Kenya and Tanzania are home to some of the most iconic safari parks on the planet, including Masai Mara, the Serengeti, and Ngorongoro. Between them, these parks hold a wide range of wildlife and birdlife. We have put together a combined wildlife and birding checklist for both countries. It is not exhaustive, but it covers most of the species you are likely to see. The birding list has 400+ of the most commonly seen birds, though the two countries have recorded over 1,000 species between them. Note that not every park holds every mammal or bird, and this list is not a park-by-park breakdown.
ANIMALS CHECKLIST
| Bush babies | Hyrax |
| Galago, Large-eared greater | Rock Hyrax |
| Primates | Aardvark |
| Baboon | Aardvark (ant bear) |
| Blue Monkey | Pigs |
| Red-tailed monkey | Warthog |
| Vervet monkey | Hippopotamuses |
| Dogs jackals and foxes | Hippopotamus |
| Wild dog/Painted dog (rare) | Giraffe |
| Bat-eared fox | Masai Giraffe |
| Black-backed jackal | Reticulated Giraffe |
| Side-striped jackal | Rothschild Giraffe |
| Weasels, badgers, and otters (rare) | Horned Ungulates |
| Honey Badger (Ratel) | African Cape Buffalo |
| African Clawless Otter | Bushbuck |
| Civets and Genets | Klipspringer |
| East African Civet | Kirk’s Dik-dik |
| Small-spotted Genet | Common Eland |
| Mongooses | Grant’s Gazelle |
| Banded | Thomson’s Gazelle |
| Dwarf | Gerenuk |
| White-tailed | Beisa Oryx |
| Slender, black-tipped | Kongoni (Coke’s Hartebeest) |
| Hyenas | Oribi |
| Aardwolf (rare) | Bohor Reedbuck |
| Spotted Hyena | Steinbok |
| Striped Hyena (rare) | Topi |
| Cats | Water Buck (Defassa) |
| Caracal (rare) | Wildebeest/Gnu |
| Cheetah | Pangolins |
| Leopard | Giant Pangolin |
| Lion | Black-bellied Pangolin |
| Serval | Ground Pangolin |
| African Wildcat | Rodents |
| Elephants | Crested Porcupine |
| Savannah or Bush Elephant | Springhare |
| Forest Elephant | Hares and rabbits |
| Horses and zebras | Cape Hare |
| Common or Burchell’s zebra | Reptiles |
| Grevy’s zebra | Nile Crocodile |
| Rhinoceroses | Monitor Lizard |
| Black Rhino | Agama (Rock) Lizard |
| White Rhino |
BIRDING CHECKLIST
| AVOCET, BLACK-CAPPED | KITE |
| BABBLER | Black |
| Arrow-marked | Black-shouldered |
| Brown | KORHAAN |
| BARBET | Black-bellied |
| Black-collared | Red-crested |
| Crested | LAMMERGEIER (MOUNTAIN VULTURE) |
| D’Arnaud’s | LARK |
| Double-toothed | Fischer’s Sparrow |
| Green | Red-capped |
| Red and Yellow | Red-winged Bush |
| BATELEUR | Rufous-napped |
| BATIS, CHIN-SPOT | LONGCLAW |
| BEE-EATER | Rosy-breasted |
| Carmine | Yellow-throated |
| Cinnamon-chested | LOURIE, GREY |
| European | LOVEBIRD |
| Little | Fischer’s |
| Swallow-tailed | Lilian’s |
| White-fronted | MANNIKIN, BRONZE |
| White-throated | MARTIN, ROCK |
| BISHOP | MOORHEN, COMMON |
| Black-winged | MOUSEBIRD |
| Red | Blue-naped |
| BITTERN | Red-faced |
| Boubou | Speckled |
| Crimson | NIGHTJAR |
| Slate-coloured | Fiery-necked |
| Tropical | Gabon |
| BRUBRU | ORIOLE |
| BULBUL | Black-headed |
| Black-eyed | Golden |
| Cape | OSPREY |
| Garden | OSTRICH |
| Red-eyed | Masai |
| Yellow-vented | Somali |
| BUNTING, Golden-Breasted | OWL |
| BUSH-SHRIKE | African Scops |
| Grey-headed | Spotted Eagle |
| Rosy-patched | Verreaux’s Eagle |
| BUSTARD | White-faced Scops |
| Black-bellied | OWLET, PEARL-SPOTTED |
| Denham’s | OXPECKER |
| Jackson’s | Red-billed |
| Kori | Yellow-billed |
| Stanley’s | PARROT |
| BUZZARD | African Grey |
| Augur | Brown |
| Jackal | Cape |
| Lizard | Grey |
| CANARY | PELICAN |
| African Citril | Great White |
| Streaky | Pink-backed |
| Yellow-fronted | PIAPIAC |
| CHAT | PIGEON, SPECKLED |
| Mocking Cliff | PINTAIL |
| Robin | PIPIT |
| Stone | Golden |
| CISTICOLA | Richard’s |
| Hunter’s | PLANTAIN-EATER, GREY |
| Rattling | PLOVER |
| COOT, Red-knobbed | Blacksmith Lapwing |
| CORDON-BLEU, Red-cheeked | White Crowned |
| CORMORANT | Grey |
| Cape | Kittlitz’s |
| Great | Spur-winged |
