Uganda has recorded over a thousand bird species in a country the size of Britain, including around half of Africa's total. Add Rwanda's Albertine Rift forests and you have a two-week list that few destinations anywhere can match.
- Uganda species
- 1,000+
- Albertine Rift endemics
- 24 recorded in the region
- The prize
- Shoebill
- Best forest birding
- Mubwindi Swamp, Ruhija
- Best wetland
- Mabamba Swamp, near Entebbe
- Best months
- The wet season, for breeding plumage
The shoebill
Prehistoric, motionless, and the reason many birders come to Uganda at all. Three reliable places: Mabamba Swamp on Lake Victoria, forty-five minutes from Entebbe and easily done on an arrival or departure morning; the Nile delta launch in Murchison Falls; and the swamp at Ziwa. None is guaranteed.
Albertine Rift endemics
The trail to Mubwindi Swamp from Bwindi's Ruhija sector is the single best forest birding walk in the region. The African green broadbill is the headline; Grauer's rush warbler, Shelley's crimsonwing, handsome francolin, Archer's robin-chat, dusky crimsonwing and regal sunbird are all possible.
Nyungwe in Rwanda holds a similar endemic list with easier access and a canopy walkway to see them from.
The other great sites
- Kibale — green-breasted pitta, at dawn, with a guide who knows the display sites.
- Queen Elizabeth — 600+ species; the Kazinga Channel is a waterbird spectacle.
- Semuliki — Congo-basin species found nowhere else in East Africa.
- Lake Mburo — African finfoot, papyrus specialists and red-faced barbet.
- Bigodi Wetland — the great blue turaco, at close range, run by the community.
Practicalities
Take a specialist bird guide rather than a general ranger — the difference in what you see is enormous, and we book them. Wet-season months are better for breeding plumage and song, at the cost of muddier trails. Bring a scope for the swamps and a recorder if you use playback sparingly and responsibly.
Questions
Frequently asked
Where is the best place to see a shoebill in Uganda?
Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe is the most accessible and probably the most reliable, and it can be done in a half-day on arrival or departure. The Murchison Nile delta is the other strong option.
Can I combine birding with gorilla trekking?
Ideally, yes — Bwindi's Ruhija sector is both a gorilla trailhead and the best birding in Uganda. Trek one day, bird the next, and stay three nights in Ruhija.
Next
Keep planning
- Ruhija sector, Bwindi — Mubwindi Swamp
- Nyungwe Forest — the Rwandan endemics
- Murchison Falls — the shoebill delta
- Best time to travel — seasons and breeding plumage