The commonest water bird on the lakes is the little grebe, a small greyish brown bird with a chestnut-red face and throat, with a high pitched trilling call. Another common bird is the Southern pochard. The male is a very dark brown with a dark chestnut head and slate-blue bill. The female is paler, with a white mark on the side of the head. Easily distinguished birds are the flamingos.
Lesser flamingos are smaller than the greater flamingo, and their plumage is much pinker.
The bill is dark red in the lesser and pink with a black tip in the greater flamingo. Lesser flamingos feed on algae while the greater flamingos eat tiny crustaceans which they filter through their bills. These different diets enable the two species to coexist in the same habitat. One of the most easily recognizable birds is the Egyptian goose. It has a brown plumage with contrasting white shoulders.