SUB-REGION
West Africa
SIZE
36,125 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 470 recorded species
Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Western Piping Hornbill
Brown-necked Parrot
Glossy-backed Drongo
Western Square-tailed Drongo
Yellow-throated Greenbul
Grey-hooded Capuchin Babbler
Black-faced Quailfinch
Vinaceous Firefinch
Other taxa of interest
African Pygmy Goose
Western Crested Guineafowl
Stone Partridge
Ahanta Spurfowl
Double-spurred Spurfowl
Long-tailed Nightjar
Standard-winged Nightjar
Great Blue Turaco
Western Plantain-eater
Violet Turaco
Guinea Turaco
Black-throated Coucal
Blue Malkoha
Four-banded Sandgrouse
Adamawa Turtle Dove
Bruce’s Green Pigeon
African Finfoot
White-spotted Flufftail
Black Crowned Crane
Black-headed Lapwing
Forbes’s Plover
Egyptian Plover
Greater Painted-snipe
West African Crested Tern
White-crested Tiger Heron
White-backed Night Heron
Western Reef Heron
Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle
Western Banded Snake Eagle
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk
Grasshopper Buzzard
Northern White-faced Owl
Blue-naped Mousebird
Black Scimitarbill
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Western Red-billed Hornbill
West African Pied Hornbill
Yellow-casqued Hornbill
Abyssinian Roller
Blue-bellied Roller
Blue-throated Roller
Shining-blue Kingfisher
Red-throated Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Vieillot’s Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Bearded Barbet
Willcock’s Honeyguide
Least Honeyguide
Spotted Honeyguide
Buff-spotted Woodpecker
Fine-spotted Woodpecker
Little Green Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Brown-backed Woodpecker
Timneh Parrot
Senegal Parrot
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Senegal Batis
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Turati’s Boubou
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Yellow-billed Shrike
Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
Piapiac
African Blue Flycatcher
White-shouldered Black Tit
Western Nicator
Sun Lark
Crested Lark
Grey-headed Bristlebill
Swamp Palm Bulbul
Simple Greenbul
Red-tailed Greenbul
Red-tailed Leaflove
Fanti Saw-wing
Pied-winged Swallow
Red-chested Swallow
West African Swallow
Preuss’s Cliff Swallow
Northern Crombec
Green Hylia
Black-backed Cisticola
Red-winged Prinia
Oriole Warbler
Senegal Eremomela
Brown Illadopsis
Puvel’s Illadopsis
Brown Babbler
Blackcap Babbler
Yellow-bellied Hyliota
Lesser Blue-eared Starling
Bronze-tailed Starling
Splendid Starling
Purple Starling
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Chestnut-bellied Starling
Yellow-billed Oxpecker
White-tailed Alethe
White-browed Forest Flycatcher
Grey Tit-Flycatcher
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
White-crowned Robin-Chat
White-fronted Black Chat
Mangrove Sunbird
Western Violet-backed Sunbird
Pygmy Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Splendid Sunbird
Sahel Bush Sparrow
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
Speckle-fronted Weaver
Olive-naped Weaver
Compact Weaver
Blue-billed Malimbe
Red-headed Malimbe
Northern Red Bishop
Chestnut-breasted Nigrita
Grey-headed Oliveback
Lavender Waxbill
Western Bluebill
Crimson Seedcracker
Red-winged Pytilia
Dybowski’s Twinspot
Bar-breasted Firefinch
Barka Indigobird
Wilson’s Indigobird
Cameroon Indigobird
Exclamatory Paradise Whydah
Brown-rumped Bunting
MAIN HABITATS
Coastal wetlands and islands, moist savanna
BIRD AREAS
9 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Parque Natural das Lagoas de Cufada for Turati’s Boubou
Arquipélago dos Bijagós (Parque Nacional do Grupo das Ilhas de Orango) and coastal wetlands for waders/shorebirds, terns and other waterbirds including Saddle-billed Stork
Also Parque Nacional de Dulombi and Parque Nacional de Boe
TIMING (Oct, Mar–Apr)
The best time to visit is just after and before the rains, when it is dry
RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
Field guides
Birds of Western Africa by Nik Borrow & Ron Demey (2014)
Sounds
African Bird Sounds Vol 2: West and Central Africa by Claude Chappuis
Further reading
Guinea-Bissau by Peter Robertson in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Important Bird Areas in Guinea-Bissau/Zonas Importantes para as Aves na Guiné-Bissau by Tim Dodman, Clive Barlow, Joãozinho Sá & Peter Robertson (2004)
Land Cover and Avian Biodiversity in Rice Fields and Mangroves of West Africa by Daan Bos, Ion Grigoras & Abdoulaye Ndiaye (2006)
Waterbird Monitoring in the Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau/Monitorizacao de Aves Aquaticas no Arquipelago dos Bijagos, Guiné-Bissau by Tim Dodman & Joãozinho Sá (2005)
The End of the East Atlantic Flyway: Waders in Guinea-Bissau, October 1992-May 1993 edited by W J Wolff (1998)
Ornithological Importance of the Coastal Wetlands of Guinea-Bissau by W Altenburg, E Wymenga & L Zwarts (1992)
Birding the Bijagós Archipelago: João Vieira, Poilão and Orango Islands, a trip report by David Karr (2018)
Birding Bissau and Biombo Regions, another trip report by David Karr (2017)
Articles in Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.
ORGANISATIONS
There is currently no BirdLife Partner in Guinea-Bissau
Instituto da Biodiversidade e das Áreas Protegidas (IBAP) is the national institution responsible for protecting and managing the biodiversity and protected areas of Guinea-Bissau
Non-governmental bird or conservation organisations active in Guinea-Bissau include –
Organização para a Defesa e Desenvolvimento das Zonas Húmidas na Guiné-Bissau (OZDH)
ONG Palmeirinha
ONG Tiniguena
Partenariat Régional pour la Conservation de la Zone Côtière et Marine (PRCM) en Afrique de l’Ouest