The Wildebeest's guide to South Africa
Afrikaans name: Voels van Krugerwildtuin
Kruger National Park has a list of over 500 species of birds including this list.
Kruger National Park is a must visit destination for birders! It has two main advantages. Firstly, it has a total list of over 500 species that have been recorded over the years and, secondly, there are a number of field guides that are dedicated to the birds to be found in the park.
An extra advantage is that the camp sites are some of the best places to do some birding. If one wanders around a camp, an hour or so after sunrise, one is sure to see a wide variety of bushveld birds. One of the main reasons for this is that the camp sites are well-stocked with a variety of trees, shrubs and flowers which attract the birds.
Each camp site is a bit different to the others and attract a slightly different range of birds. I have good memories of good birding in Skukuza and Berg-en-dal, both of which attract a wide variety of species, Satara for owls and Punda Maria for some birds which are either not found further south or are more common in the north.
The various picnic sites are also quite good for birding and it well worth stopping at them, not only to stretch your legs, but to see what birds are around.
Common Ostrich
Crested Francolin
Natal Spurfowl
Swainson's Spurfowl
Crested Guineafowl
Helmeted Guineafowl
White-faced Duck
Maccoa Duck
Egyptian Goose
Spur-winged Goose
African Black Duck
Yellow-billed Duck
Cape Shoveler
Red-billed Teal
Lesser Honeyguide
Red-throated Wryneck
Bennett's Woodpecker
Black-collared Barbet
Crested Barbet
Red-billed Hornbill
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Trumpeter Hornbill
Southern Ground-Hornbill
African Hoopoe
Narina Trogon
European Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller
Malachite Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
White-fronted Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
Speckled Mousebird
Red-faced Mousebird
Diderick Cuckoo
Burchell's Coucal
Brown-headed Parrot
Purple-crested Turaco
Grey Go-away-bird
African Scops-Owl
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Pearl-spotted Owlet
Marsh Owl
Speckled Pigeon
Laughing Dove
African Mourning Dove
Cape Turtle-Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
Tambourine Dove
Red-crested Korhaan
Grey Crowned Crane
Black Crake
Common Moorhen
Red-knobbed Coot
Double-banded Sandgrouse
Spotted Thick-knee
Pied Avocet
Three-banded Plover
Blacksmith Lapwing
African Wattled Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Whiskered Tern
Black-shouldered Kite
Black Kite
African Fish-Eagle
White-backed Vulture
White-headed Vulture
Black-chested Snake-Eagle
African Marsh-Harrier
African Harrier-Hawk
African Goshawk
Little Sparrowhawk
Black Sparrowhawk
Steppe Buzzard
Jackal Buzzard
Tawny Eagle
Martial Eagle
Long-crested Eagle
Secretarybird
Greater Kestrel
Lanner Falcon
Little Grebe
African Darter
Reed Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant
Black Heron
Little Egret
Great Egret
Grey Heron
Black-headed Heron
Purple Heron
Cattle Egret
Hamerkop
Greater Flamingo
Hadeda Ibis
African Sacred Ibis
African Spoonbill
Pink-backed Pelican
Yellow-billed Stork
Black Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
White Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
Black-headed Oriole
Fork-tailed Drongo
African Paradise-Flycatcher
Black-backed Puffback
Southern Boubou
Crimson-breasted Shrike
Chinspot Batis
Pied Crow
White-necked Raven
Red-backed Shrike
Common Fiscal
Magpie Shrike
Grey Cuckooshrike
Southern Black Tit
Barn Swallow
Dark-capped Bulbul
Sombre Greenbul
Yellow-bellied Greenbul
Long-billed Crombec
Arrow-marked Babbler
Cape White-eye
Rufous-naped Lark
Groundscraper Thrush
Southern Black Flycatcher
Fiscal Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
African Dusky Flycatcher
White-browed Robin-Chat
Red-capped Robin-Chat
White-browed Scrub-Robin
African Stonechat
Mocking Cliff-Chat
Red-winged Starling
Black-bellied Starling
Cape Glossy Starling
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Burchell's Starling
Red-billed Oxpecker
Amethyst Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Collared Sunbird
White-bellied Sunbird
Marico Sunbird
Lesser Masked-Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Yellow Weaver
Southern Masked-Weaver
Village Weaver
Red-billed Quelea
Southern Red Bishop
Fan-tailed Widowbird
White-winged Widowbird
Thick-billed Weaver
Common Waxbill
Violet-eared Waxbill
Blue Waxbill
Green-winged Pytilia
Bronze Mannikin
Red-backed Mannikin
Pin-tailed Whydah
Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah
Shaft-tailed Whydah
House Sparrow
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
African Pied Wagtail
Cape Wagtail
Yellow-throated Longclaw
Yellow-fronted Canary
Golden-breasted Bunting
For more info on Kruger National Park: SanParks