Rwanda Important Bird Area
Nyungwe Forest
285 bird species recorded; the most from June to August.
Jonkmania · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
158 species in January.124 species in February.105 species in March.117 species in April.172 species in May.196 species in June.190 species in July.199 species in August.131 species in September.99 species in October.139 species in November.146 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
285 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 285Speciesrecorded more than once
- 49Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 3ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 9,811Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 2,442 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 18Raptors
- 4Owls
- 4Ducks & geese
- 13Herons, ibises & grebes
- 5Storks & cranes
- 165Songbirds
- 76Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 285 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Mountain BuzzardButeo oreophilusNT
- Cassin's Hawk-eagleAquila africana
- Augur BuzzardButeo augur
- Crowned EagleStephanoaetus coronatusNT
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Long-crested EagleLophaetus occipitalis
- African Harrier-hawkPolyboroides typus
- European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorus
- Rufous-breasted SparrowhawkAccipiter rufiventris
- Hooded VultureNecrosyrtes monachusCR
- Palm-nut VultureGypohierax angolensis
- African hobbyFalco cuvierii
- Wahlberg's EagleHieraaetus wahlbergi
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- White-headed VultureTrigonoceps occipitalisCR
- Lizard BuzzardKaupifalco monogrammicus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Brown Snake EagleCircaetus cinereus
Owls4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-chested OwletGlaucidium tephronotum
- Wood OwlStrix woodfordii
- Albertine OwletGlaucidium albertinumNT
- Giant Eagle OwlBubo lacteus
Ducks & geese4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African Black DuckAnas sparsa
- Knob-billed DuckSarkidiornis melanotos
- White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
- Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
Herons, ibises & grebes13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- HadadaBostrychia hagedash
- HamerkopScopus umbretta
- African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
- Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
- African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- DarterAnhinga rufa
- Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
Storks & cranes5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
- Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum
- Leptoptilos crumeniferLeptoptilos crumenifer
- Abdim's storkCiconia abdimii
- Openbill StorkAnastomus lamelligerus
Songbirds165 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Chubb's CisticolaCisticola chubbi
- Regal SunbirdCinnyris regius
- Mountain Masked ApalisApalis personata
- Black Rough-winged Swallow or Black Saw-wingPsalidoprocne pristoptera
- Green White-eyeZosterops stuhlmanni
- Olive-breasted GreenbulArizelocichla kikuyuensis
- Yellow-whiskered GreenbulEurillas latirostris
- Red-faced Woodland-warblerPhylloscopus laetus
- Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
- Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta
- Black-tailed OrioleOriolus percivali
- Dioptrornis fischeriDioptrornis fischeri
- Rwenzori ApalisOreolais ruwenzorii
- Bracken WarblerBradypterus cinnamomeus
- Collared SunbirdHedydipna collaris
- Waller's StarlingOnychognathus walleri
- Streaky SeedeaterCrithagra striolata
- Chestnut-throated ApalisApalis porphyrolaema
- White-necked RavenCorvus albicollis
- Northern Double-collared SunbirdCinnyris reichenowi
