BIRD WATCHING TOURS

Bird watching tours are an increasingly popular part of East African safaris and you don’t have to be an ornithologist to appreciate what’s on offer. From thousand strong flocks of flamingo to the curious looking Shoebill, the birds here are spectacular.

With over 1000 species of bird, half of all African species and 10% of those recorded throughout the world, Uganda is an African bird watching tour paradise.

BIRDING UGANDA

It is said that Uganda offers the best bird watching tours in Africa and we agree. The incredible diversity and easy access make birding in Uganda a great experience.

Straddling the equator, Uganda attracts migrants from both the North and South and is probably the richest country in Africa for birds. Many Ugandan specials are in fact west African and Congolese forest birds that are just too difficult to see elsewhere.

Here, where savannah meets rainforest and semi desert, African bird watching tours are at their best.

bird watching tours

endemics

bird list

BIRD WATCHING IN UGANDA

1008 species have been recorded in Uganda.
Only one species is endemic to Uganda; Fox’s weaver.
Favourites include the goliath heron, shoebill stork and African green hornbill.
Over 20 of the 37 Albertine Rift Endemics are present in Uganda.
In Queen Elizabeth National Park alone, over 600 species have been recorded.
Tanzania also offers superb bird watching, particularly in Selous and Ruaha. Avid twitchers may be tempted to make a trip to Udzungwa in search of Eastern Arc forest birds.

Where

Most birders give prime importance to the rainforests of western Uganda. These are exceptional for forest and localised species:

However, forest birding isn’t easy and for those who prefer to see more species in less time we recommend:

Even the botanical gardens at Entebbe provide some excellent birding.

BIRD WATCHING TOURS

10 day bird watching tour

Focussed on swamp, acacia and water species. Includes Mburo, Mabamba, Mabira and Awoja.

20 days birding Uganda safari

All of Uganda's forest, water and savannah birding hot spots and a day's gorilla trekking at Bwindi.

ALBERTINE RIFT ENDEMICS

For a full Ugandan bird list, click here.

Albertine Rift endemics (species only found in the Albertine Rift Valley) are a major attraction of birding in Uganda. Found in the forests of western Uganda, they bring in bird watching tours from all over the world in search of elusive species such as the African green broadbill.

24 of the 37 Albertine Rift endemics are found in Uganda, and all of these can be found in Bwindi national park:

African green broadbill
Archer’s robin-chat
Blue-headed sunbird
Chapin’s flycatcher
Collared apalis
Dusky crimsonwing
Dwarf honeyguide
Grauer’s scrub warbler
Handsome francolin
Kivu ground thrush
Mountain masked apalis
Neumann’s warbler
Purple-breasted sunbird
Red-faced woodland warbler
Red-throated alethe
Regal sunbird
Rwenzori batis
Rwenzori nightjar
Rwenzori turaco
Shelly’s crimsonwing
Strange weaver
Stripe-breasted tit
Yellow-eyed black flycatcher

Further information