Uganda

SUB-REGION
East Africa

SIZE
241,038 km²

BIRDS AND BIRDING

SPECIES
Diversity
Strongly Afrotropical avifauna
Approximately 1,060 recorded species (4th longest bird list of any country in the ABC region)

Endemics (E)
Karamoja Apalis (VU)
Fox’s Weaver (NT)

Near-endemics (NE)
Weyns’s Weaver

Proposed new species or splits not yet accepted by IOC
Crawshay’s Francolin
Archer’s Francolin (B2)
Schuett’s Spurfowl (B2)
Cranch’s Spurfowl (BT)
Black-shouldered Nightjar (B2)
Abyssinian Nightjar
Rwenzori Nightjar (B2)
Black-faced Go-away-bird
Eastern Black-billed Turaco | Green-rumped Turaco (B2)
Neumann’s Coucal (BT)
Chestnut Owlet (1/2)
Central African Hoopoe
Eastern Piping Hornbill
Grey-headed Barbet (B2)
Eastern Yellow-spotted Barbet
Streaky-throated Barbet
Northern Olive Woodpecker | Red-bellied Woodpecker
Grey-headed Parrot
East African Pitta
Albertine Bushshrike (BT)
Glossy-backed Drongo
Foxy Lark | Abyssinian Lark
Singing Bush Lark
African Reed Warbler
Rufous-crowned Cisticola
Mongalla Cisticola (BT)
Black-faced Prinia (BT)
Eastern Buff-throated Apalis
Tawny-breasted Camaroptera (BT)
Grey-caped Capuchin Babbler | Brown-throated Capuchin Babbler (BT)
Kivu Ground Thrush (B2)
Ethiopian Stonechat
Emin’s Weaver (B2)
Reichenow’s Weaver
Stuhlmann’s Weaver
Victoria Masked Weaver (E)
Black-fronted Red Bishop
Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (B2)
Black-faced Quailfinch
Black-chinned Quailfinch
Grey Firefinch
Jackson’s Pipit

National bird
Grey Crowned Crane | Ngaali | Owalu (EN)

MAIN HABITATS
Swamps, montane forest, tropical forest, moist savanna, arid savanna

BIRD AREAS
Albertine Rift mountains Endemic Bird Area (EBA)
Eastern Zaïre lowlands EBA
Kenyan mountains EBA
North Ugandan swamps Secondary Area (SA)
Dry woodlands west of Lake Victoria SA
North-east Uganda SA
34 Important Bird Areas