- Blue-headed SunbirdCyanomitra alinae
- Starred RobinPogonocichla stellata
- Purple-breasted SunbirdNectarinia purpureiventris
- Variable SunbirdCinnyris venustus
- Abyssinian ThrushTurdus abyssinicus
- Archer's Ground RobinCossypha archeri
- Rwenzori BatisBatis diops
- Rwenzori Hill BabblerPseudoalcippe atriceps
- Rwenzori Double-collared SunbirdCinnyris stuhlmanni
- Grauer's WarblerGraueria vittata
- Yellow-eyed Black-FlycatcherMelaenornis ardesiacus
- Yellow-streaked BulbulPhyllastrephus flavostriatus
- Mountain Sooty BoubouLaniarius poensis
- Strange WeaverPloceus alienus
- Thick-billed SeedeaterCrithagra burtoni
- Northern PuffbackDryoscopus gambensis
- Black-throated ApalisApalis jacksoni
- Doherty's Bush-shrikeTelophorus dohertyi
- Grey CuckooshrikeCoracina caesia
- Banded PriniaPrinia bairdii
- Stripe-breasted TitParus fasciiventer
- White-tailed Blue-flycatcherElminia albicauda
- African Paradise-FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis
- Black-crowned WaxbillEstrilda nonnula
- Red-throated AletheChamaetylas poliophrys
- Dark-backed WeaverPloceus bicolor
- African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
- Chinspot BatisBatis molitor
- Dusky CrimsonwingCryptospiza jacksoni
- Illadopsis pyrrhopteraIlladopsis pyrrhoptera
- Grey ApalisApalis cinerea
- White-browed CrombecSylvietta leucophrys
- Grey-crowned NegrofinchNigrita canicapillus
- Kungwe ApalisApalis argentea
- Slender-billed GreenbulStelgidillas gracilirostris
- Slender-billed StarlingOnychognathus tenuirostris
- Equatorial AkalatSheppardia aequatorialis
- Luehder's Bush-shrikeLaniarius luehderi
- Olive SunbirdCyanomitra olivacea
- Golden-breasted BuntingEmberiza flaviventris
- Neumann's WarblerUrosphena neumanni
- Bronzy SunbirdNectarinia kilimensis
- Grauer's Swamp WarblerBradypterus graueriVU
- Stuhlmann's StarlingPoeoptera stuhlmanni
- Red-collared BabblerKupeornis rufocinctus
- Brown-capped WeaverPloceus insignis
- Mackinnon's ShrikeLanius mackinnoni
- Baglafecht WeaverPloceus baglafecht
- Black-faced Rufous WarblerBathmocercus rufus
- Dusky TitParus funereus
- Sharpe's StarlingPoeoptera sharpii
- Pied CrowCorvus albus
- Green-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brachyura
- Many-coloured BushshrikeChlorophoneus multicolor
- Yellow-bellied WaxbillCoccopygia quartinia
- White-bellied Robin-ChatCossyphicula roberti
- Willard's Sooty BoubouLaniarius willardi
- Motacilla aguimpMotacilla aguimp
- Mountain Yellow WarblerIduna similis
- Green-headed SunbirdCyanomitra verticalis
- White-bellied Crested-FlycatcherElminia albiventris
- Western CitrilCrithagra frontalis
- Lagden's Bush-shrikeMalaconotus lagdeniNT
- Scarlet-spectacled Wattle-eyePlatysteira cyanea
- Angolan SwallowHirundo angolensis
- Pink-footed PuffbackDryoscopus angolensis
- Abyssinian Ground ThrushGeokichla piaggiae
- Black-billed WeaverPloceus melanogaster
- White-chinned PriniaSchistolais leucopogon
- White-breasted NegrofinchNigrita fusconotus
- Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis
- Yellow-crowned CanarySerinus flavivertex
- Kandt's WaxbillEstrilda kandti
- Black Cuckoo-shrikeCampephaga flava
- African BroadbillSmithornis capensis
- Cabanis's GreenbulPhyllastrephus cabanisi
- Scarlet-chested SunbirdChalcomitra senegalensis
- Turdus peliosTurdus pelios
- Mountain WagtailMotacilla clara
- Ashy FlycatcherMuscicapa caerulescens
- African Sand MartinRiparia paludicola
- Pentholaea arnottiPentholaea arnotti
- Black-headed OrioleOriolus larvatus
- Siffling CisticolaCisticola brachypterus
- Lanius humeralisLanius humeralis
- Grey-chested IlladopsisKakamega poliothorax
- Northern Grey-headed SparrowPasser griseus
- Cameroon Scrub-warblerBradypterus lopezi
- Shelley's GreenbulArizelocichla masukuensis
- Estrilda paludicolaEstrilda paludicola