| Long-tailed | Three-banded |
| Reed | Wattled |
| White-breasted | QUAIL |
| COUCAL | Common |
| Black | Harlequin |
| White-browed | QUELEA |
| COURSER | Cardinal |
| Temminck’s | Red-billed |
| Two-banded | RAVEN, WHITE-NECKED |
| CRAKE | ROLLER |
| African | Abyssinian |
| Black | European |
| CRANE | Lilac-breasted |
| Black Crowned | Purple |
| Blue | Rufous-crowned |
| Crowned | ROOK, CAPE |
| Wattled | RUFF |
| CROW | SANDERLING |
| House | SANDGROUSE |
| Pied | Black-faced |
| CUCKOO | Burchell’s |
| African Emerald | Chestnut-bellied |
| Diederik | Namaqua |
| Jacobin | Yellow-throated |
| Red-chested | SANDPIPER, COMMON |
| CUCKOO-SHRIKE, BLACK | SECRETARY BIRD |
| DARTER, AFRICAN | SEEDEATER, STREAKY |
| DOVE | SHOEBILL |
| Emerald-spotted | SHRIKE |
| Laughing | Fiscal (Tighter) |
| Mourning | Grey-backed Fiscal |
| Namaqua | Long-tailed Fiscal |
| Red-eyed | Magpie |
| Ring-necked | Puffback |
| DRONGO, FORK-TAILED | White-crowned |
| DUCK | Yellow-billed |
| Knob-billed | SILVERBIRD |
| Red-billed | SKIMMER, AFRICAN |
| White-faced | SPARROW |
| Yellow-billed | Cape |
| EAGLE | Grey-headed |
| African Fish | Rufous |
| African Hawk | SPOONBILL, AFRICAN |
| Black-breasted Snake | SPURFOWL |
| Booted | Grey-breasted |
| Brown Snake | Red-necked |
| Crowned | Yellow-necked |
| Long-crested | STARLING |
| Martial | Ashy |
| Steppe | Golden-breasted |
| Tawny | Greater blue-eared |
| EGRET | Hildebrandt’s |
| Black | Purple |
| Cattle | Red-winged |
| Great White | Ruppell’s Long-tailed |
| Little | Superb |
| Yellow-billed | Wattled |
| FALCON | Western Long-tailed |
| African Pygmy | STILT, BLACK-WINGED |
| Lanner | STINT, LITTLE |
| Peregrine | STONECHAT, COMMON |
| FIREFINCH, RED-BILLED | STORK |
| FLAMINGO | Abdim’s |
| Greater | African Open-billed |
| Lesser | Marabou |
| FLYCATCHER | Saddle-billed |
| Blue | White |
| Paradise | Woolly-necked |
| Spotted | Yellow-billed |
| White-eyed, Slaty | SUGARBIRD, CAPE |
| FRANCOLIN | SUNBIRD |
| Coqui | SWALLOW |
| Crested | European |
| Red-billed | Lesser Striped |
| GALLINULE, PURPLE | Red-rumped |
| GANNET, CAPE | Wire-tailed |
| GO-AWAY BIRD | SWAMPHEN, PURPLE |
| Bare-faced | SWIFT |
| White-bellied | African Palm |
| GOOSE | European |
| African Pygmy | Little |
| Egyptian | TCHAGRA, BLACK-CROWNED |
| Spur-Winged | TEAL |
| GOSHAWK | Cape |
| Dark Chanting | Hottentot |
| Pale Chanting | Red-billed |
| GREBE | TERN |
| Black-necked | White |
| Greenshank | White-winged Black |
| Little | THICK-KNEE |
| GRENADIER, PURPLE | Spotted |
| GUINEAFOWL | Water |
| Crested | THRUSH |
| Helmeted | Groundscraper |
| Vulturine | Kurrichane |
| HAMMERKOP | Olive |
| HARRIER | TROGON, NARINA’S |
| African | TURACO |
| Montagu’s | VULTURE |
| HELMET-SHRIKE | Cape |
| White | Egyptian |
| White-rumped | Hooded |
| HERON | Lappet-faced |
| Black | Nubian |
| Black-headed | Palm-nut |
| Goliath | Ruppell’s griffon |
| Grey | White-backed |
| Green-backed | White-headed |
| Night | WAGTAIL |
| Purple | African Pied |
| Squacco | Cape |
| HONEYGUIDE | Yellow |
| Greater | WARBLER |
| Lesser | African Sedge |
| HOOPOE | Willow |
| HORNBILL | WAXBILL |
| Abyssinian Ground | Common |
| African Grey | Crimson-rumped |
| Black and White Casqued | Cut-throat |
| Crowned | WEAVER |
| Ground | Black-headed |
| Red-billed | Buffalo, Red-billed |
| Silver-cheeked | Buffalo, White-headed |
| Southern Yellow-billed | Chestnut |
| Trumpeter | Golden Palm |
| Von der Decken’s | Grey-headed Social |
| IBIS | Grosbeak |
| Glossy | Holub’s Golden |
| Hadada | Masked |
| Sacred | Reichenow’s |
| JACANA, AFRICAN | Rufous-tailed |
| KESTREL | Sociable |
| Grey | Spectacled |
| Lesser | Taveta Golden |
| Rock | White-browed Sparrow |
| KINGFISHER | Yellow |
| Brown-hooded | WHEATEAR, CAPPED |
| Giant | WHITE–EYE |
| Grey-hooded | African Yellow |
| Malachite | Cape |
| Pied | WHYDAH |
| Striped | WIDOWBIRD |
| Woodland | WOOD-HOOPOE, RED-BILLED |
