South Africa Ramsar wetland
Kosi Bay
291 bird species recorded; the most in July and in September.
Richard Jenkinson · CC BY-SA 2.0
This month here
178 species in January.173 species in February.141 species in March.158 species in April.135 species in May.122 species in June.216 species in July.167 species in August.230 species in September.196 species in October.178 species in November.204 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
291 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 291Speciesrecorded more than once
- 110Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 8,914Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 23Raptors
- 4Owls
- 27Waders
- 9Gulls & seabirds
- 8Ducks & geese
- 26Herons, ibises & grebes
- 3Storks & cranes
- 3Flamingos
- 123Songbirds
- 65Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 291 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors23 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African Fish EagleHaliaeetus vocifer
- Palm-nut VultureGypohierax angolensis
- Black-chested Snake EagleCircaetus pectoralis
- Yellow-billed KiteMilvus aegyptius
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Long-crested EagleLophaetus occipitalis
- African Harrier-hawkPolyboroides typus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- African GoshawkAccipiter tachiro
- Brown Snake EagleCircaetus cinereus
- Crowned EagleStephanoaetus coronatusNT
- Southern Banded Snake EagleCircaetus fasciolatusNT
- African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorus
- Lizard BuzzardKaupifalco monogrammicus
- Black SparrowhawkAccipiter melanoleucus
- Amur FalconFalco amurensis
- Wahlberg's EagleHieraaetus wahlbergi
- Martial eaglePolemaetus bellicosus
- Little SparrowhawkAccipiter minullus
- African Cuckoo HawkAviceda cuculoides
- Forest BuzzardButeo trizonatusNT
- Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
- White-backed VultureGyps africanusCR
Owls4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Wood OwlStrix woodfordii
- Western Barn OwlTyto alba
- Spotted Eagle-OwlBubo africanus
- Pel's Fishing-owlScotopelia peli
Waders27 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African JacanaActophilornis africanus
- African Wattled LapwingVanellus senegallus
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- White-fronted PloverCharadrius marginatus
- Water DikkopBurhinus vermiculatus
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Three-banded PloverCharadrius tricollaris
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Kittlitz's PloverCharadrius pecuarius
- Cape Thick-kneeBurhinus capensis
- Lesser JacanaMicroparra capensis
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Crowned lapwingVanellus coronatus
- Lesser Black-winged PloverVanellus lugubris
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
- Blacksmith LapwingVanellus armatus
- Little StintCalidris minuta
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
- Temminck's CourserCursorius temminckii
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
Gulls & seabirds9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
- Grey-headed GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalus
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Cape GannetMorus capensis
- Little TernSternula albifrons
- Great Crested-TernThalasseus bergii
- Southern Black-backed GullLarus dominicanus
Ducks & geese8 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-billed DuckAnas undulata
- White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
- Pygmy GooseNettapus auritus
- Spur-winged GoosePlectropterus gambensis
- Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
- White-backed DuckThalassornis leuconotus
- Red-billed TealAnas erythrorhyncha
- Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
Herons, ibises & grebes26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- HadadaBostrychia hagedash
- Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- White-breasted CormorantPhalacrocorax lucidus
- DarterAnhinga rufa
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Striated HeronButorides striata
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Goliath HeronArdea goliath
- Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- HamerkopScopus umbretta
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
- Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
- Rufous-bellied HeronArdeola rufiventris
- Pink-backed PelicanPelecanus rufescens
- Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
- Cape CormorantPhalacrocorax capensis
- African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- White-backed Night HeronGorsachius leuconotus
Storks & cranes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
- Asian WoollyneckCiconia episcopusNT
- African Woolly-necked StorkCiconia microscelis
Flamingos3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Caribbean FlamingoPhoenicopterus ruber
- Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
- Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorNT
