Birding in Murchison Falls National Park

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Birding in Murchison Falls National Park

Birding in Murchison  Bird nests in river bank, Uganda

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest national park, covering approximately 4,000 km2. The Park supports a remarkable 451 species of birds.

Birding in Murchison Falls National Park has the main birding attraction being the Shoebill, best sighted in the dry season from January-March.

The commonest species found in the plains include the Marabou Stork, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Secretary Birds, Black-bellied Bustards, Open-billed Storks and Widow Bird.

Closer to the river where there are more thickets and woodlands, the commonest bird varieties include the Swallow-tailed and Red-throated Bee-eaters – particularly in the Nyamusika Cliffs; Woodland, Pied, Giant and Malachite Kingfishers; Francolin; Hornbills, Grey heron; Hamerkop; Shrikes; Flycatchers; Cuckoos; Woodpeckers; Crombecs and Warblers. The riverbanks are also home to ducks, geese, stilts and plovers.

The park’s main birding attraction is the Shoebill, best sighted in the dry season from January-March.

The list of bird species sighted when birding in Murchison

The Park boasts of a rich avifauna, with a Checklist of up to 460 bird species and 76 mammal species due to its large size and the full range of habitats. Murchison supports 20 species from three non-qualifying biomes: 11 species of Guinea-Congo Forests, six species of the Afro-tropical Highlands and 3 of the Somali–Masai biome. River Nile

The most sighted bird species of Murchison Falls National Park include:

  • African Darter
  • Goliath Heron
  • Yellow-billed Stork
  • Abdim’s Stork
  • Shoebill
  • White-faced Whistling Duck
  • Secretary Bird
  • Osprey
  • Dark Chanting-Goshawk
  • Martial Eagle
  • Hugli’s Francolin
  • Denham’s Bustard
  • Spotted Thick-knee
  • Senegal Thick-knee
  • Rock Pratincole
  • Black-headed Plover
  • Long-toed Plover
  • Black-billed Wood-Dove
  • Veracious Dove
  • Long Tailed Nightjar
  • Standard-winged Nightjar
  • Pennant-winged Nightjar
  • Blue-naped Moosebird
  • Giant Kingfisher
  • Pied Kingfisher
  • Malachite Kingfisher
  • Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
  • Red-throated Bee-eater
  • Northern Carmine Bee-eater
  • Black Scimitarbill
  • Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
  • Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
  • Black-billed Barbet
  • White-fronted Black Chat
  • Silverbird
  • Beautiful Sunbird
  • Piapiac
  • Speckle-fronted Weaver
  • White-browed Sparrow Weaver
  • Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver
  • Vaseline Masked Weaver
  • Bar-breasted Firefinch
  • White-rumped Seedeater
  • Saddle-billed Stork
  • Sacred Ibis
  • Spur-winger Geese
  • Black Crake
  • Grey-crowned Crane
  • Blue-naped Moosebird
  • Spotted Morning Thrush
  • Nothern Crombec
  • Red-winged Grey Warbler
  • Black-headed Batis
  • Black-headed Gondola
  • Grey-headed Bush Shrike
  • Double-toothed Barbet
  • Yellow-throated Greenbul
  • Whistling Cisticola
  • Black-lored Babbler
  • Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike
  • Fawn-breasted Waxbill
  • Black-faced Waxbill

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