Gabon

SUB-REGION
Central Africa

SIZE
267,667 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 690 recorded species

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Cranch’s Spurfowl
Verreaux’s Turaco (B2)
Barrow’s Bustard (B2)
Red-chested Goshawk
Eastern Piping Hornbill
Eastern Yellow-spotted Barbet
Streaky-throated Barbet
Brown-faced Barbet (B2)
Thick-billed Honeyguide
West African Pitta
Perrin’s Bushshrike
Clancey’s Drongo
Dark-capped Bulbul
Petit’s Saw-wing (B2)
African Reed Warbler
“Teke” Cisticola (BT)
Western Buff-throated Apalis (B2)
Salvadori’s Eremomela
Gabon Forest Robin (B2)
Black-chinned Quailfinch (B2)
Three-streaked Bunting

MAIN HABITATS
Lowland forest, coastal savanna, grasslands

BIRD AREAS
Cameroon and Gabon lowlands Endemic Bird Area
Gabon-Cabinda coast Secondary Area
7 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Lopé National Park (NP), Ivindo NP including Ipassa-Makokou Biosphere Reserve and Minkébé NP for lowland forest species
Akanda NP, Libreville area and Pongara NP for Rosy Bee-eater, Rufous-vented Paradise Flycatcher, Black Saw-wing (petiti), Chattering Cisticola and Long-legged Pipit, Lesser Flamingo, White-fronted Plover, Damara Tern, West African Crested Tern and Western Reef Heron among other waterbirds, as well as more widespread and common birds including Square-tailed Nightjar, Mottled Spinetail, African Palm Swift, Little Swift, Senegal Coucal, Blue-headed Coucal, Diederik Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Red-eyed Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, African Green Pigeon, Common Moorhen, Black Crake, Water Thick-knee, Senegal Lapwing, African Jacana, Little Tern (guineae), Caspian Tern, African Woolly-necked Stork, Reed Cormorant, African Sacred Ibis, Hadada Ibis, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Egret, Little Heron, Great Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Hamerkop, Pink-backed Pelican, Osprey, African Harrier-Hawk, Palm-nut Vulture, Lizard Buzzard, Yellow-billed Kite, Red-necked Buzzard, Western Barn Owl, Congo Pied Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (sharpii), Woodland Kingfisher, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Speckled Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Double-toothed Barbet, Cardinal Woodpecker, Common Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Grey Parrot, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher, Pied Crow, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Simple Greenbul, Little Greenbul, Common Bulbul (gabonensis), Grey-rumped Swallow, Ethiopian Swallow, Lesser Striped Swallow, Red-breasted Swallow, Green Crombec, Zitting Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Splendid Starling, African Thrush, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Collared Sunbird, Reichenbach’s Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Carmelite Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Black-necked Weaver, Village Weaver (bohndorffi), Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Bronze Mannikin, Black-and-white Mannikin, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Pin-tailed Whydah and Yellow-throated Longclaw
Gamba Protected Areas Complex including Loango NP and Setté Cama Ramsar Site for Rosy Bee-eater, African River Martin and Loango Weaver, White-faced Whistling Duck, Three-banded Plover, African Skimmer, Yellow-billed Stork, African Darter, White-breasted Cormorant, African Spoonbill, Little Bittern, White-backed Night Heron, Squacco Heron, Yellow-billed Egret, Purple Heron and Goliath Heron among other waterbirds, as well as Kittlitz’s Plover, African Fish Eagle, Swamp Boubou, Rufous-tailed Palm Thrush, Mangrove Sunbird, Slender-billed Weaver, Village Weaver (collaris) and Common Waxbill (rubriventris), also Laughing Dove, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Namaqua Dove, Pale-olive Greenbul and Red-capped Robin-Chat
Lékoni area and Batéké Plateaux NP for Finsch’s Francolin, White-bellied Bustard (mackenziei), Black-backed Barbet (minor), Angola Batis, Black-collared Bulbul, Red-throated Cliff Swallow, Dambo Cisticola (kasai), Teke Cisticola (undescribed form), Congo Moor Chat, Black-chinned Weaver and Short-tailed Pipit (leggei), as well as Helmeted Guineafowl (galeatus), Coqui Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Fiery-necked Nightjar (shelleyi), Mottled Swift, White-rumped Swift, Denham’s Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, African Cuckoo, Ring-necked Dove (tropica), Common Buttonquail, Black-rumped Buttonquail, Temminck’s Courser, Black-winged Kite, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Southern White-faced Owl, Marsh Owl, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Black Scimitarbill (anchietae), Lilac-breasted Roller, Brown-hooded Kingfisher (prentissgrayi), Striped Kingfisher, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Greater Honeyguide, Red-throated Wryneck, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Grey Kestrel, Western Black-headed Batis (congoensis), Chinspot Batis (pintoi), Gorgeous Bushshrike (viridis), Black-crowned Tchagra (armenus), Northern Puffback (congicus), Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Fork-tailed Drongo (apivorus), Souza’s Shrike, White-winged Black Tit (insignis), Grey Penduline Tit (ansorgei), Flappet Lark (schoutedeni), Plains Lark (malbranti), Common Bulbul (tricolor), Banded Martin (parvula), Red-capped Crombec (rufigenis), African Yellow Warbler, Rattling Cisticola (fortis), Tinkling Cisticola (ansorgei), Neddicky (dispar), Yellow-bellied Eremomela (salvadorii ), Green-capped Eremomela (congensis), Yellow-bellied Hyliota (barbozae), Violet-backed Starling (verreauxi), White-browed Scrub Robin (munda), Pale Flycatcher (murinus), Sooty Chat, Western Violet-backed Sunbird (angolensis), Amethyst Sunbird (deminuta), Purple-banded Sunbird, Yellow-throated Bush Sparrow (rufitergum), Marsh Widowbird (humeralis), Fawn-breasted Waxbill (ruthae), Locust Finch (uelensis), Cuckoo-finch, Wood Pipit (schoutedeni), Plain-backed Pipit (bohndorffi), Black-throated Canary (lwenarum), Yellow-fronted Canary (tando) and Cabanis’s Bunting (cognominata)
Ngounié and Nyanga regions for African Grey Woodpecker, Marsh Tchagra, Moustached Grass Warbler, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Arrow-marked Babbler, Variable Sunbird, Holub’s Golden Weaver, Red-collared Widowbird, Grey Waxbill, Orange-breasted Waxbill, Brown Twinspot and African Firefinch
Also Raponda Walker Arboretum, Moukalaba-Doudou NP, Mayumba NP, Monts Birougou NP, Waka NP, Monts de Cristal NP, Mwagna NP and Wonga Wongué Presidential Reserve

