Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso lies within the Sahel and West African savanna belt, becoming progressively greener from the dry north to the more wooded south. Most of the landscape consists of open grassland, shrubland and savanna woodland, crossed by seasonal rivers. The southwest is the most varied region, with sandstone cliffs, waterfalls and denser vegetation around the Banfora Escarpment. Rainfall is strongly seasonal, with long dry periods and an increasingly arid climate toward the north.
Overview
Burkina Faso offers mainly Sahelian and Guinea savanna birding, with species such as Egyptian Plover, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Senegal Parrot, Violet Turaco and numerous bee-eaters, rollers and raptors. The southwest around Banfora is particularly diverse, combining cliffs, woodland, wetlands and savanna, while protected areas in the east form part of the important W-Arly-Pendjari ecosystem. Historically these regions offered excellent wildlife and birding alongside elephants and other large mammals. However, severe armed conflict and terrorism currently make much of Burkina Faso unsafe for conventional tourism, particularly northern and eastern areas. Birding infrastructure is limited, and access to several of the country's most important natural areas is presently highly restricted or impractical.
Top 10 target species
| Species | Annual frequency | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis | 80.4% | 65.9% | 89.6% | 84.6% | 78.8% | 87.8% | 91.1% | 86.0% | 81.6% | 69.2% | 70.6% | 77.4% | 82.6% |
| Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus | 69.2% | 60.8% | 62.9% | 72.5% | 61.3% | 75.5% | 81.1% | 78.4% | 69.1% | 63.2% | 67.2% | 63.5% | 75.4% |
| Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus | 64.9% | 57.4% | 62.5% | 46.5% | 51.6% | 75.6% | 74.8% | 73.5% | 68.0% | 66.4% | 69.4% | 61.3% | 71.4% |
| Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala | 54.7% | 61.0% | 62.0% | 48.1% | 46.9% | 63.2% | 48.9% | 48.3% | 59.1% | 48.6% | 60.5% | 46.7% | 63.1% |
| Western Plantain-eater Crinifer piscator | 54.2% | 47.1% | 52.2% | 47.5% | 51.2% | 69.5% | 63.5% | 59.2% | 51.2% | 56.4% | 49.7% | 37.1% | 66.1% |
| Yellow-crowned Gonolek Laniarius barbarus | 51.8% | 43.9% | 59.8% | 49.3% | 41.9% | 60.7% | 56.9% | 63.1% | 48.3% | 48.7% | 55.3% | 29.2% | 64.1% |
| Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus | 51.3% | 32.4% | 46.4% | 53.4% | 50.2% | 82.0% | 70.4% | 66.1% | 61.6% | 53.2% | 36.3% | 33.5% | 29.9% |
| Vinaceous Dove Streptopelia vinacea | 50.0% | 40.5% | 48.3% | 51.1% | 37.5% | 43.8% | 44.8% | 53.0% | 55.5% | 62.8% | 55.0% | 50.4% | 57.6% |
| Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina | 47.1% | 40.6% | 45.9% | 48.1% | 44.6% | 56.2% | 55.2% | 51.3% | 49.5% | 38.6% | 50.6% | 30.0% | 54.3% |
| Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura | 46.9% | 41.3% | 45.9% | 38.9% | 33.4% | 60.3% | 52.4% | 58.1% | 51.3% | 42.5% | 55.6% | 24.2% | 58.7% |