Ethiopia is home to an impressive number of species of birds that vary from residents, that stay all year around, to breeding birds, that spend a good part of the growing season in Ethiopia to raise their young, migrants who pass through Ethiopia with the seasons, to wintering birds who like to spend a good part of the winter in Ethiopia to escape colder conditions up north. While many species of birds are relatively common as they are part of the ecosystems of the state, it is always a thrill to stumble upon a rare bird or vagrant, that does not really form part of any the Ethiopia ecosystems. Maybe it got lost during its travels between its summer and winter residence or it was displaced by bad weather.

Among the species of the Check list of the birds of Ethiopia you can find waterfowl and wading birds, a large suite of song birds, raptors, game birds, swifts and nighthawks, etc., many of which occupy several ecosystems simultaneously, as they fly to and from forests, meadows, shorelines of waters, cities and and urban green spaces. At Birdlist, we have developed a coding system that can help you predict when you may expect a certain species, with a code for seasonality, such as resident, nesting, wintering, etc.

A code for abundance will give you a clue on the likelihood that you may actually see a certain species of bird. As we progressed with the coding, we realized that there should be a differentiation in the coding for “common”, such as less common, common and very common birds.The following are the endemic bird of Ethiopia: Blue-Winged Goose (Cyanochencyanopterus, Degodi Lark (Mirafragillettidegodiensis), AbyssinianLongclaw(Macronyxflavicollis), Ethiopian Siskin(Serinusnigriceps), Yellow-Throated Seedeater (Crithagraflavigula), Erlanger’s Lark(Calandrellaerlangeri), Abyssinian Catbird (Parophasmagalinieri),Stresemann’sBushcrow(Zavattariornisstresemanni),White-TailedSwallow (Hirundomegaensis), PrinceRaspoli’s Turaco (Tauracoruspolii).