BIRDING SITES
Pian-Upe Wildlife Reserve for Karamoja Apalis and Fox’s Weaver
Mabamba Swamp for Weyns’s Weaver as well as Shoebill, Red-headed Lovebird, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Swamp Warbler, Carruthers’s Cisticola, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested Sunbird, Slender-billed Weaver and Northern Brown-throated Weaver, also White-backed Duck, African Pygmy Goose, African Swamphen, Long-toed Lapwing and Lesser Jacana
Entebbe Botanical Gardens for Orange-tufted Sunbird and Orange Weaver
Mabira Forest for Guineo-Congolian species including Western Crested Guineafowl, Nahan’s Partridge, Black-billed Turaco (emini), Dusky Long-tailed Cuckoo, Forest Wood Hoopoe, Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, White-bellied Kingfisher, Grey-throated Barbet (cinereiceps), Yellow-spotted Barbet (duchaillui), Hairy-breasted Barbet (ansorgii), Jameson’s Wattle-eye, Yellow-eyed Bristlebill, White-throated Greenbul, Toro Olive Greenbul, Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, Buff-throated Apalis (nigrescens), Olive-green Camaroptera (toroensis), Purple-headed Starling, Yellow-breasted Forest Robin, Grey-headed Sunbird and Red-headed Bluebill
Lake Mburo National Park (NP) for Brown-chested Lapwing, Red-faced Barbet, Red-headed Lovebird, Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Swamp Warbler, Carruthers’s Cisticola, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested Sunbird, Slender-billed Weaver and Northern Brown-throated Weaver as well as Coqui Francolin, Red-necked Spurfowl (cranchii), Bare-faced Go-away-bird (leopoldi), Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, African Finfoot, White-backed Night Heron, Rufous-bellied Heron, Black-collared Barbet, Crested Barbet, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Little Green Woodpecker, Long-tailed Cisticola, Miombo Wren-Warbler, Green-capped Eremomela, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Southern Black Flycatcher, Familiar Chat (falkensteini), Southern Red Bishop and Black-faced Waxbill (delamerei)
Lake Bunyonyi for Papyrus Yellow Warbler and Papyrus Canary among other swamp species, also Highland Rush Warbler (centralis) and Ruaha Chat nearby
Ruhiza, Buhoma and “The Neck” at Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Mgahinga Gorilla NP, Echuya Forest and Rwenzori Mountains NP for Albertine Rift endemics, Montane Nightjar (ruwenzorii), Lagden’s Bushshrike (centralis), Doherty’s Bushshrike, Abyssinian Ground Thrush (ESS ruwenzorii/tanganjicae), Oberländer’s Ground Thrush, Chapin’s Flycatcher (lendu), Jameson’s Antpecker and Dusky Twinspot (graueri), as well as montane forest taxa including Scarce Swift, Alpine Swift (maximus), Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (montanus), African Olive Pigeon, Dusky Turtle Dove, [Olive Ibis,] Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Mountain Buzzard, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Western Tinkerbird (hildamariae), Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (mfumbiri), Fine-banded Woodpecker, Olive Woodpecker (ruwenzori), Pink-footed Puffback, Grey Cuckooshrike, White-necked Raven, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher (toroensis), White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Kakamega Greenbul, Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-streaked Greenbul (olivaceogriseus), Black Saw-wing (ruwenzori), African Red-rumped Swallow (emini), White-browed Crombec, Brown Woodland Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Bamboo Warbler, Evergreen Forest Warbler (barakae), Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Chubb’s Cisticola (chubbi), Banded Prinia (obscura), Chestnut-throated Apalis, Buff-throated Apalis (ESS kigezi), Grey Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera (aschani), Rwenzori Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Grey-chested Babbler, Slender-billed Starling, Waller’s Starling, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Sharpe’s Starling, Abysinnian Thrush (bambusicola/baraka), White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher (toruensis), White-starred Robin (ruwenzorii), White-bellied Robin-Chat (rufescentior), Cape Robin-Chat (kivuensis), Malachite Sunbird (cupreonitens), Scarlet-tufted Sunbird (dartmouthi), Golden-winged Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver (stuhlmanni), Black-billed Weaver, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Abyssinian Crimsonwing, Red-faced Crimsonwing (ocularis), Mountain Wagtail, Long-billed Pipit (dewittei), Oriole Finch (prigoginei), Thick-billed Seedeater, Streaky Seedeater (graueri) and Yellow-crowned Canary, also Fraser’s Eagle-Owl, Petit’s Cuckooshrike, Ansorge’s Greenbul and Tit Hylia
