SUB-REGION
West Africa
SIZE
36,130 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 470 recorded species
Proposed splits not yet accepted by IOC
West African Pied Hornbill
Western Piping Hornbill
Grey-hooded Capuchin Babbler
Vinaceous Firefinch
Other taxa of interest, including endemic subspecies (ESS)
African Pygmy Goose
Stone Partridge
Ahanta Spurfowl
Double-spurred Spurfowl
Violet Turaco
Guinea Turaco
Black-throated Coucal
Blue Malkoha
Four-banded Sandgrouse
African Finfoot
White-spotted Flufftail
Black Crowned Crane
Egyptian Plover
West African Crested Tern
White-crested Tiger Heron
Western Reef Egret
Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk
Black Scimitarbill
Western Red-billed Hornbill
Yellow-casqued Hornbill
Blue-bellied Roller
Shining-blue Kingfisher
Red-throated Bee-eater
Vieillot’s Barbet
Bearded Barbet
Willcock’s Honeyguide (ESS ansorgei)
Spotted Honeyguide
Buff-spotted Woodpecker
Fine-spotted Woodpecker
Little Green Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Timneh Parrot
Senegal Parrot
Senegal Batis
Turati’s Boubou
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Yellow-billed Shrike
Western Square-tailed Drongo
Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
Piapiac
White-shouldered Black Tit
Yellow Penduline Tit
Western Nicator
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
Green Hylia
Whistling Cisticola
Red-winged Prinia
Oriole Warbler
Senegal Eremomela
Puvel’s Illadopsis
Blackcap Babbler
Yellow-bellied Hyliota
Bronze-tailed Starling
Purple Starling
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
White-tailed Alethe
White-browed Forest Flycatcher
White-crowned Robin-Chat
White-fronted Black Chat
Mangrove Sunbird
Pygmy Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Splendid Sunbird
Sahel Bush Sparrow
White-billed Buffalo Weaver
Olive-naped Weaver
Chestnut-and-black Weaver
Blue-billed Malimbe
Red-headed Malimbe
Chestnut-breasted Nigrita
Grey-headed Oliveback
Lavender Waxbill
Western Bluebill
Crimson Seedcracker
Red-winged Pytilia
Exclamatory Paradise Whydah
Baka Indigobird
MAIN HABITATS
Coastal wetlands and islands, moist savanna
BIRD AREAS
9 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Lagoas de Cufada for Turati’s Boubou
Arquipélago dos Bijagós and coastal wetlands for waders/shorebirds and terns
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