Uganda 2021

©Max Baumgarten

Itinerary

26th Jan – Departure from Brazil & Germany 27th Jan – Driving from Entebbe to Kibale 28th Jan – Kibale Forest NP 29th Jan – Kibale NP to Semuliki NP 30th Jan – Semuliki NP Hike 31st Jan – Semuliki NP to Q.E.N.P 1st Feb – Q.E.N.P to Buhoma Bwindi 2nd Feb – Buhoma Bwindi 3rd Feb – Buhoma Bwindi to Ruhija Bwindi 4th Feb – Ruhija Bwindi 5th Feb – Ruhija Bwindi to Mgahinga NP 6th Feb – Mgahinga NP 7th Feb – Mgahinga NP 8th Feb – Mgahinga NP to Lake Mburo NP 9th Feb – Lake Mburo NP 10th Feb – Lake Mburo NP to Kampala 11th Feb – Mabamba to Mabira Forest

12th Feb – Mabira Forest to Airport

0 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch ©Max Baumgarten After a late departure from Brazil and an early morning departure from Germany the two of us met in Doha on 26th just before midnight. With double mask and face shield Dan had survived Brazilian corona madness while Max went with one of the KN95/FFP2 masks. Planes were relatively empty and we enjoyed more than „only“ a single row of space. We arrived in Entebbe 7:25 in the morning and had our rental car delivered to the airport. Buying a local sim card turned out to demand more time then hiring a car, welcome to Africa, although both went smooth. We hit the road around 9:00 am and headed straight for Kibale Forest NP. A very short en route stop at the Matiri Central Forest produced the first forest birds oft the trip with three Blue Malkoha a Red-headed Malimbe and a Black-necked Weaver. The day was dominated by driving and we pushed it a bit to be in Kibale before darkness. Arriving in Kibale we were to meet our local guide there, Patricia Kansiime. This turned out to be a bit of a hustle as our messages about date and time did not get through to her, due to a governmental shut down of all social media channels. This was meant to counter post-election violence….. Finally, we were able to reach out to her and planned our next morning which was all about the Pitta.

As birding never sleeps Dan tried to lure in Owls to our room which worked very well for a pair of African Wood Owl which would be calling for the whole African Wood Owl night and the next morning.

Jan 28th - A very early wake up had us in the forest before first light and we were able to hear at least two maybe even three Pittas doing their wing flapping. We chose the closest one and the chase began. At first the flap sounds came from the canopy or sub canopy until after a few minutes the bird descended to mid stratum, where a first second long glimpse was had. From there continuously descending towards the ground and becoming more and more silent, we had to find the bird in the ©Max Baumgarten dense undergrowth before going quiet for the rest of the day. We managed to locate it and the next hour would be a few seconds glimpses, a few minutes nothing, a few seconds glimpses and so forth.

Green-breasted Pitta The best picture we were able to get in the darkness and thick undergrowth

©Max Baumgarten

1 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch

Having seen the main target for the day we worked to see species of the forest interior since we had paid the rather steep entrance fee for the national park. We managed to see Brown-chested Alethe, a very vocal Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, White-spotted Flufftail, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Chestnut Wattle- eye, Black-faced Rufous Warbler and others: https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303133

We left the park around lunchtime and headed for our first Rice & Beans which would become our main course for many days to come. The afternoon was spent birding the community lands where we had close encounters with Green Hylia, White-chinned Prinia and Yellow-whiskered Greenbul. In total we observed 61 species in the community including Klaas’s Cuckoo, Double-toothed Barbet, Speckle- breasted (Uganda) Woodpecker, our only Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike and Green-throated Sunbird of the trip. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303132

Jan 29th – We left our lodge early again and collected our reward in the road a hundred metres further. A Black-shouldered Nightjar was sitting in the road and gave a nice show flying around calling after being flushed. Sometimes you just get lucky. We collected Patricia and got even more lucky with a Spotted Eagle Owl on a pole next to the road in the middle of Town, what a start! Thereafter we started birding the roadside within the park and saw a few good species such as Afep Pigeon, Ayre’s Hawk Eagle, ©YellowMax Baumgarten-whiskered Greenbul Sabine’s Spinetail, Black Bee-eater, finally a well seen Toro Olive Greenbul after many heard ones and crap views….Black-billed Turaco, Petit’s Cuckooshrike and Green Crombec. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303127

Besides birds we got lucky with a “real” Forest Elephant in the road. Tusks pointed the way they should, and the animal was somewhat small (in Elephant terms).

The rest of the day was spent driving to Semuliki NP, on the roadside we saw a few Piapiac.

Jan 30th – As usual we woke up early to a day that should be anything else than “usual”. We hiked all the way through forest and swamp to the Semuliki River to see White-throated Blue Swallow, which in Uganda is only found at that river. The hike was 14km each way, so by the end of the day we had hiked 28km. The path is quite good and relatively wide on the first section until a campsite. From the campsite to the river, which is 8km, the path is more narrow and later also swampy. We had rubber boots but either of us managed to haver water run into them as the swamp was quite deep in parts. This hike should only be attempted when physically fit. It takes from dusk till dawn if you watch birds while hiking. Additionally, we had an hour of heavy rain and half an hour of seeking shelter, making schedule even tighter. Despite all obstacles we saw quite a few of the Semuliki specials: White- throated Blue Swallow, Yellow-throated Cuckoo, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Black-casqued Wattled Hornbill, White-Crested Hornbill, Piping Hornbill, Xavier’s Greenbul, Crested Malimbe and we heard 6! Yellow-throated Nicator. Dan managed to get okay views of one while all Max got was a flyaway one. Despite good spotting an extremely tough bird to see well. https://ebird.org/checklist/S80166510

2 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch There is no doubt that one would have seen more species when not doing the hike, but if you want to see the swallow and make an experience, that’s what you have to do. The forest canopy in Semuliki is much more open than in Kibale, the undergrowth however is very thick. Still the wide track in the first section allows observations of skulkers and undergrowth species. We managed to get good views of Yellow-eyed Bristlebill here. In the evening we tried for Bate’s Nightjar and Owl’s from the Lodge but did only get African Wood Owl to respond.

Jan 31st - Our feet got a bit of rest after yesterday’s hike and we drove from Semuliki NP to Q.E.N.P.. In Fort Portal we had a quick stop, getting cash and supplies and dropping Patricia off. Three hours into our drive we had crossed the Equator and reached Q.E.N.P. You enter the park without a permit and drive to the headquarters which are well within the park, so you can see all kinds of wildlife before paying. We headed directly for the headquarters at -0.136095, 29.928720 and paid our fees. On the way there we got lucky with an African Crake randomly flying over the road and Buttonquail on two occasions. The crake responded to tape but would not come all the way into the open. Another unexpected encounter was a female Amur Falcon sitting in a bush in a recently burned area, not a common sight in Uganda. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303120 . From the headquarters we went to Mweya and got there just in time for our boat cruise on Kazinga Channel. The cruise is nothing short of fantastic, we saw 56 species in 1,5h many of them close by the boat and very confiding. Photographic opportunities there are magnificent and big game such as Hippo, Buffalo, Waterbuck or Elephants can be seen. Bird highlights on the cruise were African Skimmer, Red-throated Bee-eater, Goliath Heron, Pink-backed Pelican and vast numbers of Pied Kingfishers. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303119

©Max Baumgarten Reed Cormorant

©Max Baumgarten ©Max Baumgarten Goliath Heron

3 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Pleased by our experience on the boat we continued our game drive through the bushy parts north of the channel where we managed to see a few White-backed and Hooded Vultures, White-browed Coucal, Black-crowned Tchagra, Brimstone Canary, Golden-breasted Bunting, Brown-backed Scrub Robin and other common bush birds despite the heat of the day. Slowly working our way east, we eventually reached Kasenyi Plains where recent and very recent and active fires attracted an array of birds picking up dead insects or enjoying new greens. We encountered huge numbers of Senegal Lapwing, which were literally everywhere on areas that had burned and now began to grow fresh green. These areas attracted most birds and a large herd of Kob, many Warthog and even Lions and Elephant. Life was teeming there. Temminck’s Courser, around 200 Caspian Plover, Collared Pratincole, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and Red-necked Francolins around each corner were the avian highlights here. To our amusement a herd of Elephant chased resting lions away from a nearby waterhole. Unfortunately, time was pressuring as darkness fell and we still had to reach our lodge. We made plans to return to Kasenyi plains first next morning.

Feb 1st – We are glad the car survived this day! The day started exceptionally good with a Serval, a Lioness with two cubs, Buttonquail fledglings and a Black-bellied Bustard in Kasenyi plains. Heavy hearted we left this beautiful area and commenced our ride to Ishasha. Just after fueling up in town we crossed the Kazinga Channel Bridge south and tried our luck with Papyrus Gonolek and African Rail, the Gonoleks showed perfectly, duetting in full sight – simply awesome. The rail was asleep or absent or just did not want to show. We proceeded towards Ishasha on what might be the worst road in the country. Due to big trucks getting stuck in rainy season ©Max Baumgarten there are enormous potholes/ditches en masse. The road is utterly shit – Full Stop. It is doable but shit. After some near car and mental breakdowns we arrived to Ishasha where we had a Papyrus Gonolek rather short game drive, as time was pressuring already. We did however get lucky with two tree climbing lions and a very showy African Crake as well as a flushed Black-rumped Buttonquail. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303108 Happy with what we had seen and happy we got that road behind us we arrived in Buhoma at the entrance of Bwindi Impenetrable NP just before dark and were greeted by a local pair of Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, that presumably had a village chicken for Senegal Lapwing dinner.

