Wild world

Birds of Tanzania

Photo from the Ngorongoro Crater by Sara&Joachim on Flickr

Tanzania is one of the best birdwatching destinations in Africa.

• List of birds of Tanzania The avifauna of Tanzania includes a total of 1108 species, of which 23 areendemic, 4 have been introduced by humans, and 43 are rare or accidental. 36 species are globally threatened.
• Tanzanian Birds Good photo site with over 7500 images of 750 Tanzanian bird species
• Tanzania to ruin major flamingo nesting site?
• Birds found to be key protectors of forest in Tanzania Seed-eating birds play a critical role in maintaining forests in the Serengeti by keeping seed-killing beetles in check, report researchers writing in the journal Science. The finding is another example of ecological interdependency between species.
• TANZANIA BIRD ATLAS – Distribution and Seasonality Mapping the birds of Tanzania
• Photos of birds in Tanzania
• Birdwatching Trip Reports Tanzania

Books about the birds of Tanzania

Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (Helm Field Guides)

From a happy reader on Amazon.co.uk: “This is a truly excellent field guide and brought me great pleasure on a recent holiday in Kenya and northern Tanzania.The plates are of superb quality and the text is clear and helpful in highlighting confusion species.The one slight drawback is the weight of this hardback edition.It certainly is not a pocket guide!I understand that a softback edition is now available.This may prove to be a better option for anyone making a one-off visit to the region”.

Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi (Helm Field Guides) More generic than the above

This is the first comprehensive field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of this spetacular region. It covers all resident, migrant and vagrant species found in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Over 1300 species are illustrated with full details all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered. Concise text describes identification, status, range, habits and voice with range maps for each species. This authoritative book will not only be an indispensable guide to the visiting birder, but also a vital tool for those engaged in work to conserve and study the avifauna of this region. East Africa shelters a remarkable diversity of birds, many seriously endangered with small and vulnerable ranges. They form a constantly colourful, noisy and highly extrovert part of the landscape.

Individual species

Wildlife Extra News – Tanzania to ruin major flamingo nesting site?

Lake Natron faces renewed threat from soda-ash mining

August 2009. BirdLife has learnt that a Tanzanian Government Agency is seeking to buy mining equipment for large-scale soda ash extraction from Lake Natron – the most important breeding site for the near threatened Lesser flamingo in the world. “This is worrying indeed”, said Lota Melamari – the CEO of Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST-BirdLife in Tanzania).

Sokoke Scops Owl in Danger

Scientists claim the Sokoke Scops Owl, a small member of the species, faces extinction in East Africa due to illegal logging in indigenous forests in the in the Coastal and North East Tanzania.

Dr Munir Virani of The Peregrine Fund and the National Museums of Kenya found an estimated 1,025 pairs during his study in the early 1990s, and during this recent study, he and his colleague’s estimated only 800 pairs.

“The Sokoke Scops Owl is considered a flagship of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest and is an indicator of the health of the forest” Dr Virani said.

Birdwatching in Tanzania

Birdwatching Holiday Tanzania

While neighbouring Kenya has deservedly been recognized as one of the best birding destinations on the planet, Tanzania is now fast on its heels. Considerably larger, it encompasses a fine variety of habitats, many shared with adjacent countries, but it almost wholly contains the Eastern Arc mountain range. This range of hills is now regarded as the continent’s most important biological hotspot.