List of Birds in Uganda / Bird Species – Uganda Birding Safari
List of Birds in Uganda: Uganda is a true birding destination with over 1,090 bird species that attract bird enthusiasts of different races from around the world to visit the country. The country hosts 11% of the global population, 50% in Africa and 70% in East Africa and also boasts 25% of Albertine Rift endemic species among others and the true weavers.
Below is the list of birds to see on a visit to Uganda since, whatever step you take, you can see a bird, thus becoming a top birding destination on the African continent as highlighted.
Common Ostrich
This is the world’s largest bird, which can be explored in savannah plains and in Uganda can be seen in Kidepo Valley National Park and at the Uganda Wildlife Center in Entebbe.
Pelicans
They are large-structure waterbird species, which are often seen swimming in tight flotillas on open lakes and along Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
African darter
These are referred to as the snake bird after its habit of swimming with an elongated rufous neck, which is extended in serpentine fashion and commonly seen in fringing vegetation and open perches and often keep their wings spread open to dry.
Goliath heron
This is a lovely cryptic purple-grey and commonly seen from boat launch trips along the Victoria Nile in Murchison Falls.
Hammertoe species
It is a nice-looking bird—a peculiar, brown, medium-sized waterbird with no close allies and it has a backward-pointing crest and long bill that create the hammerhead effect for which it is named. These species are commonly seen on the Mweya peninsula in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Saddle-billed stork
These species look handsome and very common in Uganda, rising up 1.4 meters high with black and white feathering and a gaudy red, yellow and black bill and usually seen in pairs during one game drive north of Murchison Falls National Park.
Marabou Stork
Are eating storks that measure 1.5 meters tall with large expandable air sacs below their necks and black and white feather patterns of an undertaker’s suit. Commonly seen in both urban and rural areas. Urban areas can be seen in downtown Kampala and Entebbe town.
Shoebill stork
These are swamp dwellers, which are related to pelicans and the main motivating factor behind many an ornithological tour to Uganda. They are commonly spotted in Mabamba Swamp in Entebbe and Lake Albert areas in Murchison Falls National Park and Semuliki Wildlife Reserve.
Flamingo species
Flamingos are very beautiful bird species, gregarious and pink with white algae and in Uganda can be spotted in large concentrations in Katwe and Flamingo crater lakes in Queen Elizabeth National Park and other places (List of Birds in Uganda).
Secretary bird
This is a unique bird with grey snake-eating raptor, measuring 1.5 meters tall and it has red face marking black head quills and resides in northern Uganda.
African fish eagle
The African fish eagle is an eating raptor that inhabits the lakes and waterways and is notable for its bold black, white and chestnut feather pattern.
Palmnut vulture
This species is similar to the fish eagle and associated with palm-fringed waterways and lakes. It has more white features than black, no chestnut and a red rather than yellow core.
Lappet-faced vulture
It’s Africa’s largest vulture, with dark black feathers and a bare red head, which is often seen singly alongside smaller vultures at kills in Uganda’s savanna reserves.
Bateleur species
This species is the most striking of Uganda’s large raptors, with a black short-tailed eagle and a unique red collar and lice and bold white underwings seen clearly in flight. They are inhabitants of Uganda’s savannah reserves and are often seen soaring, reminiscent of the tightrope walker, from whom their names were got.
Long-crested eagle
They are handsome birds with a diagnostic, foppish, long crest. Commonly seen outside of game reserves.
Jackson’s Francolin
It has a large pale-headed wildfowl and very common on East African mountains and forest edge. In Uganda are commonly seen on Mount Elgon.
Helmeted Guinea fowl
They have a beautiful look with striking white speckled grey feathering and a blue head with an ivory casque. They are commonly seen in savanna parks.
African Jacana
It’s a white and black wader also known as a lily trotter for its habit of walking across floating vegetation and wetlands.
Gray-crowned crane
This is Uganda’s national bird, known as the crested crane. It has grey and white feathering and a beautiful golden crest, commonly seen in swamps and in grassland; thus, it is on the list of birds in Uganda.
African green pigeon
It’s a large dove with cryptic green-grey feathering, often seen eating fruits of the fig trees. They are inhabitants of riparian woodland. In northern Uganda you can check out the Bruce’s green pigeon.
African grey parrot
Familiar large caged bird with red tail feathers. They are habitats of the forest. They have a squawking call.
Great blue turaco
This is a unique and awesome blue-green forest dweller that rises up to 75 centimeters from the tip of its red and yellow bill to the end of its blue-black-barred tail. Commonly seen in Entebbe Botanical Gardens.
Ross’s turaco species
It looks beautiful with its deep purple with a bold yellow face mask and red crest and underwings. They are residents of forests bordered with wetlands or rivers.
Eastern Grey Plantain-Eater
The large grey turaco species, which is unique in its bold yellow bill and off-white crest, inhabits woodland and savannah countrywide. They have chuckling calls, a characteristic sound of suburban Kampala and Entebbe. You can check out the black-faced go-away bird in the acacia woodland of Lake Mburo.
African emerald cuckoo
They have a brilliant green and yellow cuckoo, commonly seen in forests.
Coucals
They are large looking like cuckoos and are inhabitants of grassland and swamp, with four species in Uganda. Of which the blue-headed and swamp-dwelling black coucals are the most sought-after species.
Verreaux’s eagle-owl
This is among the 13 species of owl found in Uganda. They are commonly seen during night hours or rooting in large trees by day.
Pennant/standard winged nightjars
This species is among the 11 nocturnal nightjars that are recorded in Uganda. The male species of both species obtain wing streamers twice the length of their bodies during the breeding season. They display most in any savanna habitat, especially those that are close to water but can also be viewed at the top of Murchison Falls.
Pied Kingfisher
They are boldly colored in black and white feathers and like to hover above water for long periods. They can be seen in wetlands.
Giant Kingfisher
It’s a small-sized bird with black and white and red on its chest. They are inhabitants of water, which have tall fringing mouths that help in picking small species in water, thus the list of birds in Uganda.
Other species to encounter on Uganda birding safaris include the northern carmine bee-eater, broad-billed roller, malachite kingfisher, red-throated bee-eater, lilac-breasted roller, hooper, black-and-white casqued hornbill, Abyssinian ground hornbill, double-toothed barbet, white-browed robin-chat, grey-capped warbler, brown-throated wattle-eye, African paradise flycatcher, silver bird, scarlet-chested sunbird, black-headed gonolek, fork-tailed drongo, piapiac, black-winged red bishop, red-cheeked cordon-bleu, pin-tailed whydah, and African finfoot, among others.
Best Time—Birding in Uganda
However, Uganda is good throughout the year, since its climate factors are taken into consideration. The country hosts two seasons: wet and dry seasons, and during the wet season roads and forest trails can be slippery and rain tends to interfere with birding time.
Although the best birding time is from late May to September, when there is less rain and food in plenty. The Albertine Rift endemics, which can be sought in Bwindi National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla national park and the Rwenzori Mountains, can be seen from May to June and from mid-April to mid-May, though the rain might be falling heavily.
Birding in Toro-Semuliki is more comfortable from February to mid-March. Murchison Falls is good in December to January.
Essentials to carry for birding safari in Uganda include A pair of binoculars, a complete telescope, and a sound recorder. Clips 4 and 5 are the most useful sound players among others.
Birders—Get started now on a Uganda birding safari.
