Uganda Birding Safaris

Uganda is Africa’s equatorial country when it comes to bird watching, there are more than 1,000 bird species recorded with in the major birding destinations. No other country in Africa can be compare to the  amazing diversity of habitats ranging from arid semi-deserts, rich savannahs, lowlands and montane rain forests to vast wetlands, volcanoes and an afro-alpine zone, and covering an altitude from 650 to 5000 meters.
For birding safaris, there are special birding itineraries organized through Western Uganda covering an incredible tally of 400 species of bird life with in a short period of time, bird lovers may hope to aim for at least 300 species in the same time of about two to three weeks.

This biodiversity in bird life is reflected in the number of birds per square kilometer the highest compared to other countries in Africa! Despite the small size of the country, which is approximately 235,000 square kilometers, Uganda is a home to a national bird list of over 1008 species. This stands for more than half the bird species that can be found in the whole of Africa.

Forest Birds in Uganda
Bird watching in Uganda’s forests has an area contiguous with the Congo Basin rain forest on its western boarder. Equally there are a number of west and central African ornithological listed in Uganda that can not be found anywhere else in East Africa.

Uganda as a country has more than 700 forest reserves.
One specific area is the Albertine Rift Endemic area (ARE), with confirmed 38 species of birds in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. Out of the 38 Albertine Rift Endemic Areas 25 belong to Uganda, mostly residing Bwindi Impenetrable forest park for Albertine and Mgahinga forest south western Uganda.

Wetlands
Wetlands in Uganda cover a total area of 30,000 square kilometers. Not less more than 210 species, ranging from the rear and great Shoebill and African Skimmer to the endemic Fox’s Weaver, are found in these wetlands. Mabamba swamp near Entebbe for shoebill, the community –run guided trails through Bigodi wetland near in Kibale forest famous for its great Blue Turaco and other colourful birds. Others birds in to see I Wet lands are  the Papyrus Gonolek, Papyrus Canary, White-winged Warbler and Papyrus Yellow warbler, White winged Black Tern and many more.

Savannah Bird Safaris
Savannahs in Uganda vary from the remote, semi-dessert, dry thorn-scrub region of Karamoja in the northeast, to the richer fertile savannahs of the great western rift valley. Queen Elizabeth National Park is known for a peerless checklist of 604 species especial on its Kazinga channel, Murchison falls known for savanna specialists like the Abyssinian Grown Hornbill, Red-throated Bee- Eater and Denham’s Bustard.