Lake Saka and Lake Kigere for Great Crested Grebe
Queen Elizabeth NP | Kazinga NP for papyrus specials, mid-altitude forest species (Maramagambo Forest), waterbirds including Lesser Flamingo, Pied Avocet, Greater Painted-snipe, African Skimmer and Gull-billed Tern (Kazinga Channel), as well as Swamp Nightjar, Black-bellied Bustard, Temminck’s Courser, Collared Pratincole, White-tailed Lark, Red-capped Lark and Short-tailed Pipit
Kibale NP for mid-altitude forest species including White-naped Pigeon, Green-breasted Pitta, Joyful Greenbul and Black-eared Ground Thrush, as well as Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Papyrus Gonolek, Orange-tufted Sunbird and White-collared Oliveback
Semuliki NP (Bwamba Forest) and Budongo Forest for Nahan’s Partridge, Black-throated Coucal (neumanni), African Barred Owlet (castaneum), Eastern Dwarf Hornbill, Ituri Batis, Sassi’s Olive Greenbul, Capuchin Babbler (bohndorffi), Golden-naped Weaver and Grant’s Bluebill, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher and Puvel’s Illadopsis, among other Guineo-Congolian species including Hartlaub’s Duck, Bates’s Nightjar, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Grey-throated Rail, Nkulengu Rail, Spot-breasted Ibis, Congo Serpent Eagle, Long-tailed Hawk, Red-thighed Sparrowhawk, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Piping Hornbill (duboisi), White-thighed Hornbill, Black-casqued Hornbill, Eastern Long-tailed Hornbill, African Dwarf Kingfisher, Red-rumped Tinkerbird, Zenker’s Honeyguide, Spotted Honeyguide, [Lyre-tailed Honeyguide,] African Piculet, Gabon Woodpecker, Black-collared Lovebird, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, [Fiery-breasted Bushshrike,] Red-eyed Puffback, Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike, Black-winged Oriole, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Nicator, Spotted Greenbul, Swamp Palm Bulbul, Simple Greenbul, Eastern Bearded Greenbul, Xavier’s Greenbul, Icterine Greenbul, White-bibbed Swallow, Lemon-bellied Crombec, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Banded Prinia (bairdii), Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Grey Ground Thrush, Forest Scrub Robin, Fraser’s Forest Flycatcher, Yellow-footed Flycatcher, Lowland Akalat, Maxwell’s Black Weaver, Blue-billed Malimbe, Red-bellied Malimbe, Crested Malimbe, Chestnut-breasted Nigrita and Pale-fronted Nigrita, as well as Southern Hyliota and Orange-cheeked Waxbill
Murchison Falls NP | Kabalega NP for Heuglin’s Spurfowl, Shoebill, Black-billed Barbet, Foxy Cisticola, Red-winged Grey Warbler, Green-backed Eremomela, Dusky Babbler, Swamp Flycatcher, Shelley’s Sparrow, Baglafecht Weaver (emini), Northern Red Bishop and Black-bellied Firefinch among other moist savanna species and waterbirds including African Pygmy Goose, Plain Nightjar, Long-tailed Nightjar, Standard-winged Nightjar, Denham’s Bustard, Vinaceous Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Black Crowned Crane, Senegal Thick-knee, Spotted Thick-knee, Long-toed Lapwing, Black-headed Lapwing, [White-crowned Lapwing, Egyptian Plover,] Rock Pratincole, African Skimmer, Secretarybird, Grasshopper Buzzard, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Pel’s Fishing Owl, Eurasian Hoopoe (waibeli), Black Scimitarbill, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Red-throated Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Brown-backed Woodpecker (obsoletus), Yellow-billed Shrike, Emin’s Shrike, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, White-shouldered Black Tit, Rufous-rumped Lark, Rattling Cisticola (simplex), Black-backed Cisticola, Red-winged Prinia, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Bronze-tailed Starling, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Silverbird, Spotted Palm Thrush, White-fronted Black Chat, Pygmy Sunbird, Beautiful Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, [Northern Masked Weaver,] Vitelline Masked Weaver, Grey-headed Oliveback, Black-rumped Waxbill, Red-winged Pytilia, Bar-breasted Firefinch, Cuckoo-finch, White-rumped Seedeater, Brown-rumped Bunting and Cabanis’s Bunting
