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The Vagrant Twitcher 

Big Year Counter:

Starting the 1st of January 2019 this counter will keep record of the number of bird species that I have identified during my African Big Year.

1566

Last Updated:

31 Dec 2019

It’s All About Numbers

Africa is a bird-rich environment. Of the over 10 585 or so species of birds found around the world, just over 25% have been found in Africa. There are 2 792 bird species in the wider African region (Michael Mills, The Birder’s Guide to Africa; 2017), but within the ABA boundaries for the African Region; which excludes Madagascar, the Comoros, Madeira, the Azores, as well as some Indian- and Atlantic Ocean islands; this number comes down to 2 587 species.

Some 214 of these species are vagrants, and would most likely result in a CMF (see Birding for Dummies) if encountered. A further 24 endemic species are currently only found in conflict areas – which may result in one ending up as a tasty snack for the local vultures. This means a twitcher has an outside chance (a very unrealistic chance), of finding 2 349 resident and migrant species within the African ABA region.

   Latest Sightings:

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