Birds of East Africa

Birds of East Africa is a birdwatcher’s paradise. The region has an innumerable list of bird species found in its various birding spots including Uganda’s; Mabamba bay, Kaniyo-Pabidi and the royal mile, Lake Bunyonyi, Magombe swamp, the swampy valleys of Warukiri and Miriti in Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth’s Kazinga Channel, Kasenyi Area, Mweya Peninsula, Maramagambo Forest, Ishasha Sector, Lake Kikorongo, Katunguru Bridge area and Katwe Area, Kibale National Park and Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, Rwenzori Mountains and Murchison Falls National Parks.

Kenya’s major birding spots include; Nairobi city, Amboseli, Meru, Masai Mara, Sambura, Tsavo, Malindi Watamu, South Coast, Tana river delta, Shimba hills, Mount Elgon, Mount Kenya, Aberdares, Magadi, Lake Victoria, Kakamega forest, Bogoria, Naivasha, Nakuru, Turkana, and Baringo.

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Rwanda’s major birding spots include; Kigali city, the Albertine eco-region, Rugezi, Akanyaru and Nyabarongo wetland, volcanoes, Nyungwe, and Akagera national parks. Kibira, Ruvubu, Ruzizi and Bururi national parks are some of the major birding spots in Burundi. Tanzania’s main birding spots include; Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro crater, and Lake Manyara National Park.

While on a birding safari in East Africa, tourists encounter a variety of bird species including; the White-faced whistling-duck, Fulvous whistling-duck, White-backed, Knob-billed, and Hartlaub’s ducks, Egyptian, Spur-winged, and the African pygmy geese. Garganey, Hottentot teal, Northern shoveler, Eurasian wigeon, Cape teal, Northern pintail, Green-winged teal, Southern and Common pochards. Helmeted, Vulturine, and Crested guineafowl. Stone partridge, Nahan’s Francolin, the Blue, Common, and Harlequin quails. The Scaly, Jackson’s, Clapperton’s, Yellow-necked, Red-necked, Latham’s, Red-winged, Ring-necked, Orange river, Moorland, Shelley’s, and Heuglin’s francolins.

The Great and lesser flamingos, Little, Great crested and Eared grebes. Great blue, Black-billed, White-crested, Hartlaub’s, Purple-crested, Rwenzori, and Ross’ turacos. Bare-faced go-away-bird, White-bellied go-away-bird, Eastern plantain-eater, Kori, Denham’s, White-bellied, Buff-crested, Black-bellied and Hartlaub’s bustards. Pennant-winged, standard-winged, Eurasian, Sombre, Black-shouldered, Abyssinian, Montane, Swamp, Plain, Freckled, Long-tailed, Slender-tailed and Square-tailed nightjars.

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Grey-crowned and Black-crowned cranes, Egyptian plover, Black-winged stilt, Pied avocet, Oystercatchers, Black-bellied, Pacific golden, Spur-winged, Lesser sand, Greater sand, Caspian, Kentish, Common ringed, Little-ringed, Three-banded, and White-fronted plovers. Long-toed, Black-headed, Whure-headed, Senegal, Crowned, Wattled, and the Brown-chested lapwing, Greater painted snipe, Lesser and African jacanas, Small and Hottentot button quails. African openbill, Black, Woolly-necked, White, Saddle-billed, Yellow-billed and Marabou storks.

African darter, Long-tailed and Great cormorants, Great white and Pink-backed pelicans. Shoebill, Hamerkop, Great, Little and Dwarf bitterns. Gray, Black-headed, Goliath, Purple, Madagascar pond, Striated, Rufous-bellied and Squacco herons. Glossy, Sacred, Olive, Spot-breasted, and Hadada Ibises. Eurasian and African spoonbills. Papyrus, African yellow, Mountain yellow, Sedge, Marsh, Eurasian reed, African reed, Basra reed, Lesser swamp, Greater swamp and the Great reed warblers.

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Pin-tailed, Broad-tailed paradise, Eastern paradise, Steel-blue, and Straw-tailed whydahs. Pale-fronted, Gray-headed, Chestnut-breasted and White-breasted nigrita. White-collared and Gray-headed olivebacks. Shelley’s, Dusky, Abyssinian and Red-faced crimsonwing. Yellow-winged, Fawn-breasted, Orange-checked, Crimson-rumped, Black- rumped, Common, Black-crowned, Black-headed, Black-faced and Black-cheeked waxbills. Grant’s and Red-headed bluebills, Black-bellied seedcracker, Red-cheeked cordonbleu, Purple grenadier, Dybowski’s, Dusky and Brown twinspots. Red-winged, Green-winged and Orange-winged pytilia. Red-billed, Bar-breasted, Black-faced, Black-bellied, African and Jameson’s firefinch. Black-faced and Black-chinned quailfinch, Gray-headed and African silverbill. Bronze, Black-and-white and Magpie mannikin.

White-billed buffalo, Red-billed buffalo, White-headed buffalo, Speckle-fronted, White-browned sparrow, Chestnut-crowned, Gray-headed social, Red-headed, Little, Slender-billed, Black-necked, Spectacles, Black-billed, Strange, Holub’s golden, Orange, Northern masked, Northern brown-throated, Lesser masked, Vitelline masked, Fox’s, Village, Black-headed, Golden-backed, Chestnut, Holden-napped, Yellow-mantled, Maxwell’s black, Forest, Brown-capped and the Compact weavers. Red-billed, Blue-billed, Crested and Red-headed malimbe.

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