- Cape Robin-ChatDessonornis caffer
- Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
- Olive-bellied SunbirdCinnyris chloropygius
- Brown Woodland-warblerPhylloscopus umbrovirens
- Bronze MannikinLonchura cucullata
- Red-faced Crimson-wingCryptospiza reichenovii
- African PipitAnthus cinnamomeus
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Red-billed FirefinchLagonosticta senegala
- Tropical BoubouLaniarius major
- Black-and-white MuniaLonchura bicolor
- Violet-backed HyliotaHyliota violacea
- Yellow-fronted CanaryCrithagra mozambica
- White-tailed Crested-flycatcherElminia albonotata
- Malachite SunbirdNectarinia famosa
- Miombo Rock-ThrushMonticola angolensis
- Black-crowned TchagraTchagra senegalus
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Pin-tailed WhydahVidua macroura
- African Golden OrioleOriolus auratus
- Violet-backed StarlingCinnyricinclus leucogaster
- White-tailed Rufous ThrushNeocossyphus poensis
- Yellow-bellied Wattle-eyePlatysteira concretaNT
- Red-capped RobinCossypha natalensis
- Sooty ChatMyrmecocichla nigra
- Grey-backed FiscalLanius excubitoroides
- Dusky TwinspotEuschistospiza cinereovinacea
- African Golden WeaverPloceus xanthops
- Black-headed WeaverPloceus melanocephalus
- Red-headed WeaverAnaplectes rubriceps
- Oriole FinchLinurgus olivaceus
- Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinica
- White-headed SawwingPsalidoprocne albiceps
- White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
- Singing CisticolaCisticola cantans
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Grey-capped WarblerEminia lepida
- Purple-banded SunbirdCinnyris bifasciatus
- Red-chested SunbirdCinnyris erythrocercus
- Rock MartinPtyonoprogne fuligula
- Yellow-throated LeafloveAtimastillas flavicollis
- Blue-throated Brown SunbirdCyanomitra cyanolaema
- Petit's Cuckoo-shrikeCampephaga petiti
- Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
- Snowy-headed Robin-ChatCossypha niveicapilla
- Southern Black-FlycatcherMelaenornis pammelaina
- Sharpe's Pied-BabblerTurdoides sharpei
- Red-faced CrombecSylvietta whytii
- Red-headed BluebillSpermophaga ruficapilla
- Red-cheeked Cordon-bleuUraeginthus bengalus
- Velvet-mantled DrongoDicrurus modestus
- Grosbeak WeaverAmblyospiza albifrons
- White-collared Olive-backNesocharis ansorgei
- Mosque SwallowCecropis senegalensis
Other birds76 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-rumped TinkerbirdPogoniulus bilineatus
- Great Blue TuracoCorythaeola cristata
- Ruwenzori TuracoRuwenzorornis johnstoni
- Black-billed TuracoTauraco schuettii
- Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaterMerops oreobates
- White-headed Wood HoopoePhoeniculus bollei
- Barred Long-tailed CuckooCercococcyx montanus
- Grey-cheeked HornbillBycanistes subcylindricus
- Handsome SpurfowlPternistis nobilis
- African Olive PigeonColumba arquatrix
- Bar-tailed TrogonApaloderma vittatum
- Tambourine DoveTurtur tympanistria
- African Green-pigeonTreron calvus
- Olive WoodpeckerDendropicos griseocephalus
- Narina TrogonApaloderma narina
- Fine-banded WoodpeckerCampethera taeniolaema
- Elliot's WoodpeckerDendropicos elliotii
- Speckled MousebirdColius striatus
- Blue MalkohaCeuthmochares aereus
- Crowned HornbillLophoceros alboterminatus
- Scarce SwiftSchoutedenapus myoptilus
- Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
- Emerald CuckooChrysococcyx cupreus
- Mountain NightjarCaprimulgus poliocephalus
- Blue-headed CoucalCentropus monachus
- Dwarf HoneyguideIndicator pumilio
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- Klaas's CuckooChrysococcyx klaas
- Lady Ross's TuracoMusophaga rossae
- Lemon DoveColumba larvata
- Red-chested FlufftailSarothrura rufa
- White-rumped SwiftApus caffer
- Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
- Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens
- Grey-throated BarbetGymnobucco bonapartei
- Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
- Least HoneyguideIndicator exilis
- Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitarius
- Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
- Grey ParrotPsittacus erithacus
- Grey-headed KingfisherHalcyon leucocephala
- Greater HoneyguideIndicator indicator
- Speckled PigeonColumba guinea
- Black CuckooCuculus clamosus
- White-browed CoucalCentropus superciliosus
- Western TinkerbirdPogoniulus coryphaea
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- Scaly FrancolinPternistis squamatus
- Red-knobbed CootFulica cristata
- Black CrakeAmaurornis flavirostra
- Giant KingfisherMegaceryle maxima
- Dusky Turtle DoveStreptopelia lugens
- Forest Wood HoopoePhoeniculus castaneiceps
- Green WoodhoopoePhoeniculus purpureus
- African SwiftApus barbatus
- Blue-spotted Wood-doveTurtur afer
- Emerald-spotted DoveTurtur chalcospilos
- Red-winged FrancolinScleroptila levaillantii
- Harlequin QuailCoturnix delegorguei
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
- African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
- Mottled SwiftTachymarptis aequatorialis
- Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
- Rufous-necked WryneckJynx ruficollis
- Double-toothed BarbetLybius bidentatus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Mourning Collared DoveStreptopelia decipiens
- Diederik CuckooChrysococcyx caprius
- Jacobin CuckooClamator jacobinus
- Thick-billed CuckooPachycoccyx audeberti
- Buff-spotted FlufftailSarothrura elegans
- Little SwiftApus affinis
- European SwiftApus apus
- Afep PigeonColumba unicincta
- Blue QuailSynoicus adansonii
- Pennant-winged NightjarCaprimulgus vexillarius
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from June to August.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan23°/15°137 mm
- Feb24°/15°125 mm
- Mar24°/15°178 mm
- Apr23°/15°176 mm
- May22°/14°108 mm
- Jun23°/13°50 mm
- Jul24°/12°28 mm
- Aug25°/13°65 mm
- Sep25°/15°106 mm
- Oct24°/15°157 mm
- Nov23°/15°224 mm
- Dec23°/15°152 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Nyungwe Forest.
National park located in southwest part of Rwanda
Nyungwe Forest is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Rwanda, 2,442 m above the sea.
285 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 9,811 open records.
The most recorded are the Chubb's Cisticola, the Regal Sunbird and the Mountain Masked Apalis.
21 species come for the summer, 27 for the winter and 1 only pass through.
3 are threatened worldwide, including Grauer's Swamp Warbler, Hooded Vulture and White-headed Vulture.
The most species are recorded from June to August.
Get there and watch
- Uwinka Campsitecampsite · 10 km · 3 within 10 km
- Cyatonearest town · 18 km in a straight line
- Kamembe Airport (KME)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 42 km in a straight lineCar hire in KigaliDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 3campsites within 10 kmUwinka Campsite, Unwinka Visitor's Centre, Banda Community Campsite
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Nyungwe Forest.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas62 mountains within 25 kmRutagara2,589 m · 1.6 kmBigazi2,437 m · 3.6 kmBunyangurube2,568 m · 4.9 kmRukwekwe2,476 m · 8.2 kmNyabihu2,581 m · 9.1 kmBigugu2,954 m · 10 kmNgabwe2,763 m · 12 kmKibuye2,441 m · 16 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Nyungwe Forest
Rwanda
- 64Birdyas Score
- 285Species
- 49Migrants
- 3Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q1356828) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 9,811 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit