ICONIC BIRD SPECIES AROUND THE WORLD
There are birders who seek to see as many species (of the close to 11,000!) in the world as possible, then there are birders who try and see every bird family in the world. Either of these presents a challenge in terms of time and money – there are then those birders who have “bucket list” birds – an iconic species that they really want to see, which often means travelling to a fabulous destination anyway, and will therefore add a lot more than the one iconic species. Some of these mouth watering species are featured below, with details of trips that can be undertaken to see them.
The magnificent Shoebill is high on many birders wish lists. They inhabit papyrus swamps where they slowly and purposefully hunt their favourite food, lungfish, grabbing them with the huge clog shaped bill, complete with a handy hooked tip to grab the slippery prey. The two best places in Africa to look for these are Bengwuelu wetlands in Zambia, and Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe in Uganda. The latter is by far the easiest place to visit logistic wise and can be done as a short trip or part of a longer trip to this fantastic avian rich country. Visit this page to read more.
There are two species of Rockfowl, White-necked and Grey-necked. Grey-necked is found from south-east Nigeria through to the Republic of Congo, while White necked is found from Guinea through to western Ghana – the conservation efforts of several parties here have ensured that the local community realise the benefits of avi-tourists coming to see these special birds, the locals monitor them, in turn the funds raised from visitors go back into their community, and thereby conserve this bizarre species. A late afternoon walk to their roosts at the breeding site should have you gasping in delight as the birds (literally) come bounding in out of the gloom and preen before settling down to roost. Details on our comprehensive Ghana trip can be seen here.
Pitta’s! You mention pittas and people go weak at the knees! Those of you who have read Chris Gooddie’s Jewelhunter where he set out to see every pitta species in the world will know how special these birds are. African Pitta was one he struggled for, indeed nearly crossed paths with a leopard in his endeavours. It has become fairly reliable in the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe – a fly in to Harare and 4 day trip should have you laying eyes on this beauty. Departure is late November to early December. There are 2 places open in 2023, email us with enquiries.
Most of us will at one stage have watched David Attenborough narrating on Birds-of-Paradise, and if you are like me, just HAD to see some of these birds in our lifetime. These birds are absolutely stunning to watch at their lek sites – on our last short trip we saw 12 different species, including this Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise – the national bird of Papua New Guinea. The trip is relatively easy to do nowadays on our tour of Papua New Guinea, visiting Mount Hagen, Kiunga and Fly River and Port Moresby. Our next trip is July 2024, email us for enquiries.
Cape and Gurney’s Sugarbirds. Nothing feels better than seeing all the species in a family. When you have a family consisting of two bizarre, long-tailed sunbird like species, the excitement of completing this family is unparalleled. Cape Sugarbird is found in the Western Cape and just about guaranteed on our Cape endemics trip, in the beautiful fynbos biome. Gurney’s Sugarbird is found in the high altitudes of the eastern half of the country, often encountered on the Sani Pass leg of our Eastern South Africa tour. Moving on to our next featured species – another family with two species, the Rockjumpers. Visit our South African page for more info.
Cape and Drakensberg Rockjumpers are endemic to South Africa (Lesotho is after all “endemic” to South Africa!). These brightly coloured birds are often found on rocky slopes – the Cape Rockjumper during our Western Cape endemics trip, and the Drakensberg Rockjumper on the Sani Pass leg of our Eastern South Africa tour. Their calls are often heard ringing out in the rocky habitat that they call home. Visit our South African page for more info.
Widowbirds and Bishops, in the genus Euplectes are endemic to Africa. In summer the majority of males are in resplendent plumage, with velvet black, yellows and reds in a variety of patterns found across the family. Long-tailed Widowbirds are one species I can guarantee that you will see on our Eastern South African tour. The male display with their floppy flight over the grasslands, hoping to win a group of females. Always a favourite with overseas visitors, thousands of photographs get taken of these birds. Visit our South African page for more info.
Atlantic Puffins are one of the species you can easily get a non birder to look at. There are a few breeding sites that can be visited to get good views of them – none better than Hornøya island off the eastern most point of Norway, where thousands breed alongside Common and Thick-billed Murres, Razorbills, Shags, and a variety of gulls. A combined tour of Finland and Varangerfjord in Norway will get you amazing sightings of these beautiful birds, as well as a whole host of other classy species. Visit here for enquiries.
Sword-billed Hummingbird – the species with the longest bill length to body ratio. Adapted to feed on a variety of vertical hanging flowers, this large hummingbird has to be seen to be believed. I nicknamed it the flying knitting needle as one whizzed over our heads in northern Peru. This as well as the highlands in Colombia – a feature of our pre trip on this trip – are good places to encounter this as well as several other species of hummingbird. Visit our South American page to see more information.
Stresemann’s Bushcrow is endemic to Ethiopia – the Roof of Africa – these attractive birds are regularly seen in the southern part of the itinerary, which of course includes other specials such as Ruspoli’s Turaco, Rouget’s Rail, Banded Barbet as well as a variety of mammals including the Africa’s most endangered canid, Ethiopian Wolf. Email us with enquiries about our Ethiopian itinerary.