TIMING (Jul–Sep)
Best to travel in the dry season when access is easier and most forest birds breed (Jun–Sep)
African River Martin and grassland species breed mostly Sep–Dec, which makes Sep the best month overall
Avoid the main rains (Oct–Dec, Mar–Apr)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)

Field guides
Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014)
Guide des Oiseaux de la Réserve de la Lopé by Patrice Christy & William Clarke (1994)

Sounds
African Bird Sounds Vol 2: West and Central Africa by Claude Chappuis

Site guides
Birder’s Guide to Gabon: 1988-1992 by Dave Sargeant (1992)

Further reading
Le Delta de l’Ogooué edited by Jean P Vande weghe & Tariq Stévart (2017)
Gabon by Patrice Christy in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Les Oiseaux d’Afrique Centrale: Liste Faunistique by Patrice Christy & Jean Pierre Vande weghe (1999)
Coastal Waterbirds in Gabon: Winter 1992 edited by Frans J Schepers & Eric C L Marteijn (1993)
Ecology and Behaviour of Flycatchers in North-Eastern Gabon by Christian Erard (1987)
Les Oiseaux des Régions Forestières du Nord-Est du Gabon by André Brosset & Christian Erard (1986)
Articles in Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.

Websites
Biodiversité du Gabon
UNESCO World Heritage List: Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda and Ivindo National Park

ORGANISATIONS

There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Gabon

Bird or conservation organisations active in Gabon include –
Organisation Écologique des Lacs et de l’Ogooué (OELO) 
Brainforest
Ibonga-ACPE
ONG Akanda Nature
Aventures Sans Frontières (ASF)
Association Culture Nature Edzengui (ACNE)
Maison du Tourisme et de la Nature (MTN)
Centre d’Actions pour le Développement Durable et l’Environnement (CADDE)
Fondation Lékédi Biodiversité
Right Routes
WCS Gabon
WWF-Gabon
The Nature Conservancy (TNC)