Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World
Sao Tome
This checklist includes all bird species found in Sao Tome , based on the best information available at this time. It is based on a wide variety of sources that I collated over many years. I am pleased to offer these checklists as a service to birdwatchers. If you find any error, please do not hesitate to .
The taxonomic order and nomenclature follows Clements, version 2024. If you prefer to view the list based on a different authority, click on one of the list available below. Globally threatened species (status in red) were identified by Birdlife International in Birdlife Data Zone (species).
Bird Checklists of the World is part of Avibase and Bird links to the World, which are designed and maintained by Denis Lepage, and hosted by Birds Canada, which is a co-partner of Birdlife International.
© Denis Lepage 2025
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Country or region: Sao Tome [map]
Other names: São Tomé
Number of endemics: 18
Number of globally threatened species: 14
Number of introduced species: 14
Date last reviewed: 2016-07-01
Last modified: 2024-12-25
See also: https://www.africanbirdclub.org/countries/checklists/download
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| Knob-billed Duck | Sarkidiornis melanotos | Rare/Accidental |
| African Pygmy-Goose | Nettapus auritus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Helmeted Guineafowl | Numida meleagris | Introduced species |
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| Harlequin Quail | Coturnix delegorguei | |
| Scaly Spurfowl | Pternistis squamatus | |
| Red-necked Spurfowl | Pternistis afer | Introduced species |
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| Rock Pigeon | Columba livia | |
| Rameron Pigeon | Columba arquatrix | |
| Maroon Pigeon | Columba thomensis | Endemic Endangered |
| Sao Tome Pigeon | Columba malherbii | Endemic (country/region) Near-threatened |
| Lemon Dove | Aplopelia larvata | |
| Laughing Dove | Spilopelia senegalensis | Introduced species |
| Sao Tome Green-Pigeon | Treron sanctithomae | Endemic Endangered |
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| Pied Cuckoo | Clamator jacobinus | Rare/Accidental |
| Dideric Cuckoo | Chrysococcyx caprius | Rare/Accidental |
| African Emerald Cuckoo | Chrysococcyx cupreus | |
| Common Cuckoo | Cuculus canorus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Sao Tome Spinetail | Zoonavena thomensis | Endemic (country/region) |
| Common Swift | Apus apus | Rare/Accidental |
| Pallid Swift | Apus pallidus | Rare/Accidental |
| Little Swift | Apus affinis | |
| African Palm Swift | Cypsiurus parvus | |
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| African Rail | Rallus caerulescens | Rare/Accidental |
| African Crake | Crecopsis egregia | Rare/Accidental |
| Lesser Moorhen | Paragallinula angulata | Rare/Accidental |
| Eurasian Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | |
| Allen's Gallinule | Porphyrio alleni | Rare/Accidental |
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| Black-bellied Plover | Pluvialis squatarola | Rare/Accidental Vulnerable |
| European Golden-Plover | Pluvialis apricaria | Rare/Accidental |
| Common Ringed Plover | Charadrius hiaticula | Rare/Accidental |
| Spur-winged Lapwing | Vanellus spinosus | Rare/Accidental |
| Greater Sand-Plover | Anarhynchus leschenaultii | Rare/Accidental |
| White-fronted Plover | Anarhynchus marginatus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus | |
| Eurasian Curlew | Numenius arquata | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | Limosa lapponica | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
| Common Sandpiper | Actitis hypoleucos | |
| Wood Sandpiper | Tringa glareola | |
| Common Greenshank | Tringa nebularia | |
| Ruddy Turnstone | Arenaria interpres | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
| Red Knot | Calidris canutus | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
| Ruff | Calidris pugnax | Rare/Accidental |
| Curlew Sandpiper | Calidris ferruginea | Rare/Accidental Vulnerable |
| Sanderling | Calidris alba | Rare/Accidental |
| Little Stint | Calidris minuta | |
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| Black-winged Pratincole | Glareola nordmanni | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
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| Long-tailed Jaeger | Stercorarius longicaudus | Rare/Accidental |
| Parasitic Jaeger | Stercorarius parasiticus | Rare/Accidental |
| Pomarine Jaeger | Stercorarius pomarinus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Sabine's Gull | Xema sabini | Rare/Accidental |
| Brown Noddy | Anous stolidus | |
| Black Noddy | Anous minutus | |
| Sooty Tern | Onychoprion fuscatus | |
| Bridled Tern | Onychoprion anaethetus | |
| Black Tern | Chlidonias niger | Rare/Accidental |
| Arctic Tern | Sterna paradisaea | Rare/Accidental |
| Sandwich Tern | Thalasseus sandvicensis | Rare/Accidental |
| West African Crested Tern | Thalasseus albididorsalis | Rare/Accidental |
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| Greater Flamingo | Phoenicopterus roseus | |
| Lesser Flamingo | Phoeniconaias minor | Rare/Accidental Near-threatened |
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| White-tailed Tropicbird | Phaethon lepturus | |
| Red-billed Tropicbird | Phaethon aethereus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Wilson's Storm-Petrel | Oceanites oceanicus | |
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| Band-rumped Storm-Petrel | Hydrobates castro | |
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| Great Shearwater | Ardenna gravis | |
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| White Stork | Ciconia ciconia | Rare/Accidental |
| Yellow-billed Stork | Mycteria ibis | Rare/Accidental |
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| Ascension Frigatebird | Fregata aquila | Rare/Accidental Vulnerable |
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| Red-footed Booby | Sula sula | Rare/Accidental |
