Covering an area of over 766-sq-km, Kibale Forest National Park offers one of the best tropical forest birding experiences anywhere in the region. The dense tropical forest of Kibale has an impressive checklist of 470 species of birds comprising of Guinea-Congo biome, Afro – tropical highland forest, Albertine Rift specialists and Lake Victoria biome restricted species.
In addition to this quality bird checklist, Kibale Forest National Park offer the most up-close trekking expereince to encounter communities of common chimpanzee that roam this rainforest. The exclusive trek adventure include one-full-hour expereince with these active and charismatic apes, observing human-like traits, intelligence and social attributes they display. Beyond the chimpanzee trekking, birders are rewarded with excellent sightings of over 12-species smaller primates while birding here.
Birding Trails in Kibale Forest and Key Bird Highlights
Kibale Forest National Park’s extensive birding trails explore all sections and habitats of the rainforest along undulating altitudes between 850m to 1590m asl. Ample clothing, footwear and average fitness is advised.
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Birding for Green Breasted Pitta in Kibale Forest National Park
Kibale Forest bucket-list and most prized sighting is the elusive Green-breasted Pitta (Pitta reichenowi). Attractive with bright green mantle and green breast that blends into scarlet-red belly and rump, the Green Breasted Pitta is a forest floor specialist that frequent primary forest interiors covered in leaf litter. Uganda and in particular Kibale Forest National Park offers reliable chances to encounter this elusive and beautiful forest species.
A birding day for the Green Breasted Pitta at Kibale Forest starts at about 6am by checking in at the tourist office to meet your ranger guides for the trek. The early start is to coincide with a tiny window of opportunity where before the first sunrise hit the forest canopies, males are known to habitually give calls before going silent throughout the day. This behavior is more heightened during the peak breeding window when Green-breasted Pitta males are more vocal while performing colorful courtship display hops on bare branches to attract females. Outside the breeding season, Green-breasted Pitta pairs wander far and wide across various altitudes within their restricted home ranges in the primary forest sections of Kibale Forest.
Across the dim forest floor, the Green-breasted Pitta is first located by its mechanical call of ‘prrruuup’ that can be heard kilometers across the forest.
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Birding Kanyancu and Ngogo Trails and Bird Highlights
Birding from Kanyancu tourist office and around the campsite highlights include; Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Masked Apalis, Lowland Akalat, Narina Trogon, Great Blue Turaco, Afep Pigeon, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Red-tailed Ant-Thrush, Grey Parrot, Yellow Longbill, Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Speckle-breasted Woodpecker, Green-headed Sunbird, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Congo Pied Hornbill, etc
Birding the Ngogo Road highlights include; Red-tailed Bristlebill, Red-tailed Greenbul, Pink-footed Puffback, Western Nicator, Shining-blue Kingfisher, Blue-throated Brown Sunbird, African Shrike-flycatcher, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, Green Hylia, Grey-headed Barbet, Western-black Headed Oriole, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Brown-capped Weaver, Red-headed Malimbe among others.
The forest floor is often patrolled by Fire-crested Alethe, Yellow-breasted Robin, Brown-chested Alethe and that often follow raiding ant swarms. The drab Brown Illadospsis, Equatorial Akalat, Blue-headed Robin-Chat also occur.
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Birding the Sebitoli Sector Trails
Sebitoli Sector office lie son the northern section of Kibale forest along the Kampala- Fortportal highway. Birding trails here explore the primary section of the rainforest and along the forest edge. Highlights include, Plain Greenbul, Purple Starling, Black-billed Turaco, Toro Olive-Greenbul, Sooty Flycatcher etc. The bridge over of Mpanga river is a great place to look out for African Finfoot while the towering trees attract Black Bee-eater pairs.
Raptors in Kibale Forest include African Crowned Eagle, African Wood Owl, Black Sparrowhawk, Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle, Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle etc.
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Birding along Kibale Forest Edge
Kibale Forest edge offers the most rewarding birding expereince where you encounter many generalists and the often shy forest interior species venturing on the edges of their home ranges. A quality checklist here also include many species utilizing the agricultural and regenerating forest edges.
Highlights here include, Superb Sunbird, Olive-bellied Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, White-breasted Nigritta, Woodland Kingfisher, Bocage’s Bushshrike, Compact and Grosbeak Weavers, Double-toothed Barbet, Vieillot’s Black Weaver, Yellow Bishop, White-collared Oliveback, Black-winged Bishop, Black-bellied Seedcracker, Moustached Grass Warbler, Whistling and Stout Cisticola, Magpie Mannikin and Yellow-fronted Canary
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Birding Extension into Bigodi Wetlands on the edges of Kibale Forest
The Bigodi Wetland is a community-run riverine forest set along the southern edges of Kibale Forest and offers a rewarding expereince. The wetland boasts high knowledgeable bird guides and extensive birding trails where; African Dusky Flycatcher, Speckled Tinkerbird, Grey Tit Flycatcher, Yellow-Crested Woodpecker, Ross’s Turaco, Brown-eared Woodpecker and Red-Headed Bluebill.
The forest pools attract Shining Blue Kingfisher while White-spotted Flufftail, African Blue Flycatcher, Olive Sunbird, Yellow-billed Barbet, Green Crombec, Yellow-throated Leaflove occur.