4 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch

5 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Handsome Francolin African Crake Feb 2nd – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is arguably the best birding location in the country holding the largest share of Albertine Rift endemics. It is divided in two main birding areas, lower Bwindi which is accessed from Buhoma and higher elevations around Ruhija. Besides upper and lower elevation forests there is another important feature in the Bwindi landscape, Mubwindi Swamp - the home to Grauer’s Broadbill, Grauer’s Rush Warbler and many others. As most groups we started birding in the lower sections around Buhoma. A rather late start around 7:30 was the earliest we could get as the gate only opens then. We had our permit by 8:00 am and started birding the main trail and later the Waterfall trail. Birdwise highlights were manifold with White-bellied Robin Chat, Chapin’s Flycatcher, Sooty Flycatcher, Equatorial Akalat, Red-throated Alethe, Pink-footed Puffback (in secondary growth just after the office), African Broadbill, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Bar-tailed Trogon, Grey-winged Robin Chat, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Ansorge’s Greenbul, Shelley’s Greenbul and plenty more: https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303106 We also located a Neumann’s Warbler and heard it sing clearly and rather close by for several minutes, however only Dan got a very brief glimpse of the bird in the undergrowth. Much more cooperative was Dan’s most wanted bird of the trip: Banded Prinia (Prinia bairdii obscura) or sometimes considered a split: Black-faced Prinia (Prinia obscura/melanops). Two birds gave stunning views but remained tough to Black-billed Turaco photograph in the open, it took us quite a while to take pictures without any twigs, ferns or other distractions covering the birds. Other good birds included Lühder’s Bushshrike, Black-tailed Oriole, Waller’s Starling, Black-throated Apalis and Olive-Green Carmaroptera.

Feb 3rd – Saying goodbye to our local Verreaux Eagle Owl’s we headed for Ruhija. In the farmlands along the road we observed a few Mackinnon’s Shrike, Augur Buzzard, Cape Wagtail and Abyssinian Thrushes. The first real birding of the day took place at “the neck” which is a part of the Bwindi forest traversed by the Buhoma – Ruhija road. It is well known among birders for the local Cassin’s Flycatcher which sits in Dipper fashion on rocks in rivers and streams. White bird poo on these rocks gives away the presence of the bird. When we arrived, we first met a begging old woman that would after many polite attempts not stop to harass us. We drove away pretending to leave, which worked and had her leave the bridge. We waited and just when Max checked if she had left, he found the Flycachter in a bush next to the stream. We did not lose much time and went back directly, to find the bird had gone. We waited for another couple of minutes and finally a bird was sitting on a rock in the river. Just as it should be. Seems the bird also did not like that woman. To our surprise another bird was relatively common around suitable areas in the neck and Ruhija - Banded Prinia was singing in quite a few places and showed very well at the neck. With Cassin’s Flycatcher found we resumed our ride to Ruhija on a rather heavenly road after what we’ve had before. We developed a habit of skipping lunch or just eating bisquits as we were always birding full days, so we also skipped that today and went birding directly after having checked in at Ruhija. The birding with Gordon Tukwasibwe our local guide in Ruhija was a bit different from what we did the week before. We went very slow, stood large periods of time observing and this yielded really good results. A few hours in the afternoon resulted in views of Doherty’s Bushshrike, Grauer’s Warbler, Regal Sunbird, Mountain Masked Apalis, Rwenzori Apalis, Rwenzori Batis, Strange Weaver, Grey Cuckooshrike, Stuhlmann’s Starling, Narina Trogon and Red- faced Woodland Warbler, among others. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303098 . After the different but really good afternoon birding we headed back for dinner. When light faded, we started our night

6 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch mission: “Finding Rwenzori Nightjar”. We drove the road towards Buhoma and stopped at one of Gordon’s best spots. We got a response of a bird very quickly and walked to where the bird must have been. We tried to locate the bird for half an hour after it first responded, but no luck. The reason for it eluding us might have been an African Wood Owl that called a few minutes after the Nightjar responded. Still rather early we decided to head further down the road and try our luck in other places. Long story short – we never connected with a bird again although we racked up quite many kilometres and places. We drove so far and long, we encountered 4 African Civet and a massive Yellow-backed Duiker on the road (quite a rare animal to see).

Feb 4th – In order to see as many Albertine Rift Endemics as possible this day was very important. The hike down to the very scenic Mubwindi Swamp was on the agenda and the day began really good. We found Mountain Illadopsis, Dusky Crimson-wing, Handsome Francolin, Stripe-breasted Tit, Mountain Buzzard, Archer’s Robin Chat, Olive Woodpecker, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Rwenzori Hill Babbler and Blue-headed Sunbird before reaching the swamp. When the swamp was near we heard Lagden’s Bushshrike and were about to connect with the bird when the skies decided to release all they had on us. We managed to see Grauer’s Swamp Warbler down at the swamp before calling it a day and giving in to the strong rains. Not a bad morning after all: https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303097 . The hike up from the swamp was rather quick as there was absolutely no birding possible in such downpour. Back in Ruhija we waited for the rain to stop and went back to birding around 5:00 pm. We saw pretty much what we saw the afternoon before but got some nice extra with a Black Cuckoo. The bird first was a bit of a mystery to us and we had never seen such a uniform brownish Cuckoo before. The wet conditions today had us bail out on the nightjar and go to bed rather early, so we would be ready for some morning birding before driving all the way to Mgahinga the next day.

Black Cuckoo

Feb 5th – Ruhija to Mgahinga was today’s schedule and so we left Ruhija early and did some birding along the road that leads through the park. Our best finds were Albertine Boubou which was easy to hear but very hard to get a glimpse of, Handsome Francolin, Western Tinkerbird, Sharpe’s Starling,

7 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Mountain Yellow Warbler, White-starred Robin, Kandt’s Waxbill and Evergreen Forest Warbler. We left the park around 9:30 slowly making our way towards Kisoro. We stopped where the main road meets Lake Bunyoni and found Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Slender-billed Weaver, Swamp Flycatcher and plenty of approachable Black-headed Weaver. Next stop around lunchtime was at Echuya Forest where we got good views of a flock of Waxbill containing mainly Kandt’s a few Common and two Fawn-breasted Waxbill. Other birds here included Grauer’s Swamp Warbler and Red-chested Flufftail (heard only) down at the swamp and Regal Sunbird, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Western Citril close to the road. In Kisoro we fueled up and got supplies and approached the final 15km towards our Lodge directly at the gate of Mgahinga NP. We arrived in time for dinner and and prepared for the next day before giving the Rwenzori Nightjar another try. The mixture of non-breeding season and rather cold weather might have been the reason Fawn-breasted Waxbill we could not find this one again.

Feb 6th – An early start, a bit of waiting time for the credit card machine at the Gate and we were on the trails again. Rwenzori Turaco was our main target in this area which we hoped to encounter on the hike towards Sabinyo Gorge. The first part of the hike leads through secondary vegetation and rather open areas where we encountered good numbers of Stuhlmann’s (a.k.a. Rwenzori Double-collared) Sunbird, Western Tinkerbird, Stripe-breasted Tit, a family of Dusky Crimsonwing, Eastern Mountain Greenbuls, White-starred Robin, Strange Weaver, Doherty’s Bushshrike and a high circling Rufous- breasted Sparrowhawk. Entering the primary vegetation zone, you will find yourself in thick Bamboo. This is the dominant vegetation type for a large proportion of the way until the gorge. In a small opening we got sight of a White-tailed Crested Flycatcher which was the most exciting bird on the way to the gorge. Still relatively far from the gorge we heard a distant Rwenzori Turaco call and started walking fast towards the direction of the call, without success as the bird went quiet rather quickly and you cannot really leave the path as parts of the area can be very wet. We carried on, eventually reaching the gorge. Ascending the gorge was on a rather good path until a small bridge crossed the stream in the gorge’s bottom. After the bridge, the trail disappeared, and we fought through tall herbaceous vegetation until Max eventually spotted a Turaco in the distance. The sight was only possible because the red wing was seen flashing briefly. Otherwise, the birds ©Daniel Branch were well camouflaged and not too active. They reacted to callback quickly by leaving the area. As there were two birds Dusky Crimsonwing (juv.) that had separated by one bird going up and one bird going down the gorge, we waited for them to reunite again. Which eventually happened after around 40 minutes waiting. Just before we experienced another rainy afternoon, we managed to get okay views of the birds. One must have been quite close on one occasion but remained hidden behind a tree. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303087 . The downpour started and we descended without much

8 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch stopping until we reached our accommodation where we dried our clothes by the fire. Ruhija and Mgahinga are above 2000m and getting wet in these rather cold areas had Max develop a bit of cough and serious concerns if he caught the virus. Not really feeling sick but worried about what it might be. Therefore, Max decided not to visit the Gorillas the next day. It would be a bit of a worst-case scenario if these apes caught Covid-19 and he did not want to be responsible for that. Later that bit of cough turned out to be nothing and Covid test was negative, but you never know these days…. Never been worried by a bit of cough more than there!

