Kenya and Tanzania are home to some of the most iconic safari parks on the planet, including Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro. They host a plethora of wildlife and birdlife between these parks. We have compiled a combined wildlife and birding checklist for both these countries. The list is not exhaustive but covers most of the animal species, if not all. In birds, we have compiled 400+ of most commonly seen birds, however there are over 1000 species recorded across these two countries. It is important to note that, all the mammal or bird species are not found in every park, and this is not a parkwise classification.
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 (raree) | 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 | Kirks 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 |
| Savanna 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, GARY |
| 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-colored | 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 |
| Gray-headed | Spotted Eagle |
| Rosy-patched | Verreaux’s Eagle |
| BUSTARD | Whited-faced Scops |
| Black-bellied | OWLET, PEARL-SPOTTED |
| Denham’s | OXPECKER |
| Jackson’s | Red-billed |
| Kori | Yellow-billed |
| Stanley’s | PARROT |
| BUZZARD | African Gray |
| Augur | Brown |
| Jackal | Cape |
| Lizard | Gray |
| 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, GRAY |
| Rattling | PLOVER |
| COOT, Red-knobbed | Blacksmith Lapwing |
| CORDON-BLEU, Red-checked | White Crowned |
| CORMORANT | Gray |
| 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 | Gray-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 | Gray-headed |
| African Fish | Rufous |
| African Hawk | SPOONBILL, AFRICAN |
| Black-breasted Snake | SPURFOWL |
| Booted | Gray-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 |
| Afican 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 |
| Gray | White-backed |
| Green-backed | White-headed |
| Night | WAGTAIL |
| Purple | African Pied |
| Squacco | Cape |
| HONEYGUIDE | Yellow |
| Greater | WARBLER |
| Lesser | African Sedge |
| HOOPOE | Willoe |
| HORNBILL | WAXBILL |
| Abyssinian Ground | Common |
| African Gray | 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 | Gray-headed Social |
| IBIS | Grosbeak |
| Glossy | Holub’s Golden |
| Hadada | Masked |
| Sacred | Reichenow’s |
| JACANA, AFRICAN | Rufous-tailed |
| KESTREL | Sociable |
| Gray | Spectacled |
| Lesser | Taveta Golden |
| Rock | White-browed Sparrow |
| KINGFISHER | Yellow |
| Brown-hooded | WHEATEAR, CAPPED |
| Giant | WHITE–EYE |
| Gray-hooded | African Yellow |
| Malachite | Cape |
| Pied | WHYDAH |
| Striped | WIDOWBIRD |
| Woodland | WOOD-HOOPOE, RED-BILLED |
