List of birds of Chad
This is a shorter, easy-to-understand version of the list of birds recorded in Chad. Chad has about 603 bird species, including some accidental (rare) visitors. The names and order follow the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition. Accidental species are included in the total count.
Order: Struthioniformes — Family: Struthionidae
- Ostrich: A large, flightless African bird known for its long neck and legs and very fast running.
Order: Anseriformes — Family: Anatidae
- Ducks, geese, and swans: Water-loving birds with webbed feet and flat bills, good at shedding water.
Order: Galliformes — Family: Numididae
- Guineafowl: African, seed-eating birds that nest on the ground and have featherless heads with spotted grey plumage.
Order: Galliformes — Family: Odontophoridae
- New World quails: Small, plump ground birds (not closely related to Old World quails).
Order: Galliformes — Family: Phasianidae
- Pheasants and their allies: Ground-dwelling, often plump birds with short wings.
Order: Phoenicopteriformes — Family: Phoenicopteridae
- Flamingos: Tall, social waders that feed by filtering mud and water; have unique upside-down feeding beaks.
Order: Podicipediformes — Family: Podicipedidae
- Grebes: Freshwater divers with lobed feet; excellent swimmers and divers.
Order: Columbiformes — Family: Columbidae
- Pigeons and doves: Stout-bodied birds with short necks and short bills.
Order: Pterocliformes — Family: Pteroclidae
- Sandgrouse: Pigeon-like heads with sturdy bodies; long wings and fast flight; bird flocks fly to water holes.
Order: Otidiformes — Family: Otididae
- Bustards: Large ground-dwelling birds in dry open habitats; walk well on strong legs.
Order: Musophagiformes — Family: Musophagidae
- Turacos, plantain eaters, go-away-birds: Arboreal, often brightly colored birds; go-away birds are grey and white.
Order: Cuculiformes — Family: Cuculidae
- Cuckoos, roadrunners, anis: Slim birds with long tails and strong legs; varied in size.
Order: Caprimulgiformes — Family: Caprimulgidae
- Nightjars: Nocturnal birds with camouflaged plumage and long wings.
Order: Caprimulgiformes — Family: Apodidae
- Swifts: Very aerial birds; spend most of their lives flying and rarely land.
Order: Gruiformes — Family: Rallidae
- Rails, crakes, coots, gallinules: Secretive birds of dense vegetation near water.
Order: Gruiformes — Family: Heliornithidae
- Finfoots: Water-loving birds with lobed feet.
Order: Gruiformes — Family: Gruidae
- Cranes: Large, long-legged birds with long necks; famous for dancing displays.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Burhinidae
- Thick-knees: Medium-to-large waders, often in arid or semi-arid habitats; cryptic plumage.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Pluvianidae
- Egyptian plover: A wader found across equatorial Africa and along the Nile.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Recurvirostridae
- Avocets and stilts: Wading birds with long legs and distinctive bills (up-curved in avocets, straight in stilts).
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Charadriidae
- Plovers, dotterels, and lapwings: Small to medium birds in open country, usually near water.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Rostratulidae
- Painted-snipes: Short-legged, long-billed waders with bright colours.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Jacanidae
- Jacanas: Waders with huge feet for walking on floating vegetation.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Scolopacidae
- Sandpipers, curlews, godwits, shanks, tattlers, woodcocks, snipes, phalaropes: Shorebirds that eat invertebrates in mud or soil.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Turnicidae
- Buttonquails: Small, drab running birds; females are usually brighter; males incubate eggs.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Glareolidae
- Pratincoles and coursers: Wading birds with long wings; some have short legs and long tails.
Order: Charadriiformes — Family: Laridae
- Gulls, terns, and skimmers: Medium-to-large seabirds; various feeding habits; terns dive for fish.
Order: Ciconiiformes — Family: Ciconiidae
- Storks: Large wading birds with long legs and necks; many migrate and nests can be reused for years.
Order: Suliformes — Family: Anhingidae
- Darters (snake-birds): Long necks; swim with bodies submerged; wings spread to dry.
Order: Suliformes — Family: Phalacrocoracidae
- Cormorants and shags: Fish-eating seabirds; often dark plumage; spread wings to dry after diving.
Order: Pelecaniformes — Family: Pelecanidae
- Pelicans: Large water birds with a distinctive throat pouch.
Order: Pelecaniformes — Family: Scopidae
- Hammerkop: Brown bird with a shaggy crest.
Order: Pelecaniformes — Family: Ardeidae
- Herons and egrets: Long-necked waders; fly with necks retracted.
Order: Pelecaniformes — Family: Threskiornithidae
- Ibises and spoonbills: Long, broad wings; strong fliers.
Order: Accipitriformes — Family: Sagittariidae
- Secretarybird: Tall, crane-like-legged raptor with a distinctive look.
Order: Accipitriformes — Family: Pandionidae
- Osprey: Fish-eating raptor found worldwide.
Order: Accipitriformes — Family: Accipitridae
- Hawks, eagles, kites, vultures: Powerful raptors with hooked beaks and keen eyesight.
Order: Strigiformes — Family: Tytonidae
- Barn-owls: Medium to large owls with heart-shaped facial disks.
Order: Strigiformes — Family: Strigidae
- Typical owls: Nocturnal birds of prey with forward-facing eyes and facial disks.
Order: Coliiformes — Family: Coliidae
- Mousebirds: Slim, arboreal birds with long tails and soft, hair-like feathers; can feed upside down.
