SUB-REGION
West Africa
SIZE
245,857 km²
BIRDS AND BIRDING
SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 670 recorded species
Upper Guinea endemics occurring in Guinea
Rufous Fishing Owl
Brown-cheeked Hornbill
Western Wattled Cuckooshrike | Ghana Cuckooshrike
White-necked Rockfowl | Yellow-headed Picathartes
Green-tailed Bristlebill
Yellow-bearded Greenbul
Sierra Leone Prinia | White-eyed Prinia
Sharpe’s Apalis
Black-headed Rufous Warbler | Black-capped Rufous Warbler
Rufous-winged Illadopsis
Copper-tailed Starling
Nimba Flycatcher
Gola Malimbe | Ballman’s Malimbe
Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Whistling Long-tailed Cuckoo
Western Piping Hornbill
Western Yellow-spotted Barbet
West African Pitta
Rufous-bellied Wattle-eye
Fanti Drongo
Glossy-backed Drongo
Western Square-tailed Drongo
Highland Lark
Yellow-bellied Crombec
Grey-hooded Capuchin Babbler
Black-faced Quailfinch
Vinaceous Firefinch
Bannerman’s Pipit
Other taxa of interest (see also under Birding Sites)
Ahanta Spurfowl
Double-spurred Spurfowl
Plain Nightjar
Long-tailed Nightjar
Standard-winged Nightjar
Mottled Spinetail
Great Blue Turaco
Western Plantain-eater
Guinea Turaco | Green Turaco
Black-throated Coucal
Senegal Coucal
Blue-headed Coucal
Blue Malkoha | Western Yellowbill
Thick-billed Cuckoo
Western Bronze-naped Pigeon | Bronze-naped Pigeon
Vinaceous Dove
Black-billed Wood Dove
Blue-spotted Wood Dove
Tambourine Dove
African Green Pigeon
African Finfoot
White-spotted Flufftail
African Crake
Senegal Thick-knee
Forbes’s Plover
Greater Painted-snipe
White-crested Tiger Heron | White-crested Bittern
Hooded Vulture
White-backed Vulture
Western Banded Snake Eagle | Banded Snake Eagle
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk | Red-legged Sparrowhawk
Ovambo Sparrowhawk
Black Sparrowhawk
Akun Eagle-Owl
African Wood Owl
Narina Trogon
Green Wood Hoopoe
West African Pied Hornbill
Yellow-casqued Hornbill
Abyssinian Roller
Blue-bellied Roller
Blue-throated Roller
Broad-billed Roller
Blue-breasted Kingfisher
White-bellied Kingfisher
Shining-blue Kingfisher
African Pygmy Kingfisher
Little Bee-eater
White-throated Bee-eater
Naked-faced Barbet
Red-rumped Tinkerbird
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
Vieillot’s Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Western Yellow-billed Barbet
Willcocks’s Honeyguide
Least Honeyguide
Spotted Honeyguide
Fire-bellied Woodpecker
Buff-spotted Woodpecker
Little Green Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Grey Kestrel
Timneh Parrot
African Broadbill
West African Wattle-eye
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Red-cheeked Wattle-eye
Orange-breasted Bushshrike | Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
Northern Puffback
Tropical Boubou
Turati’s Boubou
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Red-billed Helmetshrike
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Purple-throated Cuckooshrike
Western Oriole
Black-winged Oriole
Velvet-mantled Drongo
Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher | Western Crested Flycatcher
Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher | Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher
Northern Fiscal
Western Nicator
Slender-billed Greenbul
Grey-headed Bristlebill
Swamp Palm Bulbul | Swamp Greenbul
Simple Greenbul
Honeyguide Greenbul
Red-tailed Greenbul
Little Greenbul
Yellow-whiskered Greenbul
Little Grey Greenbul | Gray Greenbul
Ansorge’s Greenbul
Red-tailed Leaflove | Leaf-love
Fanti Saw-wing
Pied-winged Swallow
White-bibbed Swallow | White-throated Blue Swallow
Red-chested Swallow
West African Swallow
Preuss’s Cliff Swallow | Preuss’s Swallow
Moustached Grass Warbler
Grey Longbill
Lemon-bellied Crombec
Green Hylia
Red-faced Cisticola
Singing Cisticola
Whistling Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Short-winged Cisticola | Siffling Cisticola
Black-backed Cisticola
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Oriole Warbler
Grey-backed Camaroptera
Senegal Eremomela
Northern Yellow White-eye
Brown Illadopsis
Blackcap Illadopsis
Puvel’s Illadopsis
Brown Babbler
Blackcap Babbler
Splendid Starling
Finsch’s Rufous Thrush
White-tailed Ant Thrush
African Thrush
White-tailed Alethe
Pale Flycatcher
White-browed Forest Flycatcher
Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher | African Forest Flycatcher
Ussher’s Flycatcher
Cassin’s Flycatcher
Brown-chested Alethe
White-crowned Robin-Chat
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
Lowland Akalat
Grey-winged Robin-Chat
Fraser’s Sunbird
Mangrove Sunbird | Mouse-brown Sunbird
Little Green Sunbird
Collared Sunbird
Blue-throated Brown Sunbird
Olive Sunbird
Buff-throated Sunbird
Olive-bellied Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Splendid Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Copper Sunbird
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Olive-naped Weaver
Village Weaver
Chestnut-and-black Weaver
Black-headed Weaver
Compact Weaver
Red-headed Quelea
Blue-billed Malimbe
