A Detailed Southern Tanzania Birding Tour Itinerary Guide
A Complete Southern Tanzania Birding Tour Itinerary Guide; The Southern Tanzania Birding Tour 18 days/ 17 nights.
Highlight Birds
Udzungwa Forest Partridge, Kipengere/ Tanzania Seedeater, Yellow-browed Seedeater, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Black-and-white Shrike-Flycatcher, Southern/ Uhehe Fiscal, Fülleborn’s Boubou, Uluguru Bushshrike, African Broadbill, Moustached Tinkerbird, Green Barbet, Black-collared Barbet, Brown-breasted Barbet, Livingstone’s Turaco, Mountain (Green-throated/Yellow-throated) Greenbul, Mountain (Uluguru) Greenbul, Grey-olive Greenbul, Bohm’s Spinetail, Ruwenzori Nightjar, White-backed Night Heron, Forest (Dark) Batis, Kilombero Cisticola, White-tailed Cisticola, Chapin’s Apalis, White-winged Apalis, Brown Parisoma, African Tailorbird/Red-capped Forest Warbler, Miombo/ Stierling’s (Barred) Wren-Warbler, Winifred’s/ Mrs. Moreau’s Warbler,
Rubeho/ Mrs. Moreau’s Warbler, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Red-winged Warbler, Kretschmer’s Longbill, Crested Guineafowl, Loveridge’s (Moreau’s) Sunbird, Loveridge’s Sunbird, Uluguru Violet-backed Sunbird, Shelleys/ Hofmann’s Sunbird, Miombo Double-collared Sunbird, Rufous-winged Sunbird, White-headed Black/ Arnott’s Chat, Swynnerton’s Robin, White-chested Alethe, Miombo Rock Thrush, Collared Palm Thrush, Spot-throat, Dappled Mountain-Robin/ Dapple-throat, Iringa (Rubeho) Akalat, Sharpe’s Akalat, Iringa Akalat, Ashy Starling, Lesser/ Miombo (Southern) Blue-eared Starling, Southern Citril, Kilombero Weaver, Bertram’s Weaver, Ruvu Weaver,
Usambara Weaver, Speckle-throated Woodpecker, Olive Woodpecker, Red-faced Crimsonwing, Blue Waxbill/ Southern Cordon-bleu, Magpie Mannikin, Orange-winged Pytilia, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Bohm’s Bee-eater, Oriole Finch, Green-headed Oriole, Bar-tailed Trogon, African Skimmer, White-crowned Lapwing, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Marsh (Anchieta’s) Tchagra, Pale-billed Hornbill, Tanzania/ Ruaha Red-billed Hornbill, Southern Ground Hornbill, African Barred (Scheffler’s) Owlet, Black-bellied Bustard, Brown-necked Parrot, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Northern Pied Babbler, Racket-tailed Roller, Rufous-Bellied (Cinnamon-breasted) Tit, African Penduline Tit, Yellow-collared Lovebird, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Zanzibar Red-Bishop
Highlight mammals and reptiles: Leopard, African Lion, Cheetah, Savannah Elephant, Maasai Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Common Hippopotamus, Common Zebra, Common Eland, Common Impala, Bat-eared Fox, Nile Crocodile
Habitats covered: Savannah, Miombo Woodland, Eastern Arc Mountains, Wetland
Photographic opportunities: Excellent
Special moments: Tanzania Endemic Birds’ Species, Africa’s Big 5, Eastern Arc Mountains
Birds of Tanzania
Detailed Southern Tanzania Birding Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Tanzania
Dar es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, will serve as the starting point for our birding tour in southern Tanzania.
If we are able to arrive early, we might spend this day seeing the sights of Dar es Salaam. Then then, we can just kick back at the lodge and watch the beautiful birds of Tanzania.
Night in Dar es Salaam.
Day 2: Dar es salaam to Ukaguru
Today marks the official beginning of the incredible Southern Tanzania Birding Tour. We will set off for Ukaguru in the morning. While traveling, we intend to take pleasure in birdwatching and, with any luck, begin to add a number of rare species to our list.
So that we may get a head start the next day, we will spend the night close to the birding forest.