Feb 7th – We had reserved this day for the Gorilla trekking which logistically turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. We had been told that you could get your permits at the park’s gate in Ntebeko where we were staying. It turned out that you must go to the UWA- Head offices in Kisoro to collect it. The road there is quite bad and we wanted to avoid going it back and forth at nearly all cost so we tried to work around going there, which eventually worked but was quite a hustle with the UWA Staff at Ntebeko. Finally, Dan went for Gorillas and had a really good time there! Max had seen them before, so staying at the lodge was not as bad. Birding on the lodge grounds was quite alright with good numbers of Sunbirds including Green-headed, Stuhlmann’s and a beautiful morph of Variable. White-tailed Crested Flycatcher and other rather common birds were very approachable in the lodge gardens. Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler, Cape Robin Chat and Grey Wagtail were new additions to the trip list here. Grey Wagtail seems to be a rare wintering species in Uganda with only a few records on eBird. The best bird however turned up quite unexpected when Gordon spotted a Honeyguide in a leafless tree which after some ID difficulties turned out to be Dwarf Honeyguide! Not as rare but starting an equal inner fire in the dedicated birder were Kandt’s Waxbill’s that vagabonded around the gardens but turned out to require a lot of work to get proper images of. From laying on the ground to beating around the bush we spared no effort to succeed. After finally being successful the day was pretty much over and our minds were already ahead of us and at Lake Mburo. Of course, there was one thing left to try…. Rwenzori Nightjar! We headed to a slighty more open area east of the Lodge and tried again without success. This is certainly the one that got away.

©Daniel Branch

9 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch

Rwenzori Sunbird

©Daniel Branch ©Daniel Branch

10 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Kandt’s Waxbill

Feb 8th – 307km from Mgahinga to our Lodge at Lake Mburo took us around eight hours of driving. Mid-afternoon we arrived at our place and after a shower we ventured out to explore the lodge grounds which are adjacent to Lake Mburo National Park. For the first time on our trip, we encountered widespread african savannah species such as Lilac-breasted Roller, African Grey Hornbill, Pale Flycatcher or Brown-crowned Tchagra. More colourful were Red-headed Lovebird, Ross’s Turaco, Double-toothed Barbet, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu and White-browed Robin Chat. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303084 . New habitat, new Nightjars and Owl’s so were our thoughts, and we started our luck after dinner. We tried 5 or 6 species and got zero response at all.

Feb 9th – At breakfast we suddenly started to hear Freckled Nightjar and either Square-tailed or Plain Nightjar. The latter two sound quite similar, especially from a distance. We first tried our luck with Plain Nightjar as they are much scarcer, we got responses right away and had two birds fly overhead and sitting at times. We could see that the outer tail feathers were completely white and had to realize that the birds reacting to Plain Nightjar tape were Square- tailed Nightjars. Apparently, the calls are similar enough to cause territorial reactions in the resident Square-tailed Nightjars. No clue if it works the other way round with Plain Nightjar reacting to Square-tailed Nightjar calls. Certainly, caution is advised not to mistake the two when either one reacts to taping. After the unexpected Nightjars we headed for the National Park and arrived there around 7:30. We drove through the park for 11,5 hours in search of birds and other wildlife and by the end of the day we had recorded just over 100 bird species, including the Nightjars. The two of us would probably consider slightly different species as highlights but White-headed Barbet, Crested Barbet, plenty of African Cuckoos, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Dideric Cuckoo, Nubian Woodpecker and Lappet-faced Vulture are for sure within that category. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81323460 . On the other wildlife side, we saw good amounts of Impala, Zebra, Waterbuck, Topi, Warthog, Buffalo a few Bushbock, Hippo and Dwarf Mongooses and around 20 Giraffe.

Feb 10th – We took a last shot at the rare and range restricted Red-faced Barbet which we did not find within the park yesterday. A guide told us the birds were now very rare inside the park and are shifting their range northwards as they rely on Euphorbia trees. These trees were often dead or dying inside the park which he said was due to a fire a few years ago. To the north of the park however there were plenty of Euphorbia trees left. The birds seem to be that limited to these trees, because Crested Barbet and Black-collared Barbet are stronger competitors when these trees are not a major landscape feature. Red-faced Barbet is facing some serious trouble, as it is the most range restricted african Barbet species and is being outcompeted by two other range expanding species. Rwakobo Rock Lodge is said to be the best place to encounter the species these days and that is where we tried our luck. We had eyes and ears open whenever in proper habitat and tried with sound recordings around the lodge but did not get any response or find any sign of the birds. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303081 Contradictory to the descriptions by the guide, the field guidebook says the species requires tall trees in open savannah. The direct surroundings of the lodge do not hold as many Euphorbias as the general area north of the park but still seems to be the place where people find it. We did not succeed today,

11 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch although we checked nearly every Euphorbia or major other tree on the roadside. While searching for the elusive Barbet we managed to see some other good birds, such as Abdim’s Stork, Eastern Black- headed Oriole, Green-winged Pytilia or Bare-faced Go-away-bird. Leaving Lake Mburo behind we hit the road and headed for Kampala. With mixed feelings, as our Corona Virus testing was awaiting us there. After a few hours of driving and bribing cops 50€ for an illegal U-Turn, we arrived at “Test and Fly Laboratories” to take our test. Testing was pretty straight froward, you could pay in place and all in all it took about 15 minutes to get the test done. We got some lunch in the city and found a nice place on the shores of Lake Victoria to spend the night before going to Mabamba Swamp the next morning. In the evening there was quite some nice scenery on the lake shore with sun setting and African Grey Parrots and all kinds of Waterbirds flying past the shoreline to their roosting places.

©Daniel Branch Little Bee-eaters Bateleur

Feb 11th – As so often we had only one thing on our minds this morning – Birds. Ah, yes and also our Corona test results, which luckily came back negative just in time. We arrived at the boat launch site around 7:30 and we were instantly approached by two guides. As the money is paid to and shared by the community you receive a proper bill, it is not of paramount importance which guy you choose there. We decided for the younger guy and took off to search for Balaeniceps rex, which literally translates to the “Whale-headed King”. Along the main channel we had close encounters with Black Crake, African Jacana, Little Egret, Yellow-billed Duck and a pair of Spot-throated Otter. We made a right turn where the channel becomes much wider and found a Shoebill around 300m further west. An adult bird standing approximately 20m from our boat. The bird was not bothered at all and carried on its wait and seek game with the lungfish. Luckily, these birds do not move too much, so you can take good pictures in low light. There is enough time to take loads of pictures on slow shutter-speeds until you get a few good ones. On an overcast day slow birds are very much appreciated! We were already very happy with the bird we found when a younger Individual joined the adult. For a minute we had two birds close by. Somewhat annoyed by the young the adult left and the young stayed and came even closer than the adult would. The immature was also a bit more active and gave a good hunting show. We could not have asked for more with the Shoebill and proceeded happily to search for Lesser Jacana, which proved impossible to find due to recent changes in the water table. Some channels were not passable, and the area of interest could not be reached. Instead, we found Blue- breasted Bee-eaters, African Marsh Harrier, many Winding Cisticola, two Greater Swamp Warbler, Swamp Flycatcher, a few Blue-headed Coucal, Northern Brown-throated Weavers and more Otters. Back at the launching site we had great observations of Weyn’s Weaver, Dideric Cuckoo, Slender-billed Weaver, Viellot’s Weaver, Spectacled Weaver, Brown-throated Wattle Eye, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird and Yellow White-eye. If only every morning was that awesome! https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303079 . We said farewell to Mabamba and commenced our way towards Mabira Forest. Kampala traffic really isn’t something we would recommend but unfortunately there is no way around it if you want to get to Mabira. We took four hours from Mabamba to Mabira

12 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch where we birded a small trail on late afternoon. Birding proved very tough there and we did not really see much. Jameson’s Wattle-eye and Rufous Flycatcher Thrush are worth mentioning.

Feb 12th - Our Final day started on the same trail as the last day ended. This time bird activity was better, but birding was still very slow. We managed to find Narina Trogon, Blue Malkoha, a Red-capped Robin Chat and our target bird Forest Woodhoopoe with two individuals. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81323405 . The last birding before our departure to Brazil and Germany respectively was at famous Entebbe Botanical Garden, where we found Orange Weaver just in time before the rains took the rest of our precious birding time. Slightly earlier than planned we headed to the Airport and left this beautiful country and wildlife to which we will certainly return!

Shoebill Stork

Shoebill Stork

13 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Notes on Red-faced Barbet: ©Max Baumgarten We struggled to find one of these birds in and around Lake Mburo one of the species strongholds. Changes in vegetation likely worsened the situation of the species there. It used to be common in Akagera National Park (Rwanda) back in 2011 (Gatali & Wallin, 2015). Quantitative information from Uganda is missing and according to a local Ranger the bird has become quite rare and hardly occurs in the protected area anymore. Records on eBird are also scarce and largely restricted to the areas north of the park. Furthermore, the Red-faced Barbet is in peril due to northward range expansions of more competitive Black-collared and Crested Barbets. Re-assessment of the species status should be carried out as scientific literature seems very scarce and threats increasing in at least one of the species known strongholds: Lake Mburo NP.

Notes on Elephants:

According to Mondol et al. (2015), around 40% of the Elephants in western Uganda show hybrid features between Forest Elephant Loxodonta africana cyclostis and Savannah Elepehant Loxodonta africana africana. These results however only refer to genetic hybrid features. Phenotypic Forest Elephants and phenotypic Savannah Elephants can still be encountered in the region, despite likely being hybrids.