Red-headed Malimbe
Yellow-crowned Bishop
Black-winged Red Bishop
Yellow-mantled Widowbird
Red-collared Widowbird
Bronze Mannikin
Magpie Mannikin
Black-and-white Mannikin
Green Twinspot
Chestnut-breasted Nigrita
Grey-headed Nigrita
Grey-headed Oliveback | White-cheeked Oliveback
Orange-cheeked Waxbill
Common Waxbill
Orange-breasted Waxbill | Zebra Waxbill
Western Bluebill
Crimson Seedcracker
Yellow-winged Pytilia | Red-faced Pytilia
Dybowski’s Twinspot
Red-billed Firefinch
African Firefinch | Blue-billed Firefinch
Black-bellied Firefinch
Bar-breasted Firefinch
Village Indigobird
Wilson’s Indigobird
Cameroon Indigobird
Pin-tailed Whydah
Togo Paradise Whydah
Cuckoo-finch | Parasitic Weaver
Mountain Wagtail
African Pied Wagtail
Yellow-throated Longclaw
Plain-backed Pipit
Yellow-fronted Canary
Cabanis’s Bunting
MAIN HABITATS
Lowland forest, savanna woodland
BIRD AREAS
Upper Guinea forests Endemic Bird Area
18 Important Bird Areas
BIRDING SITES
Réserve Naturelle Intégrale des Monts Nimba, Réserve de la Biosphère du Massif du Ziama, Forêt Classée de Diécké, Mont Béro, Massif de Tétini, Chaîne du Simandou (Pic de Fon) & Pic de Tibé for Upper Guinea endemics, also Baumann’s Olive Greenbul and Emerald Starling, as well as Hartlaub’s Duck, African Black Duck, Western Crested Guineafowl, Latham’s Francolin, Black Spinetail, Sabine’s Spinetail, Cassin’s Spinetail, Bates’s Swift, Yellow-billed Turaco, Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo (lemaireae), Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Afep Pigeon, Lemon Dove, Blue-headed Wood Dove, Buff-spotted Flufftail, Grey-throated Rail, Nkulengu Rail, Congo Serpent Eagle, Crowned Eagle, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, Red-chested Owlet, Sandy Scops Owl, Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, Forest Wood Hoopoe, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Black-casqued Hornbill, Western Dwarf Hornbill, Western Long-tailed Hornbill, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Blue-moustached Bee-eater, Black Bee-eater, Bristle-nosed Barbet, Speckled Tinkerbird, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Cassin’s Honeybird, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide, Brown-eared Woodpecker, Melancholy Woodpecker, Rufous-sided Broadbill, West African Batis, Fiery-breasted Bushshrike, Many-colored Bushshrike, Marsh Tchagra, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Sabine’s Puffback, Lowland Sooty Boubou, African Shrike-flycatcher, Blue Cuckooshrike, Shining Drongo, Dusky Crested Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Golden Greenbul, Red-tailed Bristlebill, Spotted Greenbul, Western Bearded Greenbul, Plain Greenbul, White-throated Greenbul, Icterine Greenbul, Square-tailed Saw-wing, Kemp’s Longbill, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Tit Hylia, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Black-capped Apalis, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Olive-green Camaroptera, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Violet-backed Hyliota, Chestnut-winged Starling, Narrow-tailed Starling, Forest Scrub Robin, Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher, Olivaceous Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Little Grey Flycatcher, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Orange-breasted Forest Robin, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Yellow-chinned Sunbird, Tiny Sunbird, Johanna’s Sunbird, Superb Sunbird, Thick-billed Weaver, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Maxwell’s Black Weaver, Preuss’s Weaver, Red-vented Malimbe, Crested Malimbe, Red-fronted Antpecker and White-breasted Nigrita
Réserve Naturelle (RN) de Kounounkan for White-necked Rockfowl
Parc National (PN) du Badiar, Fouta Djallon (Mont Loura, Nialama & Chutes de Saala), PN du Haut Niger, PN du Moyen-Bafing & RN de Kankan for Helmeted Guineafowl, Stone Partridge, White-throated Francolin, Blue Quail, Freckled Nightjar, Violet Turaco, Denham’s Bustard, White-bellied Bustard, Black-bellied Bustard, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Speckled Pigeon, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Namaqua Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Lesser Moorhen, Common Buttonquail, Spotted Thick-knee, Black-headed Lapwing, White-crowned Lapwing, Egyptian Plover, Temminck’s Courser, Bronze-winged Courser, Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer, Rüppell’s Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Wahlberg’s Eagle, African Hawk-Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, African Fish Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, African Scops Owl, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Black Scimitarbill, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Western Red-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Purple Roller, Striped Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Red-throated Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Bearded