


Top 20 Most Common Bird in Homa Bay
Situated in Western Kenya, Homa Bay is a hotspot for diverse bird species due to its lush vegetation, Lake Victoria shoreline, and the nearby Ruma National Park. Among the 20 most commonly observed birds, each boasts unique features, distinctive behaviors, or specialized adaptation to the environment. Whether it's the vibrant plumage of the African Fish Eagle, or the astounding 'dance' of the Grey Crowned Crane, a myriad of truly fascinating avian life awaits in Homa Bay.

Most Common Bird

1. Ring-necked Dove
Their body feathers are darkest on the upper side, where they are coloured in dull tones of grey and brown, with shades of lavender on the nape. It is paler below, where a tint of pinkish lavender is usually present. The lower belly and crissum (the undertail coverts surrounding the cloaca) is white. As with related species, they have white fringes and conspicuous white tips to the otherwise slate grey tail feathers. The tail pattern is particularly noticeable during the display flight. Individual plumage variation is high, with some light and others almost sooty. Males and females look alike, although the males are slightly bigger. They measure 25–26.5 cm (9.8–10.4 in) in length and weigh 92–188 g (3.2–6.6 oz). The eyes are almost black, the bill is black and the feet are dark purple. An immature is duller and lacks the semi-collar of an adult. It also has buff edges to all the upper part and wing covert feathers, while the plumage below is broadly edged greyish-white.


2. Common Bulbul
The bill is fairly short and thin, with a slightly downcurving upper mandible. The bill, legs, and feet are black and the eye is dark brown with a dark eye-ring, which is not readily visible. It is about 18 cm in length, with a long tail. It has a dark brown head and upperparts. Sexes are similar in plumage.


3. Speckled Mousebird
The speckled mousebird is about 35 cm (14 inches) long, with the tail comprising approximately half the length, and weighs about 57 grams (2 oz). It is well-named, because it is dull-mousy brown in overall color on the back and on the head (including a prominent crest). The bill is black on the upper part and is a pinkish color on the lower part. The rare white-headed mousebird can be confused with this species, but the differently colored mandibles and the lack of a bare grey orbital patch render the Speckled species distinctive. The speckled mousebird is not known for its voice, as songbirds are, although it is a noisy creature. They make a warbling tsu-tsu call while in flight, and are known for their tisk-tisk alarm call while in flight.


4. Hamerkop
Hamerkop is a medium-sized waterbird found in wetlands in Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar. It is known for its massive nests, which are usually built during the breeding season. During breeding, both parents feed the young and after 50 days of care, the chicks will grow up and leave the nest.

5. Village Weaver
The village weaver is a stocky 15–17 cm bird with a strong conical bill and dark reddish eyes. In the northern part of its range, the breeding male has a black head edged by chestnut (typically most distinct on the nape and chest). Towards the southern part of its range, the amount of black and chestnut diminish, and the breeding males of the southernmost subspecies only have a black face and throat, while the nape and crown are yellow. In all subspecies the breeding male has a black bill, black and yellow upperparts and wings, and yellow underparts. The non-breeding male has a yellow head with an olive crown, grey upperparts and whitish underparts. The wings remain yellow and black. The adult female has streaked olive upperparts, yellow and black wings, and pale yellow underparts. Young birds are like the female but browner on the back.


6. African Sacred Ibis
An adult individual is 68 cm (27 in) long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. Wingspan is 112 to 124 cm (44 to 49 in) and body weight 1.35 to 1.5 kg (3.0 to 3.3 lb). Males are generally slightly larger than females. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight. The eyes are brown with a dark red orbital ring. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have dirty white plumage, a smaller bill and some feathering on the neck, greenish-brown scapulars and more black on the primary coverts. This bird is usually silent, but occasionally makes puppy-like yelping noises, unlike its vocal relative, the hadada ibis.