| Brown Booby | Sula leucogaster | |
| Masked Booby | Sula dactylatra | |
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| Reed Cormorant | Microcarbo africanus | |
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| Olive Ibis | Bostrychia olivacea | |
| Sao Tome Ibis | Bostrychia bocagei | Endemic Critically endangered |
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| Little Bittern | Botaurus minutus | |
| Black Heron | Egretta ardesiaca | Rare/Accidental |
| Little Egret | Egretta garzetta | |
| Western Reef-Heron | Egretta gularis | |
| Striated Heron | Butorides striata | |
| Squacco Heron | Ardeola ralloides | Rare/Accidental |
| Western Cattle-Egret | Ardea ibis | |
| Great Egret | Ardea alba | Rare/Accidental |
| Yellow-billed Egret | Ardea brachyrhyncha | Rare/Accidental |
| Gray Heron | Ardea cinerea | Rare/Accidental |
| Purple Heron | Ardea purpurea | Rare/Accidental |
| Black-headed Heron | Ardea melanocephala | Rare/Accidental |
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| Black Kite | Milvus migrans | |
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| Western Barn Owl | Tyto alba | |
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| Sao Tome Scops-Owl | Otus hartlaubi | Endemic Vulnerable |
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| Malachite Kingfisher | Corythornis cristatus | |
| White-bellied Kingfisher | Corythornis leucogaster | |
| Blue-breasted Kingfisher | Halcyon malimbica | |
| Pied Kingfisher | Ceryle rudis | Rare/Accidental |
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| European Roller | Coracias garrulus | Rare/Accidental |
| Broad-billed Roller | Eurystomus glaucurus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Red-footed Falcon | Falco vespertinus | Rare/Accidental Vulnerable |
| Eurasian Hobby | Falco subbuteo | Rare/Accidental |
| Lanner Falcon | Falco biarmicus | Rare/Accidental |
| Peregrine Falcon | Falco peregrinus | |
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| Red-headed Lovebird | Agapornis pullarius | Introduced species |
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| Gray Parrot | Psittacus erithacus | Endangered |
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| Eurasian Golden Oriole | Oriolus oriolus | Rare/Accidental |
| Sao Tome Oriole | Oriolus crassirostris | Endemic Vulnerable |
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| Fork-tailed Drongo | Dicrurus adsimilis | |
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| Sao Tome Paradise-Flycatcher | Terpsiphone atrochalybeia | Endemic |
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| Lesser Gray Shrike | Lanius minor | Rare/Accidental |
| Newton's Fiscal | Lanius newtoni | Endemic Critically endangered |
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| Sao Tome Prinia | Prinia molleri | Endemic |
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| Sedge Warbler | Acrocephalus schoenobaenus | Rare/Accidental |
| Great Reed Warbler | Acrocephalus arundinaceus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Gray-rumped Swallow | Pseudhirundo griseopyga | Rare/Accidental |
| Banded Martin | Neophedina cincta | Rare/Accidental |
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica | Rare/Accidental |
| Western House-Martin | Delichon urbicum | Rare/Accidental |
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| Willow Warbler | Phylloscopus trochilus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Garden Warbler | Sylvia borin | Rare/Accidental |
| Dohrn's Thrush-Babbler | Sylvia dohrni | Endemic |
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| Sao Tome White-eye | Zosterops feae | Endemic Near-threatened |
| Black-capped Speirops | Zosterops lugubris | Endemic |
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| Chestnut-winged Starling | Onychognathus fulgidus | |
| Splendid Starling | Lamprotornis splendidus | |
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| Sao Tome Thrush | Turdus olivaceofuscus | Endemic |
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| Spotted Flycatcher | Muscicapa striata | Rare/Accidental |
| Common Nightingale | Luscinia megarhynchos | Rare/Accidental |
| Whinchat | Saxicola rubetra | Rare/Accidental |
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| Newton's Sunbird | Anabathmis newtonii | Endemic |
| Sao Tome Sunbird | Dreptes thomensis | Endemic Vulnerable |
| Olive Sunbird | Cyanomitra olivacea | |
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| Southern Masked-Weaver | Ploceus velatus | Introduced species |
| Village Weaver | Ploceus cucullatus | Introduced species |
| Giant Weaver | Ploceus grandis | Endemic Near-threatened |
| Black-headed Weaver | Ploceus melanocephalus | |
| Sao Tome Weaver | Ploceus sanctithomae | Endemic |
| Red-headed Quelea | Quelea erythrops | |
| Black-winged Bishop | Euplectes hordeaceus | Introduced species |
| Golden-backed Bishop | Euplectes aureus | Introduced species |
| White-winged Widowbird | Euplectes albonotatus | Introduced species |
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| Bronze Mannikin | Spermestes cucullata | Introduced species |
| Chestnut-breasted Nigrita | Nigrita bicolor | |
| Common Waxbill | Estrilda astrild | Introduced species |
| Southern Cordonbleu | Uraeginthus angolensis | Introduced species |
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| Pin-tailed Whydah | Vidua macroura | Introduced species |
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| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus | Rare/Accidental |
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| Sao Tome Short-tail | Motacilla bocagii | Endemic Vulnerable |
| Western Yellow Wagtail | Motacilla flava | Rare/Accidental |
| Tree Pipit | Anthus trivialis | Rare/Accidental |
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| Yellow-fronted Canary | Crithagra mozambica | Introduced species |
| Principe Seedeater | Crithagra rufobrunnea | Endemic (country/region) |
| Sao Tome Grosbeak | Crithagra concolor | Endemic Critically endangered |
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