Albertine Rift Endemics:

In Total there are 42 endemic bird species in the Albertine Rift (as of the time of writing), six of them are considered Eastern Congolese Lowland species of which only Sassi’s Olive Greenbul and Oberländer’s Ground Thrush have been observed in Uganda and remain extremely rare. Furthermore, Albertine Owlet, Congo Bay Owl, Itombwe Nightjar, Kabobo Apalis, Yellow-crested Helmetshrike, Prigogine’s Greenbul, Chapin’s Mountain Babbler, Grauer’s Cuckooshrike, Shelley’s Crimsonwing and Rockefeller’s Sunbird have not been documented in many years or have never been photographed at all. Recent splits of Sooty Boubou added Willard’s Sooty Boubou and Albertine Boubou whilst the split of African Hill Babbler added Rwenzori Hill Babbler to the list of Albertine Rift endemics. Altogether 26 species of Albertine Rift endemics can realistically be seen in Uganda. We saw 20 of these 26 and heard an additional one. A good result for non-breeding season and the fact that a few of them are highly elusive and/or extremely rare.

14 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Guides:

Prior to the trip we scanned many trip reports to find good guides for the places that require you to take a guide anyway and the places with tricky species. We ended up taking three different guides for short periods. This report was very helpful finding guides: https://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport?location=Uganda&author=Dries%20Van%20de%20Loock& limit=90&sort_order=added_desc , we contacted Meddie who was unfortunately unavailable but connected us with Gordon instead. We were very happy with our choices and all our guides did a really good job and we had a good time with each one of them.

Patricia Kansiime:

We found her on eBird, she submits checklists from Kibale area quite often. Via facebook we managed to get in touch and clarified what we were looking and aiming for. We met her in Kibale on 27th and she joined us for 3 days in Kibale and Semuliki. She knows the birds in Kibale area very well, can identify all calls there and knows where to find what. She also did a great job connecting us with the perfect ranger guides and she also booked us in at the Bandas there. Overall, she was always taking care of what we wanted, and we had great fun with her. She also did the full Semuliki hike with us and is strong enough to take on any birding adventure you can come up with. It is also a great thing to empower women in countries like Uganda and we were happy to contribute to that. We can highly recommend her for birding in and around Kibale! She also knows Bwindi very well since she was trained to become a birder there.

Her number is +256 754 660126

https://www.facebook.com/kansiime.patricia.12

Matthew Twongyeirwe

We hired Matthew for a day in Buhoma. He is a senior Bird Guide and he is also training a younger generation of birders to become guides. He knows the area and also most other birding sites of the country very well and he has deep knowledge of all the calls and songs as well as the ecology of the birds. Being based in Buhoma he knows what birders want to see and where to find it. We can also recommend Matthew to all kinds of birders from the casual to the very dedicated.

His number is: +256 788 149712

https://www.facebook.com/matthew.twongyeirwe

[email protected]

Gordon Tukwasibwe

Gordon is based in Ruhija and also ventures out to Buhoma and Mgahinga National Park for birding. He knows the Albertine Rift Endemics really well and can find you pretty much any of them. Further he knows all the calls, songs and is a very sharp birder with keen eye. He is also a senior Bird Guide as Matthew. We birded with him in Ruhija, the walk to Mubwindi Swamp and in Mgahinga. He is also very much recommended.

His number is: +256 772 682028

15 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Ranger Guides:

The national parks require you to have an armed Ranger with you to enter, in order to protect you from wildlife in case of an emergency. Some of these Rangers are really good birders and overall naturalists with great site knowledge. They are employed by the state through UWA (Uganda Wildlife Authorities). This can result in them being moved from one National Park to another, we recommend simply contacting them for further information.

Mr. Justus

He used to be based at Semuliki and is probably still the person with the deepest knowledge about Semuliki out there. However, he is now at Kibale and did a perfect job in finding the Pitta and other forest birds. Additionally he is an expert on butterfly which is his main passion. This did not result in his knowledge about birds to suffer and he has keen ear and eye and knows everything he needs to know to serve birders well. When at Kibale be sure to ask for him at the offices.

His number is: +256 775 399771

www.sewerweco.com is a website he wrote down for us so he can probably be reached through there as well.

Moses Rukiza

Moses is based at Semuliki and was once trained by Justus. He knows the forest very well and is fit enough to hike to the river with you. He has good experience with the special birds of Semuliki and always had his ears and eyes open and we managed to see quite a few of the good birds there thanks to him.

His number is: +256 782 545620

[email protected]

Patricia Matthew Gordon

Dan

Moses

16 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Roads:

The only roads that you need to be warned about are the Ishasha road from Katunguru to the turnoff at -0.678522, 29.670409 is really bad with potholes that can easily reach depths of 50cm and be several meters wide or long. You are basically dodging dangers for most of the way. Still it is doable, but a bit of a pain. The other bad road is from Kisoro to the entrance of Mgahinga National Park. It is not as bad as the Ishasha road but it is very rocky in parts and not really a pleasure to drive. Apart from that roads were generally fine, many tarmacked or proper dirt roads. Short stretches to Lodges or birding sites can be bumpy as well but we did not encounter really problematic ones. In any case you are advised to bring a 4x4 car when attempting Ishasha Road. With good driving skills, patience and good weather you can probably do everything else in a Sedan. It won’t be fun though.

Accomodation:

Kibale:

We stayed at https://naturelodgesuganda.com/kibale-forest-camp/ which was really nice, they had a Covid-19 discount to create tourism incentives which was half price for Safari Tents. If that had not been in place, we would have probably opted for a little cheaper. The place is very nice and has good food, they offer three course meals and are used to cater westerners. We had great observations of African Wood Owl there. You can also access some of the swamp from the gardens.

Semuliki:

The National Park has a few Bandas that you can rent which are close to the Headquarters. They are reasonably cheap and serve the purpose. Each Banda has an own shower and toilet. The showers work rather badly but at least water flows and you can wash yourself somehow. There might be ants in them as well, but they turned out to be strictly diurnal so when you are birding during the day, they spread all over the place only to disappear when darkness falls. I assume they sleep in the walls. When you leave Semuliki in the morning they won’t be awake and everything is fine. If you leave in the afternoon or late morning be sure to place your stuff somewhere ant proof. If you are not scared by the odd ant or insect the place is perfectly fine, if you are then stay away.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

We only arrived there after dark and left very early in the morning, so we have not really seen the place in daylight but it’s rather upper class. It is run by the same owner as the place in Kibale. https://naturelodgesuganda.com/the-bush-lodge/ , also here there was an offer in place which we took advantage of. Food was very nice and if you are looking for a smooth and relaxed holiday this is where to go. At night you can hear the hippo’s and you might encounter one in the lodge grounds.

Bwindi Buhoma

In Buhoma we stay at https://www.bwindiguesthouse.com/ for two nights. The place is run by a white guy whose wife works at the hospital and the place is owned by the community hospital. It is a really

17 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch nice place with good food and a patch of natural forest as a garden. There is a pair of Verreaux’s Eagle Owl living in the garden. The access road is quite narrow but not problematic and there is safe parking on their grounds. They also offer laundry service and are looking after you just fine.

Bwindi Ruhija

In order to support the community here we stayed at Ruhija Community Rest Camp, which is here -1.043461, 29.775290 and not where the pin is on Google Maps. Ruhija does not have access to the power grid yet and everything runs on solar or generator. They had the generator running between 7pm and 10pm and you could charge devices at the reception. Apart from that there was no power there. Hot showers are possible but you need to tell them in advance so they can fire the oven. The rooms were quite nice and one has a nice view on the forest and/or community lands. The lady there was a bit weird but very friendly. The prices depicted on their website http://ruhijacommunityrestcamp.com were outdated and they wanted to charge us 65 US $ per person per night which we did not accept and finally agreed to 50 US $ per person per night including Full board. It seems they have updated their website now with the correct prices, although the website looks odd now, not what it used to look like.

Mgahinga

Here there was also a community run option that we took. https://www.mcdou.org/amajamberecommunitycamp . The website was a bit hard to find, we found it via the Google Maps Pin, which is accurate. Other than in Ruhija there was power available. During our three nights stay we had a few outages though. Still the power was on the majority of the time. People were very friendly, and food was good, they also prepared packed lunch for our days in the field. There is a fireplace to warm yourself or dry your clothes at the Reception / Dining area. The rooms are basic and toilets as well as showers are outside. The shower is on the toilet and we did not really use it. The price was really fair and included food. The gardens are pretty nice for birding: https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303086 .

Lake Mburo

Run by a friendly Dutchmen this place is nicely situated on a hill overlooking the savannah of the national park. https://www.hyenahilllodge.com/ . We stayed in a non-self-contained room which was basic but really nice and cosy. Food was very good there although a bit expensive for Ugandan standards. The Lodge grounds are a good introduction to savannah birding and in breeding season you can probably encounter Nightjars quite easily when you aim for it. https://ebird.org/checklist/S81303084 . The dogs there are lovely and playful. The path that leads to the lodge is steep and a 4x4 car is recommended to reach there.

Entebbe / Mabamba area

Due to uncertainties about Covid testing we did not pre book anything here and went to a place that looked nicely situated on Google Maps. https://www.booking.com/hotel/ug/sundiata-resort- beach.de.html . When we turned up there we discovered the Resort is under construction and changed owners and is not really operating. They had a couple of rooms finished though and we were allowed

18 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch to stay there. Lake Victoria has risen in recent years, so it swallowed a few of the buildings there, slowing down renovations process. The room that we got was small but nice with en suite shower and toilet. There was even a TV, which we did not use. When renovations are finished the place is likely to be very nice. The location is for sure awesome. The final bit of the access road is a somewhat bad.

