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The following largely unconfirmed records have appeared in Bulletins of the African Bird Club and are for information only.

A male Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica was seen in Buhanga Forest, on the outskirts of Musanze (Ruhengeri), on 26 July 2007; the small forest has no formal protection, but local people maintain it as a sacred site. This would constitute the second record for the country, the first having been reported in November 1989 from Akagera National Park. Previous records of the similar-looking Bennett’s Woodpecker C. bennettii in Rwanda are presumed to be based on misidentifications.

An African Pitta Pitta angolensis was found in a garden in the town of Musanze, Ruhengeri, Northern Province, on 19 May 2006, and stayed for several days. It fed on a wide variety of insects and worms and could be approached to within 2 m.

Red-faced Barbet Lybius rubrifacies was found to be still common in what remains of Akagera National Park, where at least 13 were seen on 1-2 June 2005; this species has a very restricted range and Akagera is probably the site where it is most easily observed.

In June 2003, a short, hassle-free trip to the country produced the following records. In Nyungwe Forest, the majority of the Albertine Rift endemics were found, including Handsome Francolin Francolinus nobilis, Rwenzori Turaco Ruwenzorornis johnstoni, Abyssian (Kivu) Ground-Thrush Zoothera (piaggiae) tanganjicae, Grauer's Swamp-Warbler Bradypterus graueri, Red-collared Babbler Kupeornis rufocinctus, Stuhlmann's Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris stuhlmanni and others. Uniformly dark swifts, uttering tic calls similar to those of Scarce Swift Schoutedenapus myoptilus but much less frequent, possibly were Schouteden's Swift S. schoutedeni, which has been recorded less than 70 km away. In Akagera National Park, which is now about one-third of its former size but has the new boundaries apparently properly defined (and marked on a new map), sightings included Shoebill Balaeniceps rex and Red-faced Barbet Lybius rubrifacies.

In Nyungwe Forest Reserve, the endangered Grauer's Swamp-Warbler Bradypterus graueri and Kungwe Apalis Apalis (rufogularis) argentea (the latter treated as a race of the widespread Buff-throated Apalis Apalis rufogularis by the African Bird Club) were still well represented and easily found along the tarred road around the campsite, during a short and quite safe visit in June 2001.

Last page update 14th July 2008