Night near Ukaguru.
Day 3: Ukaguru Mountains
The Ukagurus are less frequented by birding excursions, therefore we’ll be birding them on this day. The Rubeho Warbler and Rubeho Akalat are our primary objectives in this area.
On our Southern Tanzania Birding Tour, we hope to discover some new and interesting species, as this region is known for its abundance of surprises.
In our pursuit of these fascinating creatures, we want to spend the day in this location. Since we like birdwatching while driving, we plan to head to Morogoro in the late afternoon.
Night in Morogoro.
Day 4, 5 and 6: Uluguru Mountains
Next, we’ll head to the breathtaking Uluguru Mountains, where we’ll be on the lookout for a wide variety of rare species, including the Uluguru Greenbul, Loveridge’s Sunbird, Uluguru Bush-shrike, and Winifred’s/Mrs. Moreau’s Warbler.
A highlight of our Southern Tanzania Birding Tour will be exploring this secluded location in search of unusual birds.
Optimal birding time here can be achieved by camping at two separate locations.
Day 7: Uluguru Mountains to Iringa
We will proceed westward on our birding tour of southern Tanzania. We will travel to the Iringa Highlands.
As we search for species along this fruitful road, we will halt multiple times. Our birdwatching tour of Iringa will resume in the afternoon.
Night in Iringa.
Day 8 And 9: Udzungwa Scarp And Uluti Forest
We will get an early start so that we can explore another secluded woodland. On our journey, we will stop at Uluti Forest and the Udzungwa Scarp in the hopes of seeing the rare Rufous-winged Sunbird. The woodland and the farms in the area are home to a plethora of other uncommon birds.
On our birding tour of southern Tanzania, this woodland is usually one of the most impressive stops.
Nights in Uluti.
Day 10, 11, 12 And 13: West Udzungwa Mountains National Park
A more in-depth exploration of the isolated West Udzungwa Mountains is next on our agenda. The Udzungwa Forest Partridge and the unique Tanzania/Kipengere Seedeater are two of the most well-known birds in this region.
Along with many other unique birds, we will devote time to finding these endemics.
Nights in West Udzungwas.
Day 14: West To East Udzungwa Mountains National Park
We will continue our journey to the East Udzungwa Mountains after our last birding session in the West Udzungwas.
We will have a wonderful time birdwatching here as we uncover more species of woodland.
Night at Udzungwa.
Day 15: Kilombero Swamp And East Udzungwa Mountains
Our morning excursion will take us to a wonderful site—the habitat of three endemic species to Tanzania. Our birding tour of southern Tanzania isn’t complete without a stop at Kilombero Swamp.
Some fascinating species that call this floodplain home include the Kilombero Weaver, White-tailed Cisticola, and Kilombero Cisticola. Just like we do with so many other kinds of birds, we will look for these endemics.
We want to go birding in the East Udzungwa Forest this afternoon.
Night at Udzungwa.
Day 16 And 17: Mikumi National Park
Later on, while we’re out enjoying the open country birds, we’ll take a journey to the adjacent Mikumi National Park.
Our birding expedition will take us through the local wetlands, miombo woodland, and savannah grasslands. As if that weren’t thrilling enough, this region will also give us the chance to see some big game species on our Southern Tanzania Birding Tour.
These mammals can be found in Africa: lions, leopards, ratels, bushy-tailed mongooses, black-backed jackals, wild dogs, spotted hyenas, civets, elephants, giraffes, bohor reedbucks, cape buffalo, blue wildebeests, and nile hippos.
Nights in Mikumi.
Day 18: Mikumi National Park To Dar Es Salaam
In the morning, we will have the pleasure of enjoying more birding at Mikumi as we search for more species. We will then depart for Dar es Salaam, making sure to stop for birding along the way.
After an enjoyable birding tour of southern Tanzania, we will arrive in Dar es Salaam in the afternoon and be transferred to the airport for our return flights.
End of the 18 Days/17Nights Southern Tanzania Birding Tour
The Southern Tanzania Birding Tour can be combined with our Pemba Island Endemics Birding Tour.