Order: Trogoniformes — Family: Trogonidae
- Trogons and quetzals: Colorful tropical woodland birds; broad bills; soft plumage; modest flight.
Order: Bucerotiformes — Family: Upupidae
- Hoopoes: Black, white, and pinkish-orange birds with a long crest.
Order: Bucerotiformes — Family: Phoeniculidae
- Woodhoopoes: Metallic blue-green colors; probing bills; no crested head.
Order: Bucerotiformes — Family: Bucorvidae
- Ground-hornbills: Terrestrial birds feeding on insects, other animals, and small prey.
Order: Bucerotiformes — Family: Bucerotidae
- Hornbills: Birds with a distinctive curved horn-like bill; sometimes with a casque.
Order: Coraciiformes — Family: Alcedinidae
- Kingfishers: Medium birds with large heads and long bills; small legs.
Order: Coraciiformes — Family: Meropidae
- Bee-eaters: Brightly colored insect eaters with slender bodies and long central tail feathers.
Order: Coraciiformes — Family: Coraciidae
- Rollers: Colorful birds related to kingfishers and bee-eaters; agile fliers.
Order: Piciformes — Family: Lybiidae
- African barbets: Plump, colorful, bristly-billed feeders.
Order: Piciformes — Family: Indicatoridae
- Honeyguides: Some species feed on wax and lead hunters to beehives.
Order: Piciformes — Family: Picidae
- Woodpeckers: Chisel-beaked birds that forage on tree trunks.
Order: Falconiformes — Family: Falconidae
- Falcons: Daytime predators that kill with beaks and have keen eyesight.
Order: Psittaciformes — Family: Psittaculidae
- Old World parrots: Colorful, curved-beaked parrots with strong legs.
Order: Psittaciformes — Family: Psittacidae
- New World parrots: Parrots with curved beaks and zygodactyl feet (four-toed arrangement).
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Campephagidae
- Cuckooshrikes: Small to medium passerines, often grey with white and black.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Oriolidae
- Old World orioles: Colorful, insect-eating passerines.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Platysteiridae
- Wattle-eyes (puffbacks): Small, stout birds with bright eye decorations.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Vangidae
- Helmetshrikes: Colorful shrike-like birds with crests or wattles.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Malaconotidae
- Bushshrikes: Shrike-like insect hunters; often colorful or dark and secretive.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Dicruridae
- Drongos: Often dark and glossy; long tails; agile fliers and opportunistic feeders.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Monarchidae
- Monarch flycatchers: Small to medium insect eaters that catch prey in flight.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Laniidae
- Shrikes: Perch hunters that impale prey on thorns.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Corvidae
- Crows, ravens, jays, and relatives: Large, intelligent passerines.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Hyliotidae
- Hyliotas: Forest canopy birds often feeding in mixed flocks.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Stenostiridae
- Sradast birds: Small African-related flycatchers (not closely related to true flycatchers).
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Paridae
- Tits: Small woodland birds with short stout bills.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Remizidae
- Penduline-tits: Small insectivores that build elaborate nests.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Alaudidae
- Larks: Ground-dwelling songbirds with varied plumage and often elaborate songs.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Macrosphenidae
- African warblers: Insectivorous birds from a range of habitats south of the Sahara.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Cisticolidae
- Cisticolas: Small warblers of open country; many species in Chad (about 20 recorded).
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Acrocephalidae
- Reed and bush warblers: Often larger warblers living in woodlands, reedbeds, or tall grass.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Locustellidae
- Locustellid warblers: Small insectivores with long, pointed tails.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Hirundinidae
- Swallows and martins: Aerial insect-eaters with slender bodies and long wings; excellent fliers.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Pycnonotidae
- Bulbuls: Medium songbirds; many are olive-brown to black, some with bright features.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Phylloscopidae
- Leaf warblers: Small greenish warblers; insectivorous.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Sylviidae
- Sylviid warblers: Small, often plain-looking insectivores with distinctive songs.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Zosteropidae
- White-eyes: Small, with a white eye-ring in many species.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Leiothrichidae
- Laughingthrushes and allies: Diverse forest and scrub birds, often brown or grey.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Certhiidae
- Treecreepers: Small woodland birds that creep up tree trunks.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Buphagidae
- Oxpeckers: Birds that feed on ectoparasites on large mammals.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Sturnidae
- Starlings: Often dark with metallic sheen; social and gregarious.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Turdidae
- Thrushes: Plump insectivores/omni voress with pleasant songs.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Muscicapidae
- Old World flycatchers: Small, varied insectivores; often with soft songs.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Nectariniidae
- Sunbirds and spiderhunters: Tiny nectar-feeders; many hover-feeding but usually perch to feed.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Ploceidae
- Weavers: Seed-eaters; males often bright in breeding plumage.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Estrildidae
- Estrildid finches: Small, colonial seed-eaters with varied colors.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Viduidae
- Indigobirds: Brood parasites that lay eggs in estrildid nests.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Passeridae
- Old World sparrows: Small, brown or grey seed-eaters with stout bills.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Motacillidae
- Wagtails, longclaws, and pipits: Slim, ground-foraging insectivores with medium-to-long tails.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Fringillidae
- Finches: Seed-eaters with conical bills; varied plumage and lively songs.
Order: Passeriformes — Family: Emberizidae
- Emberizids: Seed-eating birds with distinctive head patterns.
Note: The list above reflects Chad’s diverse birds; accidental species are included in the overall total.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:29 (CET).