A significant part of the western Uganda at the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo lies in the Western arm of the East African Great Rift Valley stretching all the to areas within the borders of Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

This area geographically lies between the Rwenzori mountain ranges in the North and the Virunga ranges in the South at the intersection of the Congo and Nile river basins. This gives area is home to Uganda’s highest and lowest point giving it a wide range of altitude options that provide habitat to a special mix of unique bird species that can only thrive in that unique habitat. This region is referred to as the Albertine rift.

This unique habitat is therefore home to over 20 endemic birds including; This unique habitat is therefore home to over 20 endemic birds (http://www.albertinerift.org/portals/49/media/file/endemicbirds.PDF ) including

• 1. Shelley’s crimsonwing
• 2. Dusky crimsonwing
• 3. Rwenzori nightjar
• 4. Dwarf honeyguide
• 5. African green broadbill
• 6. Kivu ground thrush
• 7. Red-throated alethe
• 8. Archer’s robin-chat
• 9. Collared apalis
• 10. Mountain masked apalis
• 11. Grauer’s scrub warbler
• 12. Grauer’s warbler
• 13. Neumann’s warbler
• 14. Red-faced woodland warbler
• 15. Yellow-eyed black flycatcher
• 16. Chapin’s flycatcher
• 17. Rwenzori batis
• 18. Stripe-breasted tit
• 19. Blue-headed sunbird
• 20. Regal sunbird
• 21. Purple-breasted sunbird
• 22. Dusky crimsonwing
• 23. Strange weaver
• 24. Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird
• 25. Rockefeller's Sunbird
• 26. Golden-naped weaver
• 27. Congo Bay Owl
• 28. Stripe-breasted Tit

Coincidentally (or not), this Albert rift region is home to several protected areas including Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Semuliki National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park where bird watching is highly developed with trails and amazing sight guides ready to locate the birds for visitors to tick them on their checklist. The top 5 birding spots to spot these Albertine endemic birds are;

1. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
This is a UNESCO World heritage site with over 300 bird species recorded here. The forest spans an area of over 5000+ sq. km and houses one of the most ancient and diverse biodiversity in the world. The forest offers some neat birding opportunities to see the much sought after African Green broadbill, the dusky crimsonwing, strange weaver, shelley’s crimsonwing, dwarf honeyguide.

2. Rwenzori Mountains National Park
With the presence of unique habitat in Central Africa within the Albertine rift system, the Rwenzori mountains National Park is prime birding destination. The mountain ranges have the 3rd highest peak in Africa on Mount Stanley at 5109m above sea level giving opportunity for a varied vegetation zone of savannah, montane forest, bamboo zone, heather zone and afro-alpine moorland. These vegetation zones attract diverse species of birds including the Rwenzori turaco, bearded vulture, long-eared owl, Rwenzori Olive Thrush, Mountain greenbul among other rarely sighted elsewhere.

3. Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga National Park, located in South-western Uganda close to the Uganda-Rwanda border has over 18 recorded bird species with some 12 recorded Albertine rift endemics. The park offers amazing guided mountain hikes that optimizes visitors’ chance of seeing a number of Albertine rift endemics including the Rwenzori nightjar, Rwenzori baris, Rwenzori turaco, Dusky crimsonwing, Kivu Ground-thrush.

4. Semuliki National Park
Semuliki National Park is truly a birders’ haven boasting of over 435 recorded bird species. The park is located in Western Uganda at the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border adorned with a 220 sq. km ancient rainforest hydrated by the might Semuliki river which powers into L. Albert. The forest is a tropical lowland forest within the Ituri forest continuum. Western bronze-naped pigeon, piping hornbill, yellow longbill, crested malimbe, blue headed flycatcher, Xaviers’ greenbul.

5. Nyungwe National Park
Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda is one of the Albertine rift’s top birding areas considered an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International. The Park is endowed with one of Central Africa’s oldest montane rainforests lying in the watershed between the Congo River basin and the Nile basin which means in offers a wide range of habitats including grasslands, wetlands, forested area. The Park has some 275 recorded bird species