50 Awesome Birds You Can See in Uganda

Discover 50 of Uganda birds that we saw and photographed on our 2 week trip to East Africa. Most people equate Uganda with gorilla trekking but with over 1000 species of birds calling Uganda home, a trip here is simply a delight for opportunistic birdwatchers like myself. Read on for information about the best places to see Uganda’s birds along with plenty of bird photos to inspire your own Uganda safari.

Birds of Entebbe Botanical Gardens

One cool thing to do in Entebbe is to visit Entebbe Botanical Gardens which is just a short distance from Uganda's main international airport and it's possible to walk here from the majority of tourist lodges. It took us 30 minutes to get to the botanical gardens from Carpe Diem Guest House and we were rewarded with some unique Ugandan bird sightings including a hamerkop building a nest.

1. Marabou Stork

2. Crowned Hornbill

3. Hamerkop

Birds at Entebbe's Guest Lodges

The gardens of the various guest houses in Entebbe are oases popular with Uganda's birds. We sat outside at both Carpe Diem and Karibu Guest Houses and watched as the birds simply came to us. Check out the colorful and entertaining species that we saw and photographed below.

4. Red-Chested Sunbird

5. Black-Headed Gonolek

6. Eastern-Grey Plantain Eater

7. Double-toothed Barbet

8. Rüppell's Long Tailed Starling

Uganda Birds by the Roadside

Our Matoke Tours guide, Geoffrey Katende, had an immense knowledge of the birds of Uganda and an eagle-eye for spotting them. Outside of the urban area around Kampala and Entebbe, the traffic in Uganda was very light. Many times on our 9-day East African safari adventure, Geoffrey would hit the brakes, pull out his binoculars, and point out fascinating birds. Here are some of the many Uganda birds that Geoffrey spotted along the road.

9. Weaver Birds

10. Black-Shouldered Kite

11. African Open-Billed Stork

12. African-Paradise Flycatcher

Birds of Uganda's Bigodi Wetlands Swamp

Kibale Forest National Park is best known for chimpanzee tracking. However, nearby community run Bigodi Swamp was a treasure-trove of bird species. Our guide, Rodgers, had a special knack for making the birds come to us. I like to think of him as the Bird-whisperer of Bigodi Swamp.

13. Blue Turaco

14. Yellow-Billed Barbet

Birds of Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP) in Western Uganda may be most well-known for the Big Five but we were impressed by the magnificent diversity of bird species that call the park home. Read on to discover our favorite sightings.

15. Verreaux's Eagle

16. Red-necked Spurfowl

17. Pallid Harrier

18. White-Browed Coucal

19. Grey-Crowned Crane

20. Southern Red Bishop

21. Martial Eagle

22. Pin-Tailed Whydah

Birds of the Kazinga Channel

During our trip to Uganda, we took a 2 hour Kazinga Channel boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park. While the Kazinga Channel is known for a great concentration of hippos, we were pleased to see a wide variety of birds as well. Flocks followed in the wake of our boat and we saw some extraordinary bird species both on the water and near the shore.

23. Pied Kingfisher

24. Yellow-Billed Oxpecker

25. African Fish Eagle 

26. Albino Malachite Kingfisher

Birds Near Western Uganda's Lake Mutanda 

The area in and around Lake Mutanda is the staging area for tracking Uganda's famous mountain gorillas. Lake Mutanda also sits near the crossroads of three nations: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We saw an amazing array of birds on our trip to the region.

27. Black Crake

28. Souza's Shrike

29. White-Browed Robin-Chat

Ugandan Birds Near Lake Bunyonyi

It's worth traveling to Uganda's Lake Bunyonyi to build a little respite into an otherwise hectic safari. We took a boat cruise on Lake Buyonyi and stopped on an island where the local lodge hosted a "bird restaurant". I was most impressed by the abundance of Speckled Mousebirds that we saw on the trip.

30. Speckled Mousebird

Birds of Mburo National Park

Mburo National Park is Uganda's smallest savanna park but features a wide range of birds flitting about in the acacia trees. Check out the abundance of Ugandan bird species that we spied on our game drives in the park.

