14 COMMON Birds Found in the Congo! (2025)
Are you trying to identify a bird found in the Congo?
Some of the wildest and most colorful birds you could imagine are found here. From gigantic, flightless birds to colorful showstoppers, there’s something to catch everyone’s attention!
Due to the sheer number of species, there was no way to include every bird in the Congo in this article. So instead, I tried to focus on the birds that are most regularly seen and observed.
14 COMMON types of birds in the Congo!
#1. African Fish Eagle
- Haliaeetus vocifer
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 63–75 cm (25–29.5 in) long with a wingspan of 2.0-2.4 m (6.6-7.9 ft).
- Their brown bodies contrast with black wings and a white face, chest, and legs. Their beaks and feet are bright yellow.
- This species’ long talons are barbed to aid in picking up fish.
As the most popular bird in the Congo, this species is featured on flags of countries across the continent.
The African Fish Eagle symbolizes hope and freedom and is also known as the Screaming Eagle or the African Sea Eagle.
In addition to fish, they eat large birds, frogs, baby crocodiles, and carrion. They’re even known to eat monkeys! Typically, they perch on a branch, then dive down in a graceful swoop to grab their dinner. Additionally, they love to steal prey from other birds for an easy meal on the go.
The African Fish Eagle’s resoundingly clear call is sometimes known as The Spirit of Africa.
This remarkable bird is a habitat generalist, meaning it can live in most climates. Its only true requirement is a large body of water, like a lake or the ocean. So, other than the desert, you can expect to see this bird no matter where you are in the Congo!
#2. African Paradise Flycatcher
- Terpsiphone viridis
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are about 17 cm (6.7 in) long, but their tail streamers can double this length.
- The coloring is typically black across the head, neck, and body, with chestnut wings and tail feathers. However, coloring is variable across subspecies. Its legs, beak, and rings around the eyes are blue.
- In the light morph, the chestnut coloring is replaced with white.
The African Paradise Flycatcher confuses birders in the Congo because its coloring is highly variable. Although the wings and tail feathers usually contrast with the head and body, everything else about these birds’ coloring depends on their location and environment.
Look for this species in dense, moist forests, bushlands, and plantations. It can even be seen in gardens or catching pest insects in orchards. When eating, they flutter their tail and use wing downbeats to hover in place. Their main food source is insects and spiders from the undersides of leaves.
The call of the African Paradise Flycatcher is as varied as its coloring but generally sounds like a shrill, loud “ahh-ahh.”
#3. Common Hoopoe
- Upupa epops
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 25–32 cm (9.8–12.6 in) long with a wingspan of 44–48 cm (17–19 in).
- Its coloring is cinnamon-brown on the head and body, with black and white barred wings.
- The head is adorned with a crest of brown feathers tipped in black.
Look for the Common Hoopoe in rural gardens, cities, plantations, savannas, and grasslands. They often spend time near piles of rotting leaves or a fallen log where insects, grubs, and worms will use it as a habitat. It’s like a buffet for the Hoopoe!
This unusual-looking bird has a variety of defensive tactics. Its movable crest is used for advertising and intimidating potential predators and rival Hoopoes. If that doesn’t work, this species is ready for a fight! They use their strong head and neck muscles to gouge their long, pointed beaks into opponents’ eyes, which can blind them.
In addition to their fighting skill and intimidating looks, they produce a substance that smells of rotting meat. They cover themselves and their eggs with the substance to warn away predators. Nestlings even have their own scent gland that makes them unappetizing to predators.
#4. Great Blue Turaco
- Corythaeola cristata
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 70–76 cm (28–30 in) tall.
- Their bodies, wings, and tail feathers are gray-blue. They have a mohawk-like crest that is deeper blue, and their chests are moss green, with deep red plumage on the legs.
- Their bulky, curved beaks are bright yellow with a red tip.
The Great Blue Turaco is sometimes called the “Blue Plantain-Eater” due to its affinity for the starchy fruit. Look for this bird in the Congo where trees grow close together, like woodlands and plantations.
This species often acts more like a flying squirrel than a bird! Since the Great Blue Turaco is not a great flier, it climbs trees and soars from high points to lower branches in nearby trees, only to climb up once again and soar to the next.
