10 Birds to Spot on a Birding Safari in Rwanda
10 Birds to Spot on a Birding Safari in Rwanda: Rwanda has over 700 recorded bird species in a country the size of Wales, and 29 of those species are Albertine Rift endemics found only in the narrow band of Afromontane forest running along the western edge of the Great Rift Valley. For a serious birder, Rwanda in a single week can produce a list that would take months to achieve anywhere else in Africa.
What makes Rwanda exceptional for birding is the combination of variety across a compact geography and the quality of the habitats. Nyungwe Forest National Park in the southwest holds one of Africa’s largest intact montane rainforests and is the only reliable place in the world to see the Red-collared Babbler. Akagera National Park in the east is a completely different ecosystem: savannah, wetland, and papyrus swamp producing a bird list of over 480 species including the Shoebill Stork. Volcanoes National Park, where most visitors spend their gorilla morning, also holds 17 Albertine Rift endemics including the Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, which cannot be found anywhere else in Rwanda. Gishwati-Mukura, Rwanda’s newest national park, is already producing sightings of several Albertine endemics as the forest continues to recover.
Red-collared Babbler (Kupeornis rufocinctus)
Where to find it: Nyungwe Forest National Park
Status: Albertine Rift Endemic — Rwanda is the safest and most reliable place to see this species anywhere in the world
Best time: January to June when birds are most vocal
The Red-collared Babbler is Nyungwe’s signature species and the bird that puts Rwanda on the serious birder’s itinerary. This is not a common species that appears on casual lists. It is an Albertine Rift endemic that has a restricted range across a small portion of forest in Rwanda, the DRC, and Burundi, and Rwanda, specifically Nyungwe, is where you have by far the best chance of finding it. The Visit Rwanda birding guide describes it as the star attraction of Nyungwe, and that position is well-earned.
The bird itself is striking rather than showy. The red collar for which it is named encircles the throat in a clean, vivid band against the dark brown and buff of the body plumage. It moves through the forest in mixed-species flocks and is most reliably located by its calls, which your guide will know. The forested trails of Nyungwe, particularly in the early morning when the mist is lifting from the canopy and the forest becomes noisy with activity, are the best setting to look for it. Patient observation at the right elevation, between 1,800 and 2,500 meters, combined with an experienced local bird guide who knows the bird’s preferred microhabitats, gives a very high probability of a sighting during a Nyungwe birding morning.
Shoebill Stork (Balaeniceps rex)
Where to find it: Akagera National Park — papyrus swamps and wetlands around Lake Ihema
Status: Not endemic, but one of Africa’s most sought-after species; near-threatened globally
Best time: Year-round at Akagera, most reliably seen from the Lake Ihema boat cruise
The Shoebill is one of the most extraordinary-looking birds in Africa and one of the most sought-after on any continent. Its bill is enormous, prehistoric in design, shaped like a broad flat shoe with a curved hook at the tip, and the bird carries it with a patience and stillness that can make it look like a piece of vegetation until it moves. An adult Shoebill stands around 1.2 metres tall, is covered in grey-blue plumage, and can remain motionless for periods of time that test the patience of every birder watching it. When it does move to strike, the speed is startling.
In Rwanda, the Shoebill is most reliably found in the papyrus swamps and lake margins of Akagera National Park in the east of the country. The boat cruise on Lake Ihema, the largest of Akagera’s lakes, passes through papyrus channels where Shoebills hunt in the shallow water, and sightings from the boat are reasonably consistent. The bird is not guaranteed on any single visit but Akagera is one of the more reliable sites in East Africa, and a morning boat on the lake followed by an afternoon game drive gives a good chance of a sighting if the bird is present in the accessible areas of the swamp.
Rwenzori Turaco (Ruwenzorornis johnstoni)
Where to find it: Nyungwe Forest National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Gishwati-Mukura
Status: Albertine Rift Endemic
Best time: Year-round; most active in the morning
The Rwenzori Turaco is one of the most visually striking birds you are likely to see anywhere in Africa, and Rwanda is one of the best countries in which to find it. Turacos are African fruit-eating forest birds, and the Rwenzori Turaco is the forest version most strongly associated with the Albertine Rift highlands. Its plumage combines deep green on the back and wings, a vivid crimson primary wing patch visible in flight, a white-tipped crest, and a red bill and facial skin around the eye. When it moves through the canopy, usually in small groups, the flash of crimson as it takes flight between trees is unmistakable.
Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata)
Where to find it: Nyungwe Forest National Park
Status: Widespread in Central and West African forest but a sought-after sighting in East Africa
Best time: Year-round; most active in the early morning forest
The Great Blue Turaco is the largest species in the turaco family and one of the most dramatic birds in Nyungwe Forest. Standing around 70 centimeters from bill to tail, it is a substantial bird even for a turaco, with blue-green upperparts, a yellow and red bill, a prominent crest, and a yellow breast. In flight it shows the same crimson wing patch characteristic of the turaco family, which flashes briefly as the bird moves between perches in the canopy. The Great Blue Turaco is not shy, but it can be frustratingly difficult to get a clear view because it moves within the canopy rather than into open spaces.
Scarlet-tufted Sunbird (Deleornis fraseri)
Where to find it: Volcanoes National Park — high altitude zones, best chance on Mount Bisoke trek
Status: Albertine Rift Endemic — only found at Volcanoes National Park within Rwanda
Best time: Dry season; the Bisoke summit trek is the recommended approach
The Scarlet-tufted Sunbird holds a specific distinction in Rwanda’s bird list: it is the only Albertine Rift endemic found at Volcanoes National Park that cannot be seen anywhere else in Rwanda. If you want to see this species, you need to go to Volcanoes, and the most reliable route within the park is the trek to the summit of Mount Bisoke, which at 3,711 meters takes you into the alpine zone where the bird feeds on the giant lobelia and Afroalpine heather flowers that bloom at that elevation.
Papyrus Gonolek (Laniarius mufumbiri)
Where to find it: Akagera National Park — papyrus swamps and lake margins
Status: Papyrus zone endemic, restricted to the Great Lakes region of Africa
Best time: Year-round at Akagera; most active in the morning hours
The Papyrus Gonolek is a small but striking bird found exclusively in the papyrus swamp ecosystems of the African Great Lakes region. Its plumage is one of the most vivid of any small passerine in the region: a jet-black head and upperparts contrasting with a vivid scarlet or crimson breast and underparts. When it perches at the papyrus edge in the morning light, the color is arresting. The bird is not difficult to see when it is perching in open positions near the swamp edge, but it also spends time deep in the papyrus where it is audible but invisible, so timing and patience both matters.
Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)
Where to find it: Akagera National Park grasslands, also visible in farmland across Rwanda
Status: Uganda’s national bird, near-threatened globally due to habitat loss and capture for the pet trade
Best time: Year-round; most visible during dry season when grassland is shorter
The Grey Crowned Crane is Rwanda’s most recognizable large bird and one of the most photographed species in the country. Its golden crown of stiff feathers catches the light at any angle, and the combination of the red and white facial patch, grey body, and white and gold wing plumage makes it unmistakable in any setting. It is found across East Africa but is most densely concentrated in the savannah and wetland habitats of Akagera National Park, where it feeds on the open grassland in pairs and small groups.
African Fish Eagle (Icthyophaga vocifer)
Where to find it: Akagera National Park — Lake Ihema and the park’s other lake systems
Status: Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa; the national bird of Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, and Namibia
Best time: Year-round; most active in the morning near open water
The African Fish Eagle’s call is one of those sounds that, once heard in the right setting, stays with you. The two-note call carrying across open water at dawn, with the bird visible on a high waterside branch and the lake surface still in the early morning calm, is one of the most immediately recognizable wild sound experiences in Africa. In Rwanda, the African Fish Eagle is most reliably found at Akagera, where the lake system provides exactly the kind of open water fishing habitat this species needs.
Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris stuhlmanni)
Where to find it: Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Gishwati-Mukura
Status: Albertine Rift Endemic
Best time: Year-round; most active in morning when flowers are fresh
Rwanda’s Albertine Rift endemics include several sunbird species, and the Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird is among the most commonly seen of them during a visit to Volcanoes National Park or Nyungwe Forest. The male is a vivid bird: metallic green on the head and back, with a bright red breast band that gives the species one of its collar references, a narrow blue lower breast band, and a yellow belly. It is a fast feeder, moving quickly between nectar sources and rarely staying still for long, which makes it both easy to notice, the colors flash even briefly, and sometimes frustrating to photograph cleanly.
Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)
Where to find it: Akagera National Park — open savannah and woodland edges
Status: Widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, common in savannah habitats
Best time: Year-round at Akagera; most visible during dry season from open perches
The Lilac-breasted Roller is one of the most photographed birds in Africa, and it earns the attention. The combination of colors is genuinely unusual: a spring-green crown, rusty-orange cheeks, a lilac-purple breast, blue wings with turquoise and darker blue patterning visible in flight, and elongated outer tail feathers that trail behind in the display flight. It sits conspicuously on open perches, telegraph wires, dead branches, and termite mounds, scanning the ground below for insects, lizards, and small rodents. It is not a difficult bird to see. It is an extremely difficult bird to see and not stop to photograph.
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