Bird watching in Nyungwe Forest – 280 Bird Species – 26 Albertine Endemics – Birds of Rwanda.
Nyungwe forest is probably one of the most important bird watching destination in Rwanda with more than 280 bird species recorded of which the majority are forest specialists and 26 are regional endemics whose range is restricted to a few forests along the Albertine Rift. Bird watching in Nyungwe Forest can be rather frustrating, since the vegetation is thick and many birds tend to stick to the canopy, but almost everything you see ranks as a good sighting.
You don’t have to be an ardent birdwatcher to appreciate Nyungwe forest bird watching encounter our driver guides will help you through identifying the different birds both enroute and while within the forest (supported by a resident local forest guide
From Realm Africa Safaris’ perspective, it is the 26 Albertine Rift endemics that are the most alluring. Depending on your level of expertise, you could reasonably hope to tick off half of these over a few days in the forest. The more common regional endemics are handsome francolin, Ruwenzori turaco (a stunner), strip-breasted tit, red-collared babbler, red throated alethe, archer’s ground robin, kivu ground thrush, grauer’s warbler(confined to high altitude marshy areas), red-faced woodland warbler, kungwe apalis, grauer’s warbler, yellow-eyed black flycatcher , Ruwenzori batis, blue-headed sunbird and strange weaver.
Bird watching In Nyungwe forest takes place both inside the forest and along the Butare -Cyangugu paved high way that dissects the forest. Bird Watching in Nyungwe forest (inside forest) can be challenging because of the high standing forest canopy that makes it difficult to not only see but also identify high flying birds. This calls for you to carry fairly good zoom equipment to aide you in you bird watching excursions.
Bird watching In Nyungwe forest though stunningly rewarding, you must understand that bird watching Rwanda is just at its infant stages of development and the guides are only fairly knowledgeable but improving. You might have to rely on a pocket field guide when trying to carefully identify some bird species. At Realm Africa Safaris, we always ensure you have the best (as of African Standards) bird watching guide as you take on Bird watching in Nyungwe forest.