Kidepo Valley NP, Matheniko, Bokora and Pian-Upe Wildlife Reserves and Mount Moroto for Ring-necked Francolin, Heuglin’s Spurfowl, Clapperton’s Spurfowl, Jackson’s Hornbill, Black-billed Barbet, Black-breasted Barbet, Kidepo Lark (kidepoensis), Red-pate Cisticola (mongalla), Foxy Cisticola, Shelley’s Sparrow and Northern Red Bishop as well as Common Ostrich (camelus), Stone Partridge, Orange River Francolin (lorti), Yellow-necked Spurfowl, [Sombre Nightjar,] Montane Nightjar (poliocephalus), Nyanza Swift, White-bellied Go-away-bird, [Kori Bustard,] White-bellied Bustard, Buff-crested Bustard, Hartlaub’s Bustard, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Quail-plover, Black-headed Lapwing, Three-banded Courser, Secretarybird, Scissor-tailed Kite, Verreaux’s Eagle, Eastern Chanting Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, Northern White-faced Owl, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Northern Red-billed Hornbill, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Abyssinian Roller, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, African Green Bee-eater, Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (affinis), Red-fronted Barbet, Black-throated Barbet, Red-and-yellow Barbet, D’Arnaud’s Barbet, Brown-backed Woodpecker (ingens), Pygmy Falcon, [Greater Kestrel,] Fox Kestrel, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Grey-headed Batis, Pygmy Batis, Three-streaked Tchagra, Slate-colored Boubou, Yellow-billed Shrike, Northern White-crowned Shrike, Yellow-billed Shrike, Taita Fiscal, Fan-tailed Raven, White-bellied Tit, Acacia Tit, [Yellow Penduline Tit,] Mouse-colored Penduline Tit, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, [Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark,] Pink-breasted Lark, Fawn-colored Lark (intercedens), Northern Brownbul, Red-faced Crombec (loringi), Rock-loving Cisticola (petrophilus), Rattling Cisticola (humilis), Boran Cisticola, Lynes’s Cisticola, [Tiny Cisticola,] Pale Prinia, Red-fronted Prinia, Brown-tailed Apalis, Grey Wren-Warbler, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Rufous Chatterer, Superb Starling, Bristle-crowned Starling, [Magpie Starling,] Red-billed Oxpecker, African Grey Flycatcher, Silverbird, Spotted Palm Thrush, Little Rock Thrush, Heuglin’s Wheatear, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Familiar Chat (omoensis), Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Beautiful Sunbird, Abyssinian Sunbird, Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow, Chestnut Sparrow, Parrot-billed Sparrow, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Red-billed Buffalo Weaver, White-headed Buffalo Weaver, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Chestnut Weaver, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Steel-blue Whydah, Straw-tailed Whydah, Long-tailed Paradise Whydah, Cuckoo-finch, African Silverbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Cut-throat Finch, Purple Grenadier, [Blue-capped Cordon-bleu,] Green-winged Pytilia (soudanensis), Orange-winged Pytilia, Jameson’s Firefinch, Reichenow’s Seedeater, White-bellied Canary and Somali Bunting
Mount Elgon for Elgon Francolin and Jackson’s Spurfowl as well as Hartlaub’s Turaco, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, [Taita Falcon,] Moustached Tinkerbird, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (jacksoni), Pallid Honeyguide, Highland Rush Warbler (elgonensis), Hunter’s Cisticola, Banded Prinia (melanops), Black-collared Apalis, African Hill Babbler, Brown Parisoma, African Spotted Creeper, Red-winged Starling, Abyssinian Ground Thrush (piaggiae), White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher (fischeri), White-starred Robin (elgonensis), Moorland Chat, Tacazze Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver (reichenowi), Southern Citril and West African Seedeater (elgonensis)
Far north-west for Sun Lark, Palestine Sunbird, [Splendid Sunbird,] Sahel Bush Sparrow and Dybowski’s Twinspot

