Pemba Island Bird Checklist

Pemba Island Bird Checklist : The beautiful Pemba Island is a little brother of Unguja Island – the main island of Zanzibar, this island remains largely undiscovered by travelers and this is part of its appeal.

Pemba Island is a hidden paradise filled with forests, mangrove swamps, hidden beaches, lagoons and tidal sandbanks. The island’s pristine beauty has been preserved so well due to lack of awareness of the island.

Often known as Clove Island due to being the world’s main exporter of cloves (70% of all the world’s cloves are grown in Pemba) the island is also the center for ju ju traditions of medicine giving it an reputation as the world’s magic island.

Pemba Island is a great birding destination hosting 225 bird species including 4 endemic species and 3 introduced species.

Here is a list birds found on the beautiful Pemba Island.

 ANSERIFORMES: Anatidae

White-faced Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

White-backed Duck

African Pygmy-Goose

Blue-billed Teal

Yellow-billed Duck

GALLIFORMES: Numididae

Helmeted Guineafowl

GALLIFORMES: Phasianidae

Blue Quail

Common Quail

Harlequin Quail

PHOENICOPTERIFORMES: Phoenicopteridae

Greater Flamingo

PODICIPEDIFORMES: Podicipedidae

Little Grebe

COLUMBIFORMES: Columbidae

Rock Pigeon

Red-eyed Dove

Ring-necked Dove

Laughing Dove

Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove

Blue-spotted Wood-Dove

Tambourine Dove

Pemba Green-Pigeon

CUCULIFORMES: Cuculidae

White-browed Coucal

Green Malkoha

Levaillant’s Cuckoo

Dideric Cuckoo

Madagascar Cuckoo

CAPRIMULGIFORMES: Caprimulgidae

Square-tailed Nightjar

CAPRIMULGIFORMES: Apodidae

Mottled Spinetail

Bat-like Spinetail

Forbes-Watson’s Swift

Little Swift

White-rumped Swift

African Palm Swift

GRUIFORMES: Sarothruridae

Buff-spotted Flufftail

Red-chested Flufftail

GRUIFORMES: Rallidae

Lesser Moorhen

Eurasian Moorhen

Allen’s Gallinule

African Swamphen

Black Crake

CHARADRIIFORMES: Burhinidae

Water Thick-knee

CHARADRIIFORMES: Recurvirostridae

Black-winged Stilt

Pied Avocet

CHARADRIIFORMES: Haematopodidae

Eurasian Oystercatcher

CHARADRIIFORMES: Charadriidae

Black-bellied Plover

Common Ringed Plover

Spur-winged Lapwing

Senegal Lapwing

Tibetan Sand-Plover

Greater Sand-Plover

CHARADRIIFORMES: Rostratulidae

Greater Painted-Snipe

CHARADRIIFORMES: Jacanidae

African Jacana

CHARADRIIFORMES: Scolopacidae

Whimbrel

Eurasian Curlew

Bar-tailed Godwit

Great Snipe

Terek Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Spotted Redshank

Common Greenshank

Ruddy Turnstone

Curlew Sandpiper

Sanderling

Little Stint

CHARADRIIFORMES: Turnicidae

Small Buttonquail

CHARADRIIFORMES: Dromadidae

Crab-Plover

CHARADRIIFORMES: Stercorariidae

Pomarine Jaeger

CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae

Black-headed Gull

Gray-hooded Gull

Sooty Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Brown Noddy

Lesser Noddy

Sooty Tern

Little Tern

Saunders’s Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Caspian Tern

Common Tern

White-cheeked Tern

Black-naped Tern

Roseate Tern

Sandwich Tern

Lesser Crested Tern

Great Crested Tern

PHAETHONTIFORMES: Phaethontidae

White-tailed Tropicbird

PROCELLARIIFORMES: Procellariidae

Wedge-tailed Shearwater

Tropical Shearwater

CICONIIFORMES: Ciconiidae

African Openbill

African Woolly-necked Stork

White Stork

Yellow-billed Stork

SULIFORMES: Fregatidae

Great Frigatebird

SULIFORMES: Sulidae

Cape Gannet

Red-footed Booby

Masked Booby

SULIFORMES: Anhingidae

African Darter

SULIFORMES: Phalacrocoracidae

Long-tailed Cormorant

