List of birds of Malawi

African fish-eagle, common around lakes and rivers

This is a list of the bird species recorded in Malawi. The avifauna of Malawi include a total of 683 species, of which 2 have been introduced by humans. 1 species is endemic.

This list's taxonomic treatment (designation and sequence of orders, families and species) and nomenclature (common and scientific names) follow the conventions of The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 2022 edition. The family accounts at the beginning of each heading reflect this taxonomy, as do the species counts found in each family account. Introduced and accidental species are included in the total counts for Malawi.

The following tags have been used to highlight several categories, but not all species fall into one of these categories. Those that do not are commonly occurring native species.

  • (A) Accidental - a rarely occurring species in Malawi
  • (E) Endemic - a species endemic to Malawi
  • (I) Introduced - a species introduced to Malawi as a consequence, direct or indirect, of human actions
  • (Ex) Extirpated - a species that no longer occurs in Malawi although populations exist elsewhere