TIMING (Jan, Jul–Aug)
Best when it is dry in the south (Dec–Feb, Jul–Sep) and wet in the north (Jul–Sep)
Green-breasted Pitta is best Jul–Aug
Afro-Palearctic migrants are present Oct–Mar
Avoid the main rains in the south (Mar–May, Oct–Nov)

RESOURCES
Apps
Birds of Africa (iOS or Android)
eGuide to Birds of East Africa

Field guides
Birds of East Africa by Terry Stevenson & John Fanshawe (2020)
Birds of Eastern Africa by Ber Van Perlo (2009)
Birds of Uganda: a Perfect Safari Companion by Quentin Meunier & Sherry McKelvie (2015)
Pocket Guide Birds of East Africa by Dave Richards (2016)
Collins Traveller’s Guide to Wildlife of Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda by David Hosking & Martin Withers (2007) is a pocket-sized photographic guide covering over 475 commonly-seen species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, trees and flowers

Sounds
African Bird Sounds Vol 2: West and Central Africa by Claude Chappuis
100 Common Bird Calls in East Africa by Dave Richards & Brian Finch

Site guides
Where to Watch Birds in Uganda by Jonathan Rossouw & Marco Sacchi (1998)
Where to Watch Birds in World Cities by Paul Milne (2006) covers sites in and around Kampala and Entebbe
10,000 Birds’ How to Bird Murchison Falls by Mike Bergin (2019)

Atlases
African Bird Atlas Project
The Bird Atlas of Uganda by Margaret Carswell, Derek Pomeroy, Jake Reynolds & Herbert Tushabe (2005)

Further reading
The State of Uganda’s Birds: Indicators of Our Changing Environment compiled and edited by Achilles Byaruhanga, Dianah Nalwanga & Michael Opige Oduli (2014)
Uganda by Achilles Byaruhanga, Pantaleon Kasoma & Derek Pomeroy in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation edited by Lincoln D C Fishpool & Michael I Evans (2001)
Birds of the Kampala Area by Margaret Carswell (1986) with an Update by NatureUganda (2012)
Towards Developing Sustainable, Biodiversity-Rich Agricultural Systems in Uganda by D E Chamberlain, R Katebaka, I Senfuma, D Pomeroy, D Nalwanga-Wabire, A Byaruhanga, P W Atkinson & J A Vickery (2009)
Uganda Wildlife Trafficking Assessment by Alessandra Rossi (2018)
Birds of East Africa: Their Habitat, Status and Distribution edited by P L Britton (1980)
The Breeding Seasons of East African Birds by L H Brown & P L Britton (1980)
Articles in Scopus, Journal of East African Natural History, Bull. ABC, The Naturalist (NatureUganda newsletter), African Skimmer, etc.

Websites
Birding Uganda
Uganda Bird Guides: Uganda Birding Information, Tips & Resources
UNESCO World Heritage List: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwenzori Mountains National Park
Venture Uganda

Facebook groups
Birds of Uganda

Blogs
Birding Uganda by Derek Kverno (2015-2017)
Bukoba Steve’s Uganda Birding Blog (2016-2017)
Some of Uganda’s Top Birding and Wildlife Sites by Harriet Kemigisha (2020)

ORGANISATIONS

NatureUganda is the BirdLife Partner in Uganda

The Ringing Scheme of Eastern Africa coordinates and promotes bird ringing (banding) throughout the East African region and beyond through issuing of rings to qualified ringers, curating ringing data and tracking ring recoveries

The East African Rarities Committee assesses records of new and very rare birds occurring in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi

Other bird or conservation organisations active in Uganda include –
Uganda Wildlife Society (UWS)
The Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda (ECOTRUST)
Uganda Conservation Foundation (UCF)
Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC)
A Rocha Uganda
Endangered Wildlife Conservation Organisation (EWCO)
Pro-Biodiversity Conservationists in Uganda (PROBICOU)
Uganda Safari Guides Association
Uganda Bird Guides Club
Uganda Women Birders
Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust (BMCT) 
Fort Portal Bird Guides Association
Village Bird Clubs – Kibale Forest
Musambwa Islands Joint Conservation Organisation (MIJCO)
Mabamba Wetland Eco-tourism Association (MWETA)
Lutembe Wetland Users Association (LWUA)
Katwe Tourism Information Centre (KATIC)
Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS)
NABU
Fauna & Flora International (FFI)
WWF Uganda
WCS Uganda

The Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR) in Kampala promotes the management of environmental and natural resources through training and research
Within MUIENR, the National Biodiversity Databank (NBDB) monitors the national biological resources in Uganda, including the country’s birds, and provides information to all those interested in the conservation and sustainable utilisation of these resources