Songbirds123 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Sombre GreenbulAndropadus importunus
- Southern PuffbackDryoscopus cubla
- Red-capped RobinCossypha natalensis
- Olive SunbirdCyanomitra olivacea
- Green-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brachyura
- Dark-capped BulbulPycnonotus tricolor
- Common FiscalLanius collaris
- Black-bellied StarlingNotopholia corrusca
- Yellow-bellied GreenbulChlorocichla flaviventris
- Southern BoubouLaniarius ferrugineus
- Square-tailed DrongoDicrurus ludwigii
- Dark-backed WeaverPloceus bicolor
- Erythropygia signataErythropygia signata
- Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
- Collared SunbirdHedydipna collaris
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Pied CrowCorvus albus
- Spectacled WeaverPloceus ocularis
- Yellow-throated LongclawMacronyx croceus
- Purple-banded SunbirdCinnyris bifasciatus
- Terrestrial BrownbulPhyllastrephus terrestris
- Black-crowned TchagraTchagra senegalus
- Tawny-flanked PriniaPrinia subflava
- Perrin's Bush-shrikeTelophorus viridis
- Scarlet-chested SunbirdChalcomitra senegalensis
- African Crested-FlycatcherTrochocercus cyanomelas
- Motacilla aguimpMotacilla aguimp
- Eastern NicatorNicator gularis
- Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilis
- Piping CisticolaCisticola fulvicapilla
- Kurrichane ThrushTurdus libonyana
- Yellow-breasted ApalisApalis flavida
- African Paradise-FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis
- Bronze MannikinLonchura cucullata
- Red-shouldered WhydahEuplectes axillaris
- Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinica
- African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
- Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta
- Violet-backed StarlingCinnyricinclus leucogaster
- Croaking CisticolaCisticola natalensis
- Rattling CisticolaCisticola chiniana
- Cape White-eyeZosterops virens
- Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
- Woodwards' BatisBatis fratrum
- Grey-rumped SwallowPseudhirundo griseopyga
- Black-throated Wattle-eyePlatysteira peltata
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Pale FlycatcherBradornis pallidus
- Eastern Golden WeaverPloceus subaureus
- Orange-breasted BushshrikeChlorophoneus sulfureopectus
- Grey SunbirdCyanomitra veroxii
- Cape SparrowPasser diffusus
- Chinspot BatisBatis molitor
- Mirafra africanaMirafra africana
- Cape CrombecSylvietta rufescens
- Southern Black-FlycatcherMelaenornis pammelaina
- African PipitAnthus cinnamomeus
- Rudd's ApalisApalis ruddi
- Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
- Rufous-winged CisticolaCisticola galactotes
- Red-breasted SwallowCecropis semirufa
- Black Rough-winged Swallow or Black Saw-wingPsalidoprocne pristoptera
- Grosbeak WeaverAmblyospiza albifrons
- Southern Yellow White-eyeZosterops anderssoni
- Ashy FlycatcherMuscicapa caerulescens
- Black-tailed Grey WaxbillEstrilda perreini
- Black TitParus niger
- Village WeaverPloceus cucullatus
- African Bush-WarblerBradypterus baboecala
- Black-headed OrioleOriolus larvatus
- Erythropygia leucophrysErythropygia leucophrys
- Erythropygia quadrivirgataErythropygia quadrivirgata
- Olive BushshrikeChlorophoneus olivaceus
- Yellow-fronted CanaryCrithagra mozambica
- Black Cuckoo-shrikeCampephaga flava
- Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis
- Wire-tailed SwallowHirundo smithii
- White-bellied SunbirdCinnyris talatala
- Yellow-throated Bush SparrowGymnoris superciliaris
- Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
- Cape StarlingLamprotornis nitens
- White-crested HelmetshrikePrionops plumatus
- Lead-coloured FlycatcherMyioparus plumbeus
- Black-and-white MuniaLonchura bicolor
- Lesser Swamp WarblerAcrocephalus gracilirostris
- Amethyst SunbirdChalcomitra amethystina
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Southern Brown-throated WeaverPloceus xanthopterus
- Brimstone CanaryCrithagra sulphurata
- Fiscal FlycatcherSigelus silens
- Brown FirefinchLagonosticta nitidula
- Pin-tailed WhydahVidua macroura
- Brown-crowned TchagraTchagra australis
- Grey Penduline TitAnthoscopus caroli
- Red-billed OxpeckerBuphagus erythrorhynchus
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
- Starred RobinPogonocichla stellata
- Red-faced CisticolaCisticola erythrops
- Retz's HelmetshrikePrionops retzii
- Southern Masked WeaverPloceus velatus
- Banded MartinRiparia cincta
- African Sand MartinRiparia paludicola
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
- Grey-headed BushshrikeMalaconotus blanchoti
- Plain-backed PipitAnthus leucophrys
- White-throated Robin-ChatCossypha humeralis
- Pink-throated TwinspotHypargos margaritatus
- Red-billed FirefinchLagonosticta senegala
- Marico SunbirdCinnyris mariquensis
- African BroadbillSmithornis capensis
- Village IndigobirdVidua chalybeata
- Yellow-streaked BulbulPhyllastrephus flavostriatus
- Grey CuckooshrikeCoracina caesia
- Striped PipitAnthus lineiventris
- Golden-breasted BuntingEmberiza flaviventris
- Stierling's Wren-WarblerCalamonastes stierlingi
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Green-backed TwinspotMandingoa nitidula