Mabira Forest

Our last accommodation was Griffin Falls Camp, a place on the edge of Mabira forest that is reached via good dirt roads that lead through sugarcane plantations. The final part of the dirt road (maybe 3km) is bad in contrast to the first part. http://www.mabiraforestcamp.com/index.php . The camp itself is average by Ugandan standards. Our room was clean (as far as two guys that do not really care can judge). The food was alright and the lady there was friendly and nice. We did not really do much there apart from sleeping. We were in the forest most of the time. They offer all kinds of activities like Zip- Lining but we cannot comment on any of that. For a birders rest it was fine. Shower was a bit of a drizzle but that is the normal in Uganda unless you opt for something from 50 US $ per person per night upwards.

Transport

We hired a Toyota Rav 4 from https://ugandacarrental.com/ which was easy and straightforward. Maggie who works for them met us upon arrival at Entebbe Airport with the car waiting for us in the car park of the airport already. Few papers to sign and we were on the road. Price was 45 US $ per day unlimited milage. The car was doing fine, the only issue we had was a bit of corrosion on the battery that we could easily fix ourselves. At the very end in the airport car park we had a flat tyre, but they changed it in place when we returned the car and did not ask for any money. Overall, we can recommend this company, although we did not really have issues and did not stress test them. The Car was rather old around 2005 I guess. Before the trip we compared a few car rental agencies and most of them seem to offer cars of this age. Hiring a recent version is most likely much more expensive. If you just want to get around and do not mind luxury then this car is absolutely fine.

Money

Uganda is mostly a cash country, higher and a few mid standard Lodges have credit card machines as do the National Parks. Drawing cash from ATM’S can only be done in larger Towns.

Internet

At Entebbe airport you can purchase a local sim card which was around 20 US $ for 10 gigabytes of data. The Lodges and Hotels we stayed mostly had no Wifi or very limited and slow. Mobile data is a much safer option than to rely on Lodges, especially if you are not using upper class accommodation.

19 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Species Scientific

1 White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata pairs at Lake Mburo and Mabamba Swamp and 10 Birds at Queen

2 Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca Common around waterbodies 3 Yellow-billed Duck Anas undulata Singles on Lake Victoria and plenty at Mabamba Swamp

4 Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris Singles and small coveys at Lake Mburo 5 Crested Guineafowl Guttera pucherani Heard only in Semuliki NP 6 Handsome Francolin Pternistis nobilis Single bird on the hike to Mubwindi Swamp and three birds on the road leaving the park

7 Red-necked Spurfowl Pternistis afer Common in Queen Elizabeth NP and Lake Mburo

8 Crested Francolin Dendroperdix sephaena a few seen at Lake Mburo 9 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis only observed in a roadside wetland on Ishasha Road

10 Rock Dove Columba livia in and around larger Towns 11 Afep Pigeon Columba unicincta Single bird singing and later seen in Kibale

12 African Olive Pigeon Columba arquatrix Seen around Ruhija and Mgahinga 13 Mourning Collared Dove Streptopelia decipiens Common in Queen Elizabeth NP 14 Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata Common in most areas 15 Ring-necked Dove Streptopelia capicola Common in slightly drier areas 16 Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis Common in Queen Elizabeth NP and Lake Mburo

17 Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur chalcospilos Common at Lake Mburo 18 Blue-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur afer Common in the west

20 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 19 Tambourine Dove Turtur tympanistria Many heard and few seen in Kibale and Semuliki

20 African Green-Pigeon Treron calvus Small numbers in lower laying areas 21 Black-bellied Bustard Lissotis melanogaster One at Queen Elizabteh NP and one at Lake Mburo

22 Great Blue Turaco Corythaeola cristata Common nearly everywhere 23 Black-billed Turaco Tauraco schuettii Often heard sometimes seen in Kibale and Bwindi

24 Rwenzori Turaco Ruwenzorornis johnstoni Two birds seen in Sabinyo Gorge, Mgahinga NP

25 Ross's Turaco Musophaga rossae Seen on the roadside and in Bwindi 26 Bare-faced Go-away-bird Corythaixoides personatus Rather common at Lake Mburo 27 Eastern Plantain-eater Crinifer zonurus Occasionally seen at the roadside 28 White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus Common in Queen Elizabeth NP and Lake Mburo

29 Blue Malkoha Ceuthmochares aereus Two at Matiri Forest, one at Kibale and one at Mabira Forest

30 Levaillant's Cuckoo Clamator levaillantii two birds seen at Lake Mburo 31 Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius 3 birds on three occasions at Lake Mburo and a single bird at Mabamba swamp

32 Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas seen around Kibale and in Queen Elizabeth NP

33 Yellow-throated Cuckoo Chrysococcyx flavigularis single bird at Semuliki NP 34 African Emerald Cuckoo Chrysococcyx cupreus Often heard in forest, seen at Kibale 35 Black Cuckoo Cuculus clamosus one seen around Ruhija 36 Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius Often heard, seen at Mgahinga 37 African Cuckoo Cuculus gularis Good numbers at Lake Mburo

21 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 38 Black-shouldered Nightjar Caprimulgus nigriscapularis single bird on the road at Kibale 39 Freckled Nightjar Caprimulgus tristigma heard and seen at Hyena Hills Lodge 40 Sabine's Spinetail Rhaphidura sabini three birds circling over Kibale forest 41 Alpine Swift Apus melba only seen once at Queen Elizabeth NP 42 Common Swift Apus apus seen on a few occasions around Bwindi 43 Little Swift Apus affinis Common around villages and bridges 44 White-rumped Swift Apus caffer seen a few times around Kibale, thereafter not payed much attention to Swifts

45 African Palm-Swift Cypsiurus parvus Common in Semuliki also observed at Entebbe Botanical Gardens

46 White-spotted Flufftail Sarothrura pulchra Seen at Kibale NP 47 African Crake Crex egregia Two birds at Queen Elizabteh NP 48 Black Crake Zapornia flavirostra Common at larger waterbodies 49 Grey Crowned-Crane Balearica regulorum only observed at Buhoma and the roadside between Bwindi and Mgahinga 50 Water Thick-knee Burhinus vermiculatus Common around waterbodies in Queen Elizabeth NP and Lake Mburo

51 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus only seen in Queen Elizabeth NP 52 Long-toed Lapwing Vanellus crassirostris single observation in Queen Elizabeth, common at Mabamba

53 Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus Common at Queen Elizabeth also single bird seen at Entebbe Botanical Gardens 54 Senegal Lapwing Vanellus lugubris Large numbers on fresh grasses on recently burnt areas in Queen Elizabteh 55 Crowned Lapwing Vanellus coronatus Common in Queen Elizabteh

22 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 56 Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus Common in Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

57 Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus around 200 birds seen on Kasenyi Plains in Queen Elizabteh

58 Kittlitz's Plover Charadrius pecuarius rather common in Queen Elizabeth NP 59 Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula seen on Kazinga channel boat cruise and at Mabamba

60 Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris only observed in Queen Elizabeth 61 African Jacana Actophilornis africanus common in suitable habitat 62 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres only seen on Kazinga channel boat cruise

63 Little Stint Calidris minuta seen in Queen Elizabeth and Mabamba 64 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos common througout 65 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus few birds at Lake Mburo 66 Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia seen at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

67 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola common throughout 68 Small Buttonquail Turnix sylvaticus Common in Queen Elizabeth 69 Black-rumped Buttonquail Turnix nanus single bird flushed from road in tall fresh grassland in Ishasha

70 Temminck's Courser Cursorius temminckii pair seen on recently burned area in Kasenyi Plains

71 Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola only seen around watering hole in Kasenyi Plains

72 Grey-headed Gull Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus seen at Queen Elizabeth and Mabamba 73 Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

23 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 74 White-winged Black Tern Chlidonias leucopterus seen in Semuliki River and on Kazinga channel

75 African Skimmer Rynchops flavirostris two birds during Kazinga channel boat cruise

76 African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus few roadside observations and seen at Entebbe Botanical gardens

77 Abdim's Stork Ciconia abdimii seen on northern access road to Lake Mburo

78 Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus seen on roadside and at Lake Mburo 79 Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumenifer common throughout 80 Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

81 Reed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus seen at Queen Elizabeth, Mabamba and Entebbe Botanical gardens

82 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

83 Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise and at Entebbe Botanical gardens 84 Shoebill Balaeniceps rex two birds seen at Mabamba 85 Hamerkop Scopus umbretta common throughout 86 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea seen at Queen Elizabeth 87 Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala common throughout 88 Goliath Heron Ardea goliath only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

89 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea common at Mabamba 90 Great White Egret Ardea alba only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

91 Little Egret Egretta garzetta common throughout

24 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 92 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis common throughout 93 Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise and at Mabamba

94 Striated Heron Butorides striata singles at Semuliki, Lake Mburo and Entebbe Botanical gardens

95 African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus seen at Queen Elizabeth and around Lake Mburo

96 Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash common throughout 97 Osprey Pandion haliaetus seen at Semuliki River and Mabamba 98 Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus seen at Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo and Mabamba

99 African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus common throughout 100 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis common around Semuliki, also encountered at Mabamba and Entebbe 101 European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus only observed at Semuliki 102 Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos two birds seen at Lake Mburo 103 Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus only seen in flight at Queen Elizabeth 104 White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus most common Vulture, still only seen in Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