Great Cormorant

PELECANIFORMES: Ardeidae

Little Bittern

Black-crowned Night Heron

Black Heron

Little Egret

Western Reef-Heron

White-backed Night Heron

Striated Heron

Squacco Heron

Malagasy Pond-Heron

Western Cattle Egret

Great Egret

Yellow-billed Egret

Gray Heron

Purple Heron

Black-headed Heron

Goliath Heron

PELECANIFORMES: Threskiornithidae

African Sacred Ibis

Hadada Ibis

ACCIPITRIFORMES: Pandionidae

Osprey

ACCIPITRIFORMES: Accipitridae

Black-winged Kite

African Harrier-Hawk

Palm-nut Vulture

African Cuckoo-Hawk

White-headed Vulture

White-backed Vulture

Bateleur

Black-chested Snake-Eagle

Banded Snake-Eagle

Bat Hawk

Booted Eagle

Tawny Eagle

Steppe Eagle

Western Marsh Harrier

African Goshawk

Shikra

Black Goshawk

Black Kite

African Fish-Eagle

STRIGIFORMES: Tytonidae

Barn Owl

STRIGIFORMES: Strigidae

Pemba Scops-Owl

COLIIFORMES: Coliidae

Speckled Mousebird

BUCEROTIFORMES: Bucerotidae

Crowned Hornbill

CORACIIFORMES: Alcedinidae

Malachite Kingfisher

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Gray-headed Kingfisher

Mangrove Kingfisher

Striped Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

CORACIIFORMES: Meropidae

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Madagascar Bee-eater

CORACIIFORMES: Coraciidae

European Roller

Lilac-breasted Roller

Broad-billed Roller

PICIFORMES: Lybiidae

Green Tinkerbird

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

FALCONIFORMES: Falconidae

Dickinson’s Kestrel

Amur Falcon

Eurasian Hobby

African Hobby

Peregrine Falcon

PSITTACIFORMES: Psittacidae

Brown-headed Parrot

PASSERIFORMES: Oriolidae

Eurasian Golden Oriole

African Golden Oriole

PASSERIFORMES: Platysteiridae

Pale Batis

PASSERIFORMES: Dicruridae

Square-tailed Drongo

Fork-tailed Drongo

PASSERIFORMES: Monarchidae

African Paradise-Flycatcher

PASSERIFORMES: Laniidae

Red-backed Shrike

Long-tailed Fiscal

PASSERIFORMES: Corvidae

House Crow

Pied Crow

PASSERIFORMES: Cisticolidae

Green-backed Camaroptera

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Zitting Cisticola

PASSERIFORMES: Acrocephalidae

Eastern Olivaceous Warbler

Olive-tree Warbler

Common Reed Warbler

Lesser Swamp Warbler

PASSERIFORMES: Locustellidae

River Warbler

PASSERIFORMES: Hirundinidae

Mascarene Martin

Barn Swallow

Angola Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow

Western House-Martin

Lesser Striped Swallow

PASSERIFORMES: Pycnonotidae

Common Bulbul

PASSERIFORMES: Phylloscopidae

Willow Warbler

PASSERIFORMES: Zosteropidae

Pemba White-eye

PASSERIFORMES: Sturnidae

Violet-backed Starling

Black-bellied Starling

PASSERIFORMES: Muscicapidae

Spotted Flycatcher

African Gray Flycatcher

White-browed Robin-Chat

Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush

Northern Wheatear

PASSERIFORMES: Nectariniidae

Collared Sunbird

Olive Sunbird

Mouse-colored Sunbird

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Purple-banded Sunbird

Violet-breasted Sunbird

Pemba Sunbird

PASSERIFORMES: Ploceidae

African Golden-Weaver

Village Weaver

Forest Weaver

Red-headed Quelea

Zanzibar Red Bishop

Black-winged Bishop

Grosbeak Weaver

PASSERIFORMES: Estrildidae

Bronze Mannikin

Magpie Mannikin

Black-and-white Mannikin

Java Sparrow

Green-backed Twinspot

Crimson-rumped Waxbill

Zebra Waxbill

PASSERIFORMES: Viduidae

Pin-tailed Whydah

Parasitic Weaver

PASSERIFORMES: Passeridae

House Sparrow

Northern Gray-headed Sparrow

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow

PASSERIFORMES: Motacillidae

Western Yellow Wagtail

African Pied Wagtail

African Pipit