31. Woodland Kingfisher

32. Long Crested Eagle

33. African Wattled Lapwing

34. Little Bee-Eater

35. Little Green Bee-Eater

36. Grey-Backed Fiscal

37. Broad-Billed Roller

38. Lilac-Breasted Roller

39. Common Cuckoo

40. Collared Sunbird

Birds on Uganda's Lake Victoria

Back in Entebbe, we took a sunset 'cruise' on Lake Victoria. Paddling along in a wooden canoe equipped with an outboard motor, we explored the channels through the papyrus swamp at lake's edge and saw more of Uganda's incredible birds.

41. Malachite Kingfisher

42. Purple Heron

43. Long-Toed Lapwing

44. Black-Winged Stilt

45. Spur-Winged Lapwing

Birds of Mabamba Swamp

Sure, a trip to Uganda's Mabamba Swamp offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see large shoe-billed storks but this wetlands area about an hour away from Entebbe Airport offers so much more for birdwatchers who take time to arrange a guide and get out on the water. 

46. African Jacana

47. Common Squacco Heron

48. Saddle-Billed Stork

49. Yellow-Billed Ducks

Uganda's Star Birding Attraction: The Shoebill Stork

Yes, I wanted to see mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, and more on our Uganda safari. The one wildlife opportunity that tipped the balance for us toward Uganda from other safari destinations in East Africa was the Shoebill. Your chances of seeing Shoe-billed Storks in Uganda's Mabamba Swamp are higher than probably anywhere else in the world and the wetlands is just an hour from Entebbe so the journey is very accessible. I was so excited to see this pinnacle of the Ugandan bird hierarchy sitting among the reeds.

50. Shoe-Billed Stork

As you can see, birdwatching opportunities abound on a trip to Uganda. Everyplace we visited, the air was filled with birdsong and we spotted an incredible variety of species on our journey. I've shared 50 with you today, but this only includes those birds that were nice enough to stay still long enough for me to get a picture. In reality, we probably caught a glimpse of more than 100 out of Uganda's 1000+ bird species. What an amazing adventure!

For help identifying the birds of Uganda before, during, and after your safari, I recommend picking up a copy of The Birds of East Africa.

All photos in this post were taken with a Canon Powershot SX60 bridge camera with a 65x optical zoom lens.

Uganda Birdwatching Checklist

1. Marabou Stork
2. Crowned Hornbill
3. Hamerkop
4. Red-Chested Sunbird
5. Black Headed Gonolek
6. Eastern-Grey Plantain Eater
7. Double-toothed Barbet
8. Rüppell's Long-Tailed Starling
9. Weaver Birds
10. Black-Shouldered Kite
11. African Open-Billed Stork
12. African-Paradise Flycatcher
13. Blue Turaco
14. Yellow-Billed Barbet
15. Verreaux's Eagle
16. Red-necked Spurfowl
17. Pallid Harrier
18. White-Browed Coucal
19. Grey-Crowned Crane
20. Southern Red Bishop
21. Martial Eagle
22. Pin-Tailed Whydah
23. Pied Kingfisher
24. Yellow-Billed Oxpecker
25. African Fish Eagle 
26. Albino Malachite Kingfisher
27. Black Crake
28. Souza's Shrike
29. White-Browed Robin-Chat
30. Speckled Mousebird
31. Woodland Kingfisher
32. Long-Crested Eagle
33. African Wattled Lapwing
34. Little Bee-Eater
35. Little Green Bee-Eater
36. Grey-Backed Fiscal
37. Broad-Billed Roller
38. Lilac-Breasted Roller
39. Common Cuckoo
40. Collared Sunbird
41. Malachite Kingfisher
42. Purple Heron
43. Long-Toed Lapwing
44. Black-Winged Stilt
45. Spur-Winged Lapwing
46. African Jacana
47. Common Squacco Heron
48. Saddle-Billed Stork
49. Yellow-Billed Ducks
50. Shoe Billed Stork

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