105 Rüppell's Griffon Gyps rueppelli single bird seen circling at Queen Elizabeth

106 Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

107 Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle Circaetus beaudouini seen above bush fires at Queen Elizabeth

108 Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus only seen at Lake Mburo 109 Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis arguably the most common raptor in the country

25 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 110 Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina single bird seen at Queen Elizabeth Ishasha sector

111 Wahlberg's Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi seen here and there with no particular pattern

112 Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus only observed a single bird flying over Echuya Forest

113 Ayres's Hawk-Eagle Hieraaetus ayresii Seen at Kibale NP and Semuliki 114 Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax few birds seen at Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

115 Lizard Buzzard Kaupifalco monogrammicus most commonly seen on roadside 116 Dark Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates single bird flyby at Lake Mburo 117 Gabar Goshawk Micronisus gabar one juvenile perched at Queen and a Black-morph adult flyby at Lake Mburo 118 Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus seen around Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

119 African Marsh Harrier Circus ranivorus few birds at Mabamba 120 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus few birds at Queen Elizabeth 121 Shikra Accipiter badius singles seen circling from roadside 122 Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk Accipiter rufiventris single bird circling at Mgahinga NP 123 Black Goshawk Accipiter melanoleucus observed above the Neck 124 Black/ Yellow-billed Kite Milvus migrans common throughout 125 African Fish-Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer common in suitable habitat 126 Common Buzzard Buteo buteo singles in various habitats 127 Mountain Buzzard Buteo oreophilus seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga 128 Augur Buzzard Buteo augur few roadside observations in higher country

129 Spotted Eagle Owl Bubo africanus single bird before sunrise at Kibale

26 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 130 Verreaux's Eagle Owl Bubo lacteus seen at Queen Elizabeth and Buhoma

131 African Wood-Owl Strix woodfordii Seen at Kibale and heard at Semuliki 132 Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus Common throughout 133 Blue-naped Mousebird Urocolius macrourus much scarcer than Speckled. Seen at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

134 Narina Trogon Apaloderma narina seen at Kibale, Semuliki, Bwindi and Mabira forests

135 Bar-tailed Trogon Apaloderma vittatum seen at Buhoma 136 Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus only seen at Lake Mburo 137 White-headed Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus bollei seen at Bwindi on two occasions 138 Forest Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus castaneiceps two birds at Mabira forest 139 Common Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus cyanomelas only a single bird at Lake Mburo 140 Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill Lophoceros camurus on two occasions during Semuliki hike 141 Crowned Hornbill Lophoceros alboterminatus most common Hornbill species outside of good forest

142 African Pied Hornbill Lophoceros fasciatus only seen at Semuliki NP 143 African Grey Hornbill Lophoceros nasutus common in savannah 144 White-crested Hornbill Horizocerus albocristatus two birds at Semuliki 145 Black-casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna atrata on two occasions during Semuliki hike 146 Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill Bycanistes subcylindricus most common forest Hornbill 147 Piping Hornbill Bycanistes fistulator only seen at Semuliki NP 148 Shining-blue Kingfisher Alcedo quadribrachys single observation at Bigodi 149 Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cristatus common at Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo and Mabamba

27 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 150 African Pygmy-Kingfisher Ispidina picta flyby at Queen Elizabeth and perched bird at Entebbe Botanical gardens

151 Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala seen along roadside in the western lowlands and at Queen Elizabeth

152 Woodland Kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis common throughout 153 Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti common in savannah 154 Giant Kingfisher Megaceryle maxima seen at Semuliki River and Queen Elizabeth

155 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis common throughout 156 Black Bee-eater Merops gularis seen at Kibale and Buhoma 157 Red-throated Bee-eater Merops bulocki only seen during Kazinga channel boat cruise

158 Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus singles in savannah at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

159 Blue-breasted Bee-eater Merops variegatus only observed at Mabamba 160 Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater Merops oreobates common in highlands 161 White-throated Bee-eater Merops albicollis seen at Kibale, Queen Elizabeth and Entebbe

162 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus common throughout 163 European Bee-eater Merops apiaster only seen at Lake Mburo 164 Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus only seen at Lake Mburo 165 Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus common throughout 166 Blue-throated Roller Eurystomus gularis heard at Kibale and seen at Semuliki 167 Yellow-billed Barbet Trachyphonus purpuratus heard at Kibale, Semuliki and Bwindi seen at Mabira

168 Crested Barbet Trachyphonus vaillantii seen at Lake Mburo 169 Grey-throated Barbet Gymnobucco bonapartei rather common in good forest

28 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 170 Speckled Tinkerbird Pogoniulus scolopaceus common at Kibale also around Bwindi 171 Western Tinkerbird Pogoniulus coryphaea seen at Ruhia and Mgahinga 172 Yellow-throated Tinkerbird Pogoniulus subsulphureus single bird seen at Kibale 173 Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus common throughout 174 Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus only seen at Lake Mburo 175 Yellow-spotted Barbet Buccanodon duchaillui only seen at Bwindi 176 Hairy-breasted Barbet Tricholaema hirsuta seen at Kibale and Semuliki 177 Spot-flanked Barbet Tricholaema lacrymosa seen at all major National Parks excluding Bwindi and Mgahinga

178 White-headed Barbet Lybius leucocephalus seen at Lake Mburo 179 Double-toothed Barbet Lybius bidentatus observed around Kibale, Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

180 Dwarf Honeyguide Indicator pumilio single bird at Lodge in Mgahinga 181 Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor single birds in Bigodi community and Rwakobo Rock Lodge

182 Elliot's Woodpecker Chloropicus elliotii on two occasions in Bwindi 183 Speckle-breasted Woodpecker Chloropicus poecilolaemus only seen around Kibale 184 Cardinal Woodpecker Chloropicus fuscescens seen in Bwindi and Lake Mburo 185 Bearded Woodpecker Chloropicus namaquus seen at Lake Mburo 186 Yellow-crested Woodpecker Chloropicus xantholophus on two occasions around Kibale and a single at Semuliki

187 Olive Woodpecker Chloropicus griseocephalus seen at Ruhija 188 Brown-eared Woodpecker Campethera caroli single observation around Kibale 189 Buff-spotted Woodpecker Campethera nivosa on two occasions around Kibale and a single at Bwindi

190 Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica on a few occasions at Lake Mburo

29 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 191 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus single bird around Mgahinga 192 Grey Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus only once at Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

193 Amur Falcon Falco amurensis single bird perched in recently burned area in northern part of Queen Elizabeth 194 Red-headed Lovebird Agapornis pullarius seen flying by two times at Lake Mburo 195 Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus seen around Kibale and Entebbe 196 Meyer's Parrot Poicephalus meyeri around Kibale and Lake Mburo 197 African Broadbill Smithornis capensis single bird seen at Buhoma 198 Green-breasted Pitta Pitta reichenowi heard them a million times in various habitats but strangely only saw one at Kibale

199 Grey Cuckooshrike Coracina caesia singles around Ruhija 200 Petit's Cuckooshrike Campephaga petiti seen at Kibale and Bwindi 201 Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike Campephaga phoenicea single bird observed in Bigodi community lands

202 Western Oriole Oriolus brachyrynchus common at Kibale and Semuliki 203 Black-headed Oriole Oriolus larvatus single bird at Lake Mburo 204 Mountain Oriole Oriolus percivali common at Bwindi and Mgahinga 205 Brown-throated Wattle-eye Platysteira cyanea seen on a few occasions in various places

206 Chestnut Wattle-eye Platysteira castanea observed at Kibale and Semuliki 207 Jameson's Wattle-eye Platysteira jamesoni seen at Kibale and Mabira forests 208 Rwenzori Batis Batis diops few birds seen around Ruhija and Mgahinga

209 Chinspot Batis Batis molitor only seen at Buhoma

30 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 210 White-crested Helmetshrike Prionops plumatus only observed at Lake Mburo 211 African Shrike-flycatcher Megabyas flammulatus seen solely around Kibale 212 Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher Bias musicus only seen at Bigodi community lands 213 Northern Puffback Dryoscopus gambensis common throughout 214 Pink-footed Puffback Dryoscopus angolensis only seen in secondary forest around Buhoma

215 Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus few birds seen at Queen Elizabeth 216 Brown-crowned Tchagra Tchagra australis seen at Bwindi and Lake Mburo 217 Lühder's Bushshrike Laniarius luehderi once seen and once heard at Bwindi 218 Tropical Boubou Laniarius major single bird at Mgahinga 219 Black-headed Gonolek Laniarius erythrogaster common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

220 Papyrus Gonolek Laniarius mufumbiri a pair at Kazinga channel bridge 221 Albertine Sooty Boubou Laniarius holomelas seen at Ruhija and Echuya forest 222 Orange-breasted Bushshrike Telophorus sulfureopectus seen on two occasions at Lake Mburo 223 Doherty's Bushshrike Telophorus dohertyi seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga 224 Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis rather common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

225 Velvet-mantled Drongo Dicrurus modestus single bird at Kibale forest 226 Red-bellied Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone rufiventer common in most forests 227 African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis seen at Bwindi and Mgahinga 228 Grey-backed Fiscal Lanius excubitoroides common in lower country 229 Mackinnon's Shrike Lanius mackinnoni common in higher country 230 Northern Fiscal Lanius humeralis common throughout

31 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 231 Piapiac Ptilostomus afer singles on roadside between Fort Portal and Semuliki