7. Black Kite
Black Kite is a bird of prey known for its aerial skills and hunting ability. Its striking appearance makes it a fascinating species to observe, and it can often be seen soaring through the skies. Black Kite is highly adaptable and can be found in a variety of habitats, making it a common sight in many areas.


8. Black-headed Gonolek

9. Little Egret
The small size of the little Egret makes the bird easily recognizable among larger species that share the same range. The egret is seen almost anywhere there are small fish including marshes, estuaries, and rivers. The bird often searches for food by itself but prefers to build nests in communities, occasionally with other bird species.

10. African Thrush
The African Thrush has dark olive-grey upperparts. The underparts show a whitish evenly brown- streaked side throat, the breast is greyish brown and the flanks are pale buff-orange with this colour not extending on to the lower breast, the belly and vent are white. It has a yellow-orange bill. It weighs 46–78g and measures 21–23 cm in length.


11. Red-eyed Dove
The red-eyed dove is a largish, stocky pigeon, typically 30 cm (12 inches) in length. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown. When flying, it shows blackish flight feathers. The head and underparts are dark vinous-pink, shading to pale grey on the face. There is a black hind neck patch edged with white. The legs and a patch of bare skin around the eye are red. The call is a loud doo-doo-du-du. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers. Red-eyed doves eat grass seeds, grains and other vegetation. They often forage on the ground.


12. Pied Kingfisher
This is a medium-sized kingfisher, about 25 cm (9.8 in) long with a white with a black mask, a white supercilium and black breast bands. The crest is neat and the upperparts are barred in black. Several subspecies are recognized within the broad distribution. The nominate race is found in sub-Saharan Africa, extending into West Asia. The subspecies syriacus is a larger northern bird similar to the nominate subspecies (following Bergmann's rule). Subspecies leucomelanura is found from Afghanistan east into India, Thailand and Southeast Asia. The subspecies travancoreensis of the Western Ghats is darker with the white reduced. The subspecies C. r. insignis is found in Hainan and southeastern China and has a much larger bill. Males have a narrow second breast-band while females have a single broken breast band.


13. African Pied Wagtail
A striking black and white wagtail with black upperparts contrasting with white underparts, a white supercilium and a white patch in the folded wing. Juvenile birds are greyer, while birds of the nominate subspecies show grey flanks. They are 20 cm (7.9 in) long.


14. White-browed Robin-chat
The white-browed robin-chat is 19–20 cm (7.5–7.9 in) long and weighs 29–51 g (1.0–1.8 oz). The crown and face are black, and there is a white supercilium over the dark brown eye. The back is olive grey-brown, and the rump is rufous. The two central tail feathers are olive-brown, and the other feathers are orange-rufous. The flight feathers and wing coverts are grey-brown, and the underwing coverts are rufous. The underparts are bright orange-rufous. The beak is black, and the legs are pinkish brown, brownish grey or dark brown. The female is a little smaller than the male. The juvenile bird has a brown head and rufous-brown marks on its back. Its throat is pale, its breast is pale orange-buff, and its belly is pale orange.


15. Slate-colored Boubou

16. Slender-billed Weaver
The slender-billed weaver (Ploceus pelzelni) is a species of bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It is found in central and western Africa.


17. Red-billed Firefinch
The red-billed firefinch is 10 cm (3.9 in) in length. The adult male has entirely scarlet plumage apart from brown wings. The bill is pink, and there is a yellow eye-ring. Females have uniformly brown upperparts and buff underparts. There is a small red patch in front of both eyes, with the bill also being pink.


18. Speckled Pigeon
This is a large pigeon at 41 cm in length. Its back and wings are rufous, the latter heavily speckled with white spots. The rest of the upperparts and underparts are blue-grey, and the head is grey with red patches around the eye. The neck is brownish, streaked with white, and the legs are red. Sexes are similar, but immatures are browner than adults and lack the red eye patches. The call is a loud doo-doo-doo.


19. Red-chested Sunbird

20. Northern Fiscal
The northern fiscal (Lanius humeralis) is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal (Lanius collaris). Together they were called the common fiscal.