They can move about this way thanks to their unusual feet that clasp branches very well and allow them to navigate within trees like a monkey. They only come down to the ground to drink or take a dunk in a nearby body of water.
These highly social birds usually live in groups of up to 20, cohabitating without territorial disputes. During breeding, the males compete for females by showing off their crests.
#5. Hadada Ibis
- Bostrychia hagedash
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are about 76 cm (30 in) long.
- They are grey overall, with a wash of iridescent green and purple on the wings. The top of the beak and feet are red during the breeding season.
- The beak is long and slightly curved; aside from that, this species has a shape similar to a duck.
Despite its large and relatively round shape, the Hadada Ibis spends much of its time in trees! This species roosts and nests in branches, which can be particularly dangerous for their young. Nestlings frequently fall to their death because the platform is built in a high fork of a tree, and it is flat, with no protective lip to keep the young inside.
Although it’s comfortable in trees, the Hadada Ibis forages for food on the ground. They feed on multitudes of insects and larvae, which is a boon to those who work outside.
For example, gardeners appreciate their visits since they eat snails and don’t damage the plants. Greenskeepers like them too, because they remove moth and beetle larvae that eat the roots of grasses. They also dig up earthworms with their long curved beak.
Its name derives from the sound of its loud call.
#6. Hamerkop
- Scopus umbretta
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults stand about 56 cm (22 in) tall.
- Brown all over, with a dark brown to black bill and legs.
- This waterbird has an unusual crest, making its head appear elongated toward the back.
You might have seen pictures of the Hamerkop on its favorite perch – the back of a hippopotamus! This water bird likes to hunt from these living platforms, and the hippos don’t seem to mind.
An easy way to identify this bird in the Congo is to look for its incredible nest. They build a huge nest (up to two meters tall) in a tree fork, with only a tiny side entrance. The same nest can be used for up to four years unless it is disturbed in some way, which happens more often than you might think.
They’re also rather noisy, cackling and yapping while they hunt and socialize.
#7. Little Bee-Eater
- Merops pusillus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 15–17 cm (6-7 in.) long.
- They have a green back, a bright yellow throat, and a black collar. Their bellies are a deeper brownish-yellow.
- This species is slender and upright, with a pointed black beak.
Little Bee-eaters are the smallest species of African bee-eater. These birds are quite tame and friendly. They make practically no sound except for a quietly trilled “s-s-e-e-e-p.”
As their name implies, these little birds subsist on hornets, wasps, and bees. But, they’ve found an efficient way to avoid being stung by their favorite foods. Before they eat them, they smash their prey’s stinger into a hard surface several times to extract it.
Look for groups of Little Bee-eaters lined up, roosting communally on a branch. These tight-knit communities spend time together year-round. For example, a non-breeding pair will help feed chicks and even sit on the eggs to help out. Some nesters can have as many as five helpers raising the nestlings.
#8. Marabou Stork
- Leptoptilos crumenifer
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults reach heights of 152 cm (5 feet) and have a wingspan of 3.7 m (12 ft).
- Its back and wings are black, with a white underside and bald, pinkish-white head and neck.
- This species is very large, with a pelican-like shape, huge bill, and long legs.
The Marabou Stork is the largest carrion bird in the Congo!
This gigantic species stands taller than some adult humans and has an incredibly large wingspan.
Look for these birds, also called “Undertaker Birds”, circling above carcasses or garbage dumps. They fly with their neck retracted but keep their feet out, using them as a steering rudder. They occasionally take live prey, including flamingo chicks and crocodile hatchlings.
#9. Pied Crow
- Corvus albus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 46-52 cm (18-20 in) long.
- Their coloring is completely black, except for the stark white “vest” between their wings and across their chest.
If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between a crow and a raven, studying the Pied Crow is a good way to learn! This bird in the Congo is considered a “link” between the two related families. It has the larger bill and long legs of a raven, as well as wider wings and a longer tail. However, its beak is small and straight like a crow’s, and it also has the typical “caw” call.
Pied Crows are often found near humans, but they don’t interact with people very much. They seem to like villages and towns, probably because of the abundance of food due to human refuse.
They are social and may congregate near an abundance of food but are generally found in pairs or small groups. Pied Crows eat reptiles and mammals, nestlings and eggs, insects and invertebrates, peanuts, grains, carrion, and human trash. If there is a slaughterhouse in the vicinity, you’ll almost certainly find them there, too.