232 Pied Crow Corvus albus common throughout 233 White-necked Raven Corvus albicollis locally common in highlands 234 African Blue Flycatcher Elminia longicauda seen around Kibale 235 White-tailed Blue Flycatcher Elminia albicauda seen at Bwindi and Mgahinga 236 White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher Elminia albonotata two birds at Mgahinga 237 Dusky Tit Melaniparus funereus seen at Kibale and Buhoma 238 Stripe-breasted Tit Melaniparus fasciiventer observed at Ruhija and Mgahinga 239 Rufous-naped Lark Mirafra africana common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

240 Red-capped Lark Calandrella cinerea singles on Kasenyi Plains 241 Western Nicator Nicator chloris seen at Kibale and single bird heard at Semuliki

242 Yellow-throated Nicator Nicator vireo six birds heard and a single seen at Semuliki

243 Green Crombec Sylvietta virens seen at Kibale, commonly heard at Semuliki

244 White-browed Crombec Sylvietta leucophrys single seen around Ruhija 245 Red-faced Crombec Sylvietta whytii one bird seen at Lake Mburo 246 Moustached Grass-Warbler Melocichla mentalis a single bird seen around Ishasha 247 Grauer's Warbler Graueria vittata seen at Ruhija 248 Green Hylia Hylia prasina seen around Kibale and heard at Semuliki and Bwindi

249 White-chinned Prinia Schistolais leucopogon seen around Kibale 250 Rwenzori Apalis Oreolais ruwenzorii seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga

32 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 251 Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura common throughout 252 Olive-green Camaroptera Camaroptera chloronota seen at Buhoma 253 Black-throated Apalis Apalis jacksoni seen at Kibale and Buhoma 254 Mountain Masked Apalis Apalis personata common around Ruhija and Mgahinga 255 Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida singles seen at Lake Mburo 256 Buff-throated Apalis Apalis rufogularis common in Kibale, Semuliki, Bwindi and Mabira forests

257 Chestnut-throated Apalis Apalis porphyrolaema seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga 258 Grey Apalis Apalis cinerea common in forest and forest edge 259 Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava only seen twice on the roadside 260 Banded/Black-faced Prinia Prinia bairdii two birds at Buhoma, four birds at the Neck and many more heard around Mubwindi Swamp

261 Black-faced Rufous-Warbler Bathmocercus rufus seen at Kibale and Buhoma 262 Red-faced Cisticola Cisticola erythrops only seen n Bigodi community lands 263 Trilling Cisticola Cisticola woosnami common in savannah 264 Chubb's Cisticola Cisticola chubbi common in highlands 265 Winding Cisticola Cisticola marginatus common in wet areas 266 Stout Cisticola Cisticola robustus single bird seen at Lake Mburo 267 Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis singles at Ishasha 268 Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

269 Mountain Yellow-Warbler Iduna similis single bird seen at Ruhija 270 Sedge Warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus heard only at Queen Elizabeth and at Lake Bunyoni

271 Eurasian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus single bird at Mabamba

33 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 272 Greater Swamp Warbler Acrocephalus rufescens two birds seen at Mabamba 273 Evergreen-forest Warbler Bradypterus lopezi single bird around Ruhija 274 Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler Bradypterus cinnamomeus rather common around Mgahinga 275 Grauer's Swamp Warbler Bradypterus graueri seen at Mubwindi Swamp and Echuya forest swamp

276 Sand Martin Riparia riparia large flock at Semuliki River and many at Queen Elizabeth

277 Banded Martin Riparia cincta a single bird around a waterhole at Kasenyi Plains

278 Pale Crag/Rock Martin Ptyonoprogne fuligula rather common in the highlands 279 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica common throughout 280 White-throated Blue Swallow Hirundo nigrita total of 3 birds seen at Semuliki River and Oxbow

281 Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica only birds identified were at Kibale. We did not pay much attention to swallows….

282 Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica common throughout 283 Red-breasted Swallow Cecropis semirufa single birds at Queen Elizabeth and Mabamba

284 Common House Martin Delichon urbicum single birds around Ruhija 285 White-headed Sawwing Psalidoprocne albiceps seen around Kibale, the road to Semuliki and a single bird around Lake Mburo 286 Black Sawwing Psalidoprocne pristoptera common in good forest 287 Slender-billed Greenbul Stelgidillas gracilirostris only observed at Matiri and Kibale forest

288 Yellow-eyed Bristlebill Bleda notatus ugandae seen at Semuliki 289 Shelley's Greenbul Arizelocichla masukuensis single bird seen at Buhoma

34 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 290 Eastern Mountain Greenbul Arizelocichla nigriceps observed around Ruhija and Mgahinga 291 Honeyguide Greenbul Baeopogon indicator singles at Kibale, Semuliki and Bwindi 292 Yellow-throated Leaflove Atimastillas flavicollis two birds in Bigodi community lands and a single around Lake Mburo

293 Red-tailed Greenbul Criniger calurus seen at Semuliki, Buhoma and Mabira forest

294 Ansorge's Greenbul Eurillas ansorgei four birds at Buhoma 295 Plain Greenbul Eurillas curvirostris common in forest 296 Yellow-whiskered Greenbul Eurillas latirostris quite common in good forest 297 Little Greenbul Eurillas virens quite common throughout 298 Toro Olive-Greenbul Phyllastrephus hypochloris often heard around Kibale only seen well once, also heard at Bwindi and Semuliki

299 Icterine Greenbul Phyllastrephus icterinus two birds at Semuliki 300 Xavier's Greenbul Phyllastrephus xavieri common at Semuliki 301 White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis one group at Kibale 302 Common Bulbul (Dark-capped) Pycnonotus barbatus tricolor common throughout 303 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus singles throughout 304 Red-faced Woodland-Warbler Phylloscopus laetus seen at Bwindi and Mgahinga 305 Chestnut-capped Flycatcher Erythrocercus mccallii small group at Semuliki 306 Rwenzori Hill Babbler Sylvia atriceps seen at Bwindi and Mgahinga 307 African Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis common throughout 308 Brown Illadopsis Illadopsis fulvescens singles at Kibale and Semuliki 309 Mountain Illadopsis Illadopsis pyrrhoptera well seen at Ruhija, heard at Mgahinga 310 Scaly-breasted Illadopsis Illadopsis albipectus seen at Kibale and additionally heard at Semuliki and Bwindi

35 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 311 Black-lored Babbler Turdoides sharpei seen at Queen Elizabteh 312 Arrow-marked Babbler Turdoides jardineii seen around Lake Mburo on a few occasions

313 Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

314 Violet-backed Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster good numbers around Kibale singles elsewhere

315 Waller's Starling Onychognathus walleri seen at Bwindi 316 Sharpe's Starling Pholia sharpii seen from roadside at Ruhija and Mgahinga

317 Narrow-tailed Starling Poeoptera lugubris 3 birds flying by at Buhoma 318 Stuhlmann's Starling Poeoptera stuhlmanni small groups at Bwindi 319 Purple-headed Starling Hylopsar purpureiceps common around Kibale 320 Rüppell's Starling Lamprotornis purpuroptera abundant at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

321 Greater Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus singles at Lake Mburo 322 Fraser's Rufous Thrush Neocossyphus fraseri seen at Semuliki and Mabira forest 323 Red-tailed Ant-Thrush Neocossyphus rufus single bird seen at Kibale 324 White-tailed Ant-Thrush Neocossyphus poensis seen at Semuliki and Bwindi 325 Abyssinian Thrush Turdus abyssinicus common in higher country 326 African Thrush Turdus pelios common in lower country 327 African Dusky Flycatcher Muscicapa adusta common around Ruhija 328 Swamp Flycatcher Muscicapa aquatica seen at Queen Elizabeth, Lake Bunyoni, Mabamba and Entebbe Botanical gardens

329 Cassin's Flycatcher Muscicapa cassini single bird at the Neck 330 Sooty Flycatcher Bradornis fuliginosus single bird at Buhoma

36 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 331 Dusky-blue Flycatcher Bradornis comitatus one bird at Buhoma and a few around Mgahinga

332 Pale Flycatcher Agricola pallidus a pair around Lake Mburo 333 Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher Fraseria griseigularis two birds at Bwindi 334 Chapin's Flycatcher Fraseria lendu two birds at Buhoma 335 Yellow-eyed Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis ardesiacus a few birds around Mubwindi Swamp 336 Northern Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides a few encounters at Queen Elizabeth 337 White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher Melaenornis fischeri common around Bwindi and also seen at Echuya forest

338 Brown-backed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas hartlaubi seen on the roadside towards Semuliki in Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

339 White-bellied Robin-Chat Cossyphicula roberti single bird at Buhoma 340 Archer's Ground Robin Cossypha archeri seen at Ruhija and heard quite often at Mgahinga

341 Cape Robin-Chat Cossypha caffra single bird at Mgahinga 342 Grey-winged Robin-Chat Cossypha polioptera seen at Buhoma 343 White-browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini seen at Queen Elizabeth and around Lake Mburo

344 Red-capped Robin-Chat Cossypha natalensis single bird at Mabira forest 345 Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha niveicapilla few birds in Bigodi community lands 346 White-starred Robin Pogonocichla stellata seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga 347 Brown-chested Alethe Chamaetylas poliocephala an adult with a young in Kibale 348 Red-throated Alethe Chamaetylas poliophrys seen at Bwindi 349 Equatorial Akalat Sheppardia aequatorialis a few birds at Buhoma 350 Whinchat Saxicola rubetra common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

37 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 351 African Stonechat Saxicola torquatus few birds along the road in the highlands