- Neergaard's SunbirdCinnyris neergaardiNT
- Familiar ChatOenanthe familiaris
- Pale-crowned CisticolaCisticola cinnamomeus
- Sabota LarkCalendulauda sabota
Other birds65 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Trumpeter HornbillBycanistes bucinator
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- Yellow-rumped TinkerbirdPogoniulus bilineatus
- Livingstone's TuracoTauraco livingstonii
- Brown-headed KingfisherHalcyon albiventris
- Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
- Emerald-spotted DoveTurtur chalcospilos
- White-browed CoucalCentropus superciliosus
- Crowned HornbillLophoceros alboterminatus
- Black-collared BarbetLybius torquatus
- White-eared BarbetStactolaema leucotis
- Giant KingfisherMegaceryle maxima
- Speckled MousebirdColius striatus
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
- Golden-tailed WoodpeckerCampethera abingoni
- African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
- Tambourine DoveTurtur tympanistria
- Fiery-necked NightjarCaprimulgus pectoralis
- Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitarius
- Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
- Black CrakeAmaurornis flavirostra
- Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
- African Green-pigeonTreron calvus
- Purple-crested TuracoTauraco porphyreolophus
- Narina TrogonApaloderma narina
- Klaas's CuckooChrysococcyx klaas
- African HoopoeUpupa africana
- Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
- Shelley's FrancolinScleroptila shelleyi
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterMerops persicus
- Lemon DoveColumba larvata
- Red-fronted TinkerbirdPogoniulus pusillus
- Ortygornis sephaenaOrtygornis sephaena
- Eastern Crested GuineafowlGuttera pucherani
- Broad-billed RollerEurystomus glaucurus
- Green WoodhoopoePhoeniculus purpureus
- Lesser HoneyguideIndicator minor
- Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens
- Red-faced MousebirdUrocolius indicus
- Diederik CuckooChrysococcyx caprius
- Scaly-throated HoneyguideIndicator variegatus
- Campocolinus coquiCampocolinus coqui
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
- Striped KingfisherHalcyon chelicuti
- Helmeted GuineafowlNumida meleagris
- Half-collared KingfisherAlcedo semitorquata
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- Natal NightjarCaprimulgus natalensis
- Greater HoneyguideIndicator indicator
- Blue MalkohaCeuthmochares aereus
- Whistling YellowbillCeuthmochares australis
- Natal FrancolinPternistis natalensis
- Black-bellied KorhaanLissotis melanogaster
- African Pygmy KingfisherIspidina picta
- African FinfootPodica senegalensis
- European RollerCoracias garrulus
- Square-tailed NightjarCaprimulgus fossii
- Mangrove KingfisherHalcyon senegaloides
- Lilac-breasted RollerCoracias caudatus
- Little SwiftApus affinis
- Brown-headed ParrotPoicephalus cryptoxanthus
- Red-chested FlufftailSarothrura rufa
- African SwiftApus barbatus
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in July and in September.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan26°/25°155 mm
- Feb27°/26°107 mm
- Mar26°/26°111 mm
- Apr26°/24°73 mm
- May24°/23°27 mm
- Jun23°/21°22 mm
- Jul22°/21°20 mm
- Aug22°/21°20 mm
- Sep22°/21°38 mm
- Oct23°/22°59 mm
- Nov24°/23°116 mm
- Dec25°/24°142 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Kosi Bay.
Series of four interlinked lakes in the Maputaland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Kosi Bay is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in South Africa.
291 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 8,914 open records.
The most recorded are the Sombre Greenbul, the Trumpeter Hornbill and the Southern Puffback.
54 species come for the summer, 55 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
3 are threatened worldwide, including Curlew Sandpiper, Grey Plover and White-backed Vulture.
The most species are recorded in July and in September.
Get there and watch
- Kosi Bay Campsitecampsite · 4.6 km · 4 within 10 km
- Kosi Bay Chaletsplace to stay · 4.7 km · 7 within 10 km
- Manguzinearest town · 8.2 km in a straight line
- Mkuze Airport (MZQ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 105 km in a straight lineCar hire at MPM airport (Maputo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 4campsites within 10 kmKosi Bay Campsite, Campsite 14, Lake View Bush Camp and 1 more
- 7places to stay within 10 kmKosi Bay Chalets, Kosi Moon Bed & Breakfast, Kosi Bay Lodge and 4 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Kosi Bay.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas2 mountains within 25 kmNtabankulu · 18 kmMhlongonde · 22 km
Lakeyas3 lakes within 15 kmKosimeer30 km² · 2.0 kmAManzamnyama1.3 km² · 3.4 kmKuShengeza1.3 km² · 6.4 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Kosi Bay
South Africa
- 75Birdyas Score
- 291Species
- 110Migrants
- 3Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q3633055) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 8,914 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit