Liuwa Plain National Park

National Park · Zambia

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Photo © Simon Berry

Photo © Simon Berry — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Grass, not forest, defines this place: a vast seasonally flooded plain spreads across the far west of Zambia, its surface swelling each wet season and then withdrawing to leave a mosaic of short grassland, shallow pans and scattered woodland on slightly higher ground. The climate is Cwa — a warm, subtropical regime whose dry season falls in the cooler winter months, so the plain dries out under clear, mild skies rather than summer heat. That rhythm governs everything. As floodwaters retreat, residual pools linger in the depressions and draw in waterbirds and waders, while the open sward supports grazing herds and the predators that shadow them. Patches of timber and scrub hold woodland songbirds, small mammals and raptors, and the shifting edge between grass and water concentrates life into narrow, watchable bands.

For photographers, the appeal is the light and the emptiness: low winter sun raking across pale grass, dust and haze softening the horizon, and animals rendered small against an enormous sky. Birdwatchers should work the receding floodline, where concentrations of migratory waders and waterfowl build as the water shrinks, and scan the woodland margins for birds of prey and passerines. Timing is everything — the late dry season, when the plain is passable and wildlife crowds the remaining water, rewards patience far more than the flooded months. Access is genuinely remote, reached via Kalabo in Western Province, so plan for self-sufficiency, a sturdy vehicle and a guide who knows the tracks. Come for scale, silence and the slow theatre of water leaving the land.

Southern Carmine Bee-eater

Merops nubicoides

Southern Ground Hornbill

Bucorvus leadbeateri

African Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga vocifer

Spur-winged Goose

Plectropterus gambensis

Knob-billed Duck

Sarkidiornis melanotos

Blue-billed Teal

Spatula hottentota

Yellow-billed Duck

Red-billed Teal

Anas erythrorhyncha

Red-winged Francolin

Scleroptila levaillantii

Harlequin Quail

Coturnix delegorguei

Red-necked Spurfowl

Pternistis afer

African Palm Swift

Cypsiurus parvus

White-bellied Bustard

Eupodotis senegalensis

Centropus senegalensis

Coppery-tailed Coucal

Centropus cupreicaudus

Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

Pterocles gutturalis

Ring-necked Dove

Streptopelia capicola

Paragallinula angulata

Grey Crowned Crane

Balearica regulorum

Common Buttonquail

Turnix sylvaticus

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Long-toed Lapwing

Vanellus crassirostris

Blacksmith Lapwing

Vanellus armatus

Actophilornis africanus

Tringa glareola

Calidris pugnax

Calidris minuta

Collared Pratincole

Glareola pratincola

Leptoptilos crumenifer

Yellow-billed Stork

Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Microcarbo africanus

Egretta garzetta

Western Cattle Egret

Scopus umbretta

Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

Terathopius ecaudatus

Micronisus gabar

Red-necked Buzzard

Buteo auguralis

African Barred Owlet

Glaucidium capense

African Wood Owl

Strix woodfordii

Lilac-breasted Roller

Coracias caudatus

Malachite Kingfisher

Corythornis cristatus

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Merops hirundineus

Little Bee-eater

Merops pusillus

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Merops persicus

Northern Fiscal

Lanius humeralis

Lesser Grey Shrike

Pink-billed Lark

Spizocorys conirostris

Red-capped Lark

Calandrella cinerea

Pycnonotus barbatus

Neophedina cincta

Hirundo rustica

Wattled Starling

Creatophora cinerea

Myrmecocichla nigra

Capped Wheatear

Oenanthe pileata

Red-billed Quelea

Yellow-crowned Bishop

Red-collared Widowbird

Euplectes ardens

Long-tailed Widowbird

Euplectes progne

Fülleborn's Longclaw

Macronyx fuelleborni

Rosy-throated Longclaw

Macronyx ameliae

Anthus cinnamomeus

White-faced Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna viduata

Fulvous Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna bicolor

White-backed Duck

Thalassornis leuconotus

Alopochen aegyptiaca

African Pygmy Goose

Nettapus auritus

Southern Pochard

Netta erythrophthalma

Helmeted Guineafowl

Numida meleagris

Red-billed Spurfowl

Pternistis adspersus

Swainson's Spurfowl

Pternistis swainsonii

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Caprimulgus rufigena

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Caprimulgus pectoralis

Caprimulgus natalensis

Square-tailed Nightjar

Caprimulgus fossii

Pennant-winged Nightjar

Caprimulgus vexillarius

Denham's Bustard

Black-bellied Bustard

Lissotis melanogaster

White-browed Coucal

Centropus superciliosus

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Clamator glandarius

Levaillant's Cuckoo

Clamator levaillantii

Clamator jacobinus

Red-chested Cuckoo

Cuculus solitarius

Cuculus canorus

Mourning Collared Dove

Streptopelia decipiens

Streptopelia semitorquata

Spilopelia senegalensis

Emerald-spotted Wood Dove

Turtur chalcospilos

African Green Pigeon

Crecopsis egregia

Gallinula chloropus

Red-knobbed Coot

Fulica cristata

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Black-rumped Buttonquail

Water Thick-knee

Burhinus vermiculatus

Recurvirostra avosetta

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

White-crowned Lapwing

Vanellus albiceps

Crowned Lapwing

Vanellus coronatus

African Wattled Lapwing

Vanellus senegallus

Anarhynchus asiaticus

Greater Painted-snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

Microparra capensis

Eurasian Curlew

Numenius arquata

Gallinago media

Gallinago nigripennis

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Temminck's Courser

Cursorius temminckii

Black-winged Pratincole

Glareola nordmanni

African Skimmer

Rynchops flavirostris

Chlidonias hybrida

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

Grey-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus

African Openbill

Anastomus lamelligerus

African Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia microscelis

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

African Sacred Ibis

Threskiornis aethiopicus

Bostrychia hagedash

Plegadis falcinellus

African Spoonbill

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Egretta vinaceigula

Egretta ardesiaca

Rufous-bellied Heron

Ardeola rufiventris

Ardeola ralloides

Black-headed Heron

Ardea melanocephala

Pink-backed Pelican

Pelecanus rufescens

Sagittarius serpentarius

Pandion haliaetus

Black-winged Kite

Elanus caeruleus

African Harrier-Hawk

Polyboroides typus

Palm-nut Vulture

Gypohierax angolensis

White-headed Vulture

Trigonoceps occipitalis

Lappet-faced Vulture

Torgos tracheliotos

Necrosyrtes monachus

White-backed Vulture

Western Banded Snake Eagle

Circaetus cinerascens

Black-chested Snake Eagle

Circaetus pectoralis

Brown Snake Eagle

Circaetus cinereus

Polemaetus bellicosus

Long-crested Eagle

Lophaetus occipitalis

Lesser Spotted Eagle

Clanga pomarina

Wahlberg's Eagle

Hieraaetus wahlbergi

Ayres's Hawk-Eagle

Hieraaetus ayresii

African Hawk-Eagle

Aquila spilogaster

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Melierax metabates

Kaupifalco monogrammicus

Ovambo Sparrowhawk

Accipiter ovampensis

Circus macrourus

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

African Marsh Harrier

Circus ranivorus

Western Barn Owl

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Glaucidium perlatum

African Scops Owl

Otus senegalensis

Southern White-faced Owl

Ptilopsis granti

Spotted Eagle-Owl

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

Apaloderma narina

Green Wood Hoopoe

Phoeniculus purpureus

Crowned Hornbill

Lophoceros alboterminatus

African Grey Hornbill