#10. Pied Kingfisher
- Ceryle rudis
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults grow to 25 cm (10 in) long.
- Their coloring is white, with small black spots on the face, head, wings, tail, and shoulders.
- This species has an extremely long and sharp beak.
Pied Kingfishers are the largest hovering bird in the Congo.
They often hover over a body of water, hunting until they spot a likely victim. Then, they drop vertically into the water, grab their prey, and leap out again. In addition, they often eat small prey in flight, allowing them to hunt small insects continuously without the need to return to shore.
Compared with other kingfishers, this species is gregarious and friendly. They often roost together in large groups at night. Pied Kingfishers are nearly always found close to large bodies of water.
#11. Pin-Tailed Whydah
- Vidua macroura
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 12–13 cm (4-5 in) long, but males have exceptionally long tails – up to 20 cm (8 in)!
- Males are black on the back, head, and wings, with a white belly and throat.
- Females are light brown with black streaks.
- Both sexes have a short, conical, red-orange beak.
Look for Pin-tailed Whydahs in grassland habitats. It’s a common bird in the Congo south of the Sahara.
This species is considered a brood parasite, meaning the female lays her eggs in the nest of other species. Then, once the eggs hatch, the mother takes care of the Pin-tailed Whydah hatchlings along with her own.
Unlike some other brood parasites, the Pin-Tailed Whydah doesn’t destroy the host bird’s eggs, which means other species can still thrive alongside it.
#12. Village Weaver
- Ploceus cucullatus
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 15–17 cm (6-7 in) long.
- Males have a black face with a bright red eye, a bright yellow chest, a brown cowl down the back of the head, and splotchy black and yellow wings.
- Females are largely yellow (including the head), with pale olive stripes on the upper parts and buff-yellow chest and underparts.
The Village Weaver has some of the most interesting nesting habits of any bird in the Congo.
For one, the nests themselves look like Christmas ornaments! They’re woven balls of grass and feathers that hang from the branches of trees. Additionally, male Village Weavers build the nests alone and defend them to attract a mate. Think of this as showing off your big, new house to your date!
Once a female chooses a nest (and a mate), she fills it with bedding and lays her eggs. Then, the male finds another mate and begins the process again! Despite having up to five broods at a time, the male Village Weaver contributes to the feeding and care of all his hatchlings.
These communal birds can be quite noisy, as they spend most of their time in their nests calling to one another.
#13. White-Throated Bee Eater
- Merops albicollis
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults are 19–21 cm (7.5-8.5 in) long, with males gaining an additional 12 cm (5 in) from their tail streamers.
- Look for this species’ white throat and white eyebrow on either side of its black eye stripe to differentiate it from other Bee Eaters.
- Their coloring is bright green to white on the belly with a pale blue rump, a black collar underlined in turquoise, and bright yellow-orange on the back of the head.
White-throated Bee Eaters congregate in large groups, which protects them from predators. They also raise their young communally, sharing the duties of protecting nests and bringing food to nestlings.
Like others of their family, White-throated Bee Eaters eat hornets, wasps, and bees, catching them in mid-flight by leaping from a low perch. Before they eat them, however, they remove their prey’s stinger by jamming it into a hard surface several times to extract it. That’s a straightforward way to make sure your meal is safe to eat!
This species has a dry, high-pitched, rattling call.
#14. Woodland Kingfisher
- Halcyon senegalensis
Identifying Characteristics:
- Adults grow to 23 cm (9.1 in) long.
- Its wings and back are electric blue, with black patches on the wings and a white chest and neck.
- This species’ beak is large for its body, brilliant orange on top and black below.
The really interesting thing about kingfishers is you can instantly tell whether they live on fish or insects by the color of their beaks! As with the Woodland Kingfisher, orange beaks indicate an insect diet, and other colors like black or blue mean a fish-heavy diet.
Woodland Kingfishers are unusual because they can mimic other birds with the way they stand. When they squat and puff out their feathers, they tend to look like a sparrow, and if they stand taller, they are more like a robin. Females stand up tall more often to advertise to a potential mate. They also spread their wings wide to appear as large and colorful as possible.
The sound of their song is usually one sharp note, a pause, then about 20 trills of a descending note.
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Which of these birds in the Congo have you seen before?
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