal
- Northern Fiscal
Crows, Jays, and Magpies: Corvidae
Cape Crow
Pied Crow
Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice: Paridae
White-bellied Tit
Penduline-Tits: Remizidae
Mouse-colored Penduline-Tit
African Penduline-Tit
Larks: Alaudidae
Rufous-naped Lark
Red-capped Lark
Nicators: Nicatoridae
Eastern Nicator Nicator gularis
African Warblers: Macrosphenidae
Northern Crombec
Red-faced Crombec
Cisticolas and Allies: Cisticolidae
Gray-backed Camaroptera
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis
Gray Apalis
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Gray-capped Warbler
Rattling Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Stout Cisticola
Zitting Cisticola
Reed Warblers and Allies: Acrocephalidae
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
African Yellow-Warbler
Olive-tree Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Marsh Warbler
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Basra Reed Warbler
Lesser Swamp Warbler
Greater Swamp Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Swallows: Hirundinidae
Plain Martin
Bank Swallow
Banded Martin
Barn Swallow
Angola Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Lesser Striped Swallow
Common House-Martin
Bulbuls: Pycnonotidae
Cabanis’s Greenbul
Common Bulbul
Leaf Warblers: Phylloscopidae
Willow Warbler
Brown Woodland-Warbler
Sylviid Warblers, Parrotbills, and Allies: Sylviidae
Eurasian Blackcap
Garden Warbler
African Hill Babbler
Greater Whitethroat
White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies: Zosteropidae
Kikuyu White-eye
Northern Yellow White-eye
Laughingthrushes and Allies: Leiothrichidae
Arrow-marked Babbler
Black-lored Babbler
Oxpeckers: Buphagidae
Red-billed Oxpecker
Starlings: Sturnidae
Wattled Starling
Red-winged Starling
Waller’s Starling
Hildebrandt’s Starling
Rueppell’s Starling
Superb Starling
Lesser Blue-eared Starling
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Thrushes and Allies: Turdidae
Abyssinian Thrush
Old World Flycatchers: Muscicapidae
Bird Checklist of Lake Naivasha
Spotted Flycatcher
African Gray Flycatcher
White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher
Cape Robin-Chat
Rueppell’s Robin-Chat
White-browed Robin-Chat
White-starred Robin
Brown-chested Alethe
Thrush Nightingale
Common Nightingale
Common Redstart
Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush
Whinchat
African Stonechat
Northern Anteater-Chat
Northern Wheatear
Capped Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
Sunbirds and Spiderhunters: Nectariniidae
Collared Sunbird
Amethyst Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Bronze Sunbird
Golden-winged Sunbird
Red-chested Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Weavers and Allies: Ploceidae
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Red-headed Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Holub’s Golden-Weaver
Lesser Masked-Weaver
Speke’s Weaver
Red-billed Quelea
White-winged Widowbird
Waxbills and Allies: Estrildidae
Common Waxbill
Purple Grenadier
Red-billed Firefinch
African Firefinch
Indigobirds: Viduidae
Pin-tailed Whydah
Village Indigobird
Old World Sparrows: Passeridae
Bird Checklist of Lake Naivasha
House Sparrow domesticus
Kenya Rufous Sparrow
Chestnut Sparrow
Wagtails and Pipits: Motacillidae
Cape Wagtail
Western Yellow Wagtail
African Pied Wagtail
White Wagtail
African Pipit
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Sharpe’s Longclaw
Yellow-throated Longclaw
Finches, Euphonias, and Allies: Fringillidae
African Citril
White-bellied Canary
Brimstone Canary
Streaky Seedeater
Thick-billed Seedeater