Barbet, Lesser Honeyguide, Greater Honeyguide, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, Brown-backed Woodpecker, Fox Kestrel, Lanner Falcon, Senegal Parrot, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Red-headed Lovebird, Senegal Batis, Grey-headed Bushshrike, Black-crowned Tchagra, Brubru, White-crested Helmetshrike, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, African Golden Oriole, African Paradise Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Shrike, Piapiac, African Blue Flycatcher, White-shouldered Black Tit, Yellow Penduline Tit, Rufous-rumped Lark, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, Flappet Lark, Sun Lark, Crested Lark, Red-throated Rock Martin, Grey-rumped Swallow, Northern Crombec, Rock-loving Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Dorst’s Cisticola, Rufous Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, African Spotted Creeper, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Bronze-tailed Starling, Purple Starling, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Neumann’s Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Northern Black Flycatcher, Gambaga Flycatcher, Swamp Flycatcher, Mocking Cliff Chat, Sooty Chat, White-fronted Black Chat, Familiar Chat, Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Pygmy Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Sahel Bush Sparrow, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Heuglin’s Masked Weaver, Vitelline Masked Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Northern Red Bishop, Lavender Waxbill, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Green-winged Pytilia, Red-winged Pytilia, Mali Firefinch, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, West African Seedeater, Gosling’s Bunting and Brown-rumped Bunting
Île de Alcatraz for Brown Booby (breeding)
Île du Naufrage & Sanctuaire de Faune des Îles de Loos (Île Blanche) for Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, Caspian Tern, Lesser Crested Tern, West African Crested Tern (breeding), Sandwich Tern, Little Tern, Black Tern, Red-billed Tropicbird, Band-rumped Storm Petrel and White-breasted Cormorant among other seabirds
Réserve Naturelle Gérée (RNG) des Îles Tristao, RNG du Rio Kapatchez, Rio Pongo, Plaine de Bokarya, Plaine de Monchon & Konkouré for waders/shorebirds including White-fronted Plover, other waterbirds including Red-chested Flufftail, Allen’s Gallinule, African Swamphen, Collared Pratincole, African Woolly-necked Stork, African Spoonbill, White-backed Night Heron, Black Heron, Western Reef Heron and Pink-backed Pelican, also Baumann’s Olive Greenbul, as well as Black Coucal, Black Crowned Crane, Palm-nut Vulture, Marsh Owl, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Zitting Cisticola
TIMING (Feb–Apr)
Best to travel when it is dry and easier to get around (Dec–Mar)
Avoid the main rainy season (Jun–Sep)
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 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)
Inventaire de la Présence et de l’Abondance Relative des Rapaces de Guinée Soumis à un Commerce International/Survey of the Occurrence and Relative Abundance of Raptors in Guinea Subject to International Trade by Guy Rondeau, Mohammed Moussa Condé, Bernard Ahon, Ousmane Diallo & Daniel Pouakouyou (2008)
Land Cover and Avian Biodiversity in Rice Fields and Mangroves of West Africa by Daan Bos, Ion Grigoras & Abdoulaye Ndiaye (2006)
A Rapid Survey of the Birds of Boké Préfecture, Northwestern Guinea by Ron Demey (2006)
Rapid Surveys of the Birds of the Forêts Classées of Déré, Diécké and Mont Béro, Southeastern Guinea by Ron Demey & Hugo J Rainey (2006)
The Birds of Pic de Fon Forest Reserve, Guinea: a Preliminary Survey by Ron Demey & Hugo J Rainey (2004)
The Status and Conservation of Threatened Birds in the Upper Guinea Forest by Gary Allport (1991)
Ornithological Importance of Coastal Wetlands in Guinea by Wibe Altenburg & Jan van der Kamp (1991)
Étude Ornithologique Préliminaire de la Zone Côtière du Nord-Ouest de la Guinée by Wibe Altenburg & Jan van der Kamp (1989)
Le Peuplement Animal du Mont Nimba: Guinée, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia edited by Maxime Lamotte & Roger Roy (2003)
Articles in Malimbus, Bull. ABC, etc.
Websites
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve – UNESCO World Heritage List
ORGANISATIONS
Guinée-Ecologie is the BirdLife Partner in Guinea
Other bird or conservation organisations active in Guinea include –
Acteurs Unis pour le Développement Rural (AUDER)
Synergies & Développement (SYDEV)
Initiative de Base pour la Gestion des Ressources Naturelles (IBGRN)
ONG SAPE: Synergie d’Action pour la Protection de l’Environnement
Mouvement Sauvons Nos Îles
Association-Conseil pour les Actions de Développement (ACAD)
Green Transformation 2050
Wara Conservation Project
Partenariat Régional pour la Conservation de la Zone Côtière et Marine (PRCM) en Afrique de l’Ouest
Association Sylvatrop
Fauna & Flora International (FFI)