Lophoceros nasutus

Pale-billed Hornbill

Lophoceros pallidirostris

Coracias naevius

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Halcyon leucocephala

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

Halcyon albiventris

Striped Kingfisher

Halcyon chelicuti

Woodland Kingfisher

Halcyon senegalensis

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Giant Kingfisher

Megaceryle maxima

Pied Kingfisher

Blue-breasted Bee-eater

Merops variegatus

White-fronted Bee-eater

Merops bullockoides

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus chrysoconus

Black-collared Barbet

Lybius torquatus

Greater Honeyguide

Indicator indicator

Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Campethera abingoni

Bearded Woodpecker

Chloropicus namaquus

Cardinal Woodpecker

Dendropicos fuscescens

Falco rupicolus

Greater Kestrel

Falco rupicoloides

Red-necked Falcon

Falco chicquera

Red-footed Falcon

Falco vespertinus

Falco biarmicus

Brown-necked Parrot

Poicephalus fuscicollis

Poicephalus meyeri

Grey-headed Bushshrike

Malaconotus blanchoti

Orange-breasted Bushshrike

Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus

Brown-crowned Tchagra

Tchagra australis

Black-crowned Tchagra

Tchagra senegalus

Black-backed Puffback

Dryoscopus cubla

Tropical Boubou

Laniarius major

Laniarius bicolor

White-crested Helmetshrike

Prionops plumatus

Black-headed Oriole

Oriolus larvatus

African Golden Oriole

Oriolus auratus

Fork-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

African Paradise Flycatcher

Terpsiphone viridis

Red-backed Shrike

Lanius collurio

White-winged Black Tit

Melaniparus leucomelas

Southern Black Tit

Melaniparus niger

Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark

Eremopterix leucotis

Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark

Eremopterix verticalis

Fawn-colored Lark

Calendulauda africanoides

Yellow-bellied Greenbul

Chlorocichla flaviventris

Grey-rumped Swallow

Pseudhirundo griseopyga

Brown-throated Martin

Riparia paludicola

Riparia riparia

Pearl-breasted Swallow

Hirundo dimidiata

White-throated Swallow

Hirundo albigularis

Wire-tailed Swallow

Hirundo smithii

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Greater Striped Swallow

Cecropis cucullata

Lesser Striped Swallow

Cecropis abyssinica

Cecropis senegalensis

South African Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon spilodera

Long-billed Crombec

Sylvietta rufescens

Red-capped Crombec

Sylvietta ruficapilla

Phylloscopus trochilus

Lesser Swamp Warbler

Acrocephalus gracilirostris

Common Reed Warbler

Acrocephalus scirpaceus

Icterine Warbler

Hippolais icterina

Rattling Cisticola

Cisticola chiniana

Tinkling Cisticola

Cisticola rufilatus

Luapula Cisticola

Cisticola luapula

Chirping Cisticola

Cisticola pipiens

Croaking Cisticola

Cisticola natalensis

Cisticola fulvicapilla

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Desert Cisticola

Cisticola aridulus

Tawny-flanked Prinia

Prinia subflava

Black-chested Prinia

Prinia flavicans

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Green-backed Camaroptera

Camaroptera brachyura

Green-capped Eremomela

Eremomela scotops

Southern Yellow White-eye

Zosterops anderssoni

Arrow-marked Babbler

Turdoides jardineii

Hartlaub's Babbler

Turdoides hartlaubii

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Lamprotornis chalybaeus

Violet-backed Starling

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster

Groundscraper Thrush

Turdus litsitsirupa

Kurrichane Thrush

Turdus libonyana

Miombo Scrub Robin

Tychaedon barbata

White-browed Scrub Robin

Cercotrichas leucophrys

Pale Flycatcher

Agricola pallidus

Grey Tit-Flycatcher

Fraseria plumbea

Ashy Flycatcher

Fraseria caerulescens

Southern Black Flycatcher

Melaenornis pammelaina

White-browed Robin-Chat

Cossypha heuglini

Collared Flycatcher

Ficedula albicollis

African Stonechat

Saxicola torquatus

Myrmecocichla arnotti

Western Violet-backed Sunbird

Anthreptes longuemarei

Collared Sunbird

Hedydipna collaris

Amethyst Sunbird

Chalcomitra amethystina

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Chalcomitra senegalensis

Cinnyris mariquensis

Purple-banded Sunbird

Cinnyris bifasciatus

White-bellied Sunbird

Cinnyris talatala

Variable Sunbird

Cinnyris venustus

Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow

Gymnoris superciliaris

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

Passer diffusus

Passer domesticus

Spectacled Weaver

Ploceus ocularis

Holub's Golden Weaver

Ploceus xanthops

Southern Brown-throated Weaver

Ploceus xanthopterus

Southern Masked Weaver

Ploceus velatus

Ploceus cucullatus

Red-headed Weaver

Anaplectes rubriceps

Red-headed Quelea

Quelea erythrops

Southern Red Bishop

Fan-tailed Widowbird

Euplectes axillaris

Bronze Mannikin

Spermestes cucullata

Estrilda astrild

Orange-breasted Waxbill

Amandava subflava

Uraeginthus angolensis

Orange-winged Pytilia

Red-billed Firefinch

Lagonosticta senegala

Pin-tailed Whydah

Anomalospiza imberbis

Western Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flava

Motacilla capensis

African Pied Wagtail

Motacilla aguimp

Anthus vaalensis

Plain-backed Pipit

Anthus leucophrys

Black-throated Canary

Crithagra atrogularis

Yellow-fronted Canary

Crithagra mozambica

Coturnix coturnix

Ciconia abdimii

Asian Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia episcopus

Broad-billed Roller

Eurystomus glaucurus

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Cinnyris cupreus

Brimstone Canary

Crithagra sulphurata

Black-eared Seedeater

Crithagra mennelli

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Emberiza tahapisi

Golden-breasted Bunting

Emberiza flaviventris

Blue Wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

Malbrouck Monkey

Chlorocebus cynosuros

Side-striped Jackal

Lupulella adusta

Banded Mongoose

Crocuta crocuta

Raphicerus campestris

Southern Reedbuck

Redunca arundinum

Ictonyx striatus

Acinonyx jubatus

Southern Lechwe

Syncerus caffer

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