352 Sooty Chat Myrmecocichla nigra common at Queen Elizabeth, a little less common at Lake Mburo

353 Familiar Chat Oenanthe familiaris seen at Lake Mburo 354 Grey-headed Sunbird Deleornis axillaris singles seen at Kibale, Semuliki and Bwindi

355 Grey-chinned Sunbird Anthreptes rectirostris seen at Kibale and Buhoma 356 Collared Sunbird Hedydipna collaris common throughout 357 Green-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis seen around Kibale and Mgahinga 358 Blue-throated Brown Sunbird Cyanomitra cyanolaema seen twice, once in Bigodi communtiy lands and once at Bwindi

359 Blue-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra alinae seen very well at Ruhija 360 Green-throated Sunbird Chalcomitra rubescens single bird in Bigodi community lands 361 Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis seen along the roadside and in Entebbe Botanical gardens

362 Bronzy Sunbird Nectarinia kilimensis common throughout 363 Olive-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris chloropygius common throughout 364 Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris stuhlmanni common at Mgahinga 365 Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi seen at Bwindi 366 Regal Sunbird Cinnyris regius singles at Ruhija, Echuya and Mgahinga 367 Marico Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis singles at Lake Mburo 368 Red-chested Sunbird Cinnyris erythrocercus seen at Queen Elizabeth and Mabamba 369 Variable Sunbird Cinnyris venustus common throughout 370 Copper Sunbird Cinnyris cupreus only seen in Bigodi Community lands 371 Crested Malimbe Malimbus malimbicus two birds seen during Semuliki hike

38 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 372 Red-headed Malimbe Malimbus rubricollis seen at Matiri, Kibale and Bwindi forests 373 Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes rubriceps singles at Lake Mburo 374 Baglafecht Weaver Ploceus baglafecht common in the highlands 375 Little Weaver Ploceus luteolus seen at Rwakobo Rock Lodge 376 Slender-billed Weaver Ploceus pelzelni seen at Lake Bunyoni and Mabamba 377 Black-necked Weaver Ploceus nigricollis mainly seen around Kibale 378 Spectacled Weaver Ploceus ocularis only seen around Mabamba 379 Black-billed Weaver Ploceus melanogaster seen at Bwindi 380 Strange Weaver Ploceus alienus seen at Bwindi and Mgahinga 381 Holub's Golden-Weaver Ploceus xanthops singles on the roadside and at Lake Mburo

382 Orange Weaver Ploceus aurantius few birds at Entebbe Botanical gardens 383 Northern Brown-throated Weaver Ploceus castanops singles at Mabamba 384 Vieillot's Weaver Ploceus nigerrimus common throughout 385 Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus common throughout 386 Weyns's Weaver Ploceus weynsi seen at Mabamba 387 Black-headed Weaver Ploceus melanocephalus common throughout 388 Yellow-mantled Weaver Ploceus tricolor two birds at Kibale 389 Brown-capped Weaver Ploceus insignis common around Buhoma and a single bird in Ruhija

390 Compact Weaver Pachyphantes superciliosus a single bird at Lake Mburo 391 Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea only observed on Kasenyi Plains 392 Southern Red Bishop Euplectes orix a single bird at Queen Elizabeth (probably due to the dry season)

39 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 393 Black Bishop Euplectes gierowii only a single bird on a roadside swamp (probably due to the dry season) 394 Yellow Bishop Euplectes capensis single bird around Mgahinga 395 Fan-tailed Widowbird Euplectes axillaris a few birds at Mabamba 396 Thick-billed Weaver Amblyospiza albifrons seen at Bigodi and Mabamba 397 Grey-headed Nigrita Nigrita canicapillus seen at Kibale 398 Chestnut-breasted Nigrita Nigrita bicolor single bird at Semuliki NP 399 White-breasted Nigrita Nigrita fusconotus seen on a few occasions in Kibale and Bwindi

400 Yellow-bellied Waxbill Coccopygia quartinia two birds at Lake Bunyoni 401 Dusky Crimsonwing Cryptospiza jacksoni singles at Ruhija and a few more at Mgahinga

402 Fawn-breasted Waxbill Estrilda paludicola a single bird around Ishasha and two more at Echuya forest

403 Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild a few birds here and there 404 Black-crowned Waxbill Estrilda nonnula a single bird at a roadside swamp and another at Mabamba

405 Kandt's Waxbill Estrilda kandti a few around Ruhija, quite common at Mgahinga

406 Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus only seen around Lake Mburo 407 Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba a pair at Lake Mburo 408 Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala common throughout 409 African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata singles in Bigodi Community lands and at Lake Mburo

410 Bronze Mannikin Spermestes cucullata common throughout 411 Black-and-white Mannikin Spermestes bicolor only seen in Bigodi Community lands 412 Magpie Mannikin Spermestes fringilloides seen at Kibale

40 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch 413 Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura common throughout 414 Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata a single bird in Bigodi town 415 House Sparrow Passer domesticus singles in Towns, much scarcer than Northern Grey-headed Sparrow

416 Northern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer griseus common throughout 417 Cape Wagtail Motacilla capensis singles in the highlands 418 Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava very common at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo

419 African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp singles throughout 420 African Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus singles at Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

421 Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys singles at Queen Elizabteh and Lake Mburo

422 Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus common at Queen Elizabteh, a little less common at Lake Mburo

423 Yellow-fronted Canary Crithagra mozambica singles in svannah 424 Western Citril Crithagra frontalis a single bird at Echuya forest 425 Brimstone Canary Crithagra sulphurata singles at Queen Elizabteh 426 Streaky Seedeater Crithagra striolata common in highlands 427 Thick-billed Seedeater Crithagra burtoni seen at Ruhija and Mgahinga 428 Yellow-crowned Canary Serinus flavivertex seen at Mgahinga 429 Golden-breasted Bunting Emberiza flaviventris a single bird at Queen Elizabteh and a few more at Lake Mburo

430 Cinnamon-breasted Bunting Emberiza tahapisi two birds at Lake Mburo

41 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch Mammals

Southern Tree Hyrax Dendrohyrax arboreus Forest Elephant Loxodonta cyclotis African Savanna Elephant Loxodonta africana African Savanna Hare Lepus victoriae Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes Mountain Gorilla Gorilla beringei ssp. Beringei Semliki Red Colobus Piliocolobus semlikiensis Mantled Guereza Colobus guereza L'Hoest's Monkey Allochrocebus lhoesti De Brazza's Monkey Cercopithecus neglectus Schmidt's Red-tailed Monkey Cercopithecus ascanius ssp. Schmidti Stuhlmann's Blue Monkey Cercopithecus mitis ssp. Stuhlmanni Dent's Monkey Cercopithecus denti Vervet Monkey Chlorocebus pygerythrus Tantalus Monkey Chlorocebus tantalus Olive Baboon Papio anubis Grey-cheeked Mangabey Lophocebus albigena Alexander's Bush Squirrel Paraxerus alexandri Boehm's Bush Squirrel Paraxerus boehmi Red-legged Sun Squirrel Heliosciurus rufobrachium Striped Ground Squirrel Euxerus erythropus Giraffa Rothschild's Giraffe camelopardalis ssp. Rothschildi Nile Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus ssp. bor African Buffalo Syncerus caffer Common Impala Aepyceros melampus ssp. melampus Topi Damaliscus lunatus ssp. Jimela Light-backed Duiker Cephalophus silvicultor Black-fronted Duiker Cephalophus nigrifrons Defassa Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus ssp. defassa Ugandan Kob Kobus kob ssp. thomasi Giant Forest Hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni Phacochoerus Eastern Warthog africanus ssp. Massaicus Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius African Civet Civettictis civetta Spotted-necked Otter Hydrictis maculicollis Common Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula Eastern Serval Leptailurus serval ssp. lipostictus Northern Lion Panthera leo ssp. leo Grant’s Zebra Equus quagga ssp. boehmi

42 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch REPTILES

Nile Crocodile Crocodylus niloticus Kigezi Highlands Chameleon Kinyongia tolleyae Montane Side-striped Chameleon Trioceros ellioti Speckle-lipped Mabuya Trachylepis maculilabris Nile Monitor Varanus niloticus

BUTTERFLIES

Apple-green Swallowtail Papilio phorcas Mocker Swallowtail Papilio dardanus Central Sprite Apallaga alluaudi Western Red Charaxes Charaxes cynthia Pied Piper Eurytela hiarbas African Castor Ariadne enotrea Herminia Glider Cymothoe herminia Hobart's Red Glider Cymothoe hobarti Angular Glider Harma theobene Common Club-dot Sailer Neptis agouale Ansorge’s Leaf Pansy Junonia ansorgei Falls Acraea Acraea acerata Acraea amicitiae Western Blotched Leopard Lachnoptera anticlia African Caper Belenois creona Belenois thysa ssp. meldolae Belenois solilucis Red Tip Colotis danae Neave's Banded Judy Afriodinia neavei

MOTHS Epiphora rectifascia

DRAGONFLIES Julia Skimmer Orthetrum julia Skylight Flutterer Rhyothemis fenestrina Southern Banded Groundling Brachythemis leucosticta Lucia Widow Palpopleura lucia Violet Dropwing Trithemis annulata

43 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch DAMSELFLIES Glistening Demoiselle Phaon iridipennis Umma saphirina

White-throated Blue Swallow

© All images copyrighted by Max Baumgarten or Daniel Branch

44 | Max Baumgarten & Daniel Branch