African crowned crane (Balearica regulorum)

The elegant Grey-crowned crane is the Uganda national bird and has to be one of the most majestic birds in existence.

Also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane or golden-crowned crane, it appears on Uganda flag and can be found abundantly near the Uganda’s many lakes, rivers, and wetlands.

Standing up to 3.3 feet tall and weighing in at 3.5 kilograms plus with a wingspan of 6.5 feet, this is quite a specimen to behold. These crowned cranes have;

• Grey bodies
• White wings with brown and gold feathers
• White cheeks
• Bright red gular sacs underneath their chins
• Relatively short bill and the legs are black.
• Most strikingly, a spray of stiff golden feathers forms a crown around their head.

Unfortunately, their distinctions have also put gray crowned cranes at risk. Considered status symbols among the wealthy; these birds are being captured and illegally sold in large numbers.

That and other threats have prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to list the gray crowned crane as endangered species.

Common ostrich (Struthio camelus)

The common ostrich is the heaviest and biggest bird in the world.

It is a flightless bird that belongs to the ratite family, along with its similarly flightless cousins such as emus, cassowaries, and kiwis.

This world’s biggest bird is also the holder of many other records for example:-

• Ostrich is the fastest bird on land and the fastest of any two-legged creatures
• With its powerful legs, the ostrich can sprint in short bursts up to 70 kilometers per hour and can maintain a steady speed of 50 kilometers per hour.
• An ostrich’s eggs are the largest of any bird weighing up to 1.4kg. Still, they are the smallest eggs of any bird – in relation to its body size.
• Ostriches have the largest eyes of any land animal, measuring up to 5cm across.

In Uganda, ostriches are found in Kidepo Valley National Park in the northeast of the country.

Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus)

The Abyssinian ground hornbill is an African bird that occurs only north of the Equator. It is similar to the Southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) the more widespread species of ground hornbills.

• It is a predominantly black bird
• Adult male features a patch of bare blue skin around the eye and an inflatable patch of bare skin on the neck and throat which is red, apart from the upper throat which is blue.
• Female does not have red throat and any bare skin is wholly dark blue.
• The bill is long and black.
• On top of the bill, there is a short open-ended black casque.
• Females are smaller than males

As big and black as turkeys, wielding bills like hatchets, these charismatic birds cut an unmistakable dash as they strut around the bush in small family parties.

They call together before dawn in a chorus of repeated deep booming uh-uh, uh-uh-uh calls that sounds not unlike a distant lion.

To amplify their calls, male hornbills inflate their big, red, balloon-like wattle below their bills.

When a party of ground hornbills is out foraging, small animals need to lie low because these omnivores snap up anything – from insects and lizards to small birds, tortoises, rodents, and snakes as big as puff adders. They can be seen in Murchison Falls National Park in northwestern Uganda.

African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)

African fish Eagle occurs where there are large bodies of open water and with plenty of fish.

It is fairly large and resembles the bald eagle in appearance, but each species occurs on different continents, with the bald eagle being resident in North America.

Females weigh almost 4kg and are larger than males which weigh about 3kg. Fish eagles have a wingspan of about 2.5m and a body length of up to 75cm.

Adult African fish eagle features mostly brown body with a white head like the bald eagle and large, powerful black wings.

The fish eagle’s head, breast and tail are snow with exception of the featherless face, which is yellow.

Its yellow beak is hook-shaped with a black tip. A fish eagle’s toes are coated in sharp barbs, called spicules, which consequently help it to grasp fish and other slippery prey.

African Finfoot

Podica senegalensis

African Finfoot is an African aquatic bird from the family Heliornithidae. It is an underwater specialist with a long neck, a striking sharp beak, and bright red, lobed feet.

The plumage differs with race, usually pale underneath and darker on top. The males are usually darker than the females. In Uganda, you can see the African Finfoot in Lake Mburo National Park. 

Black-and-white casqued hornbill

Bycanistes subcylindricus

Black-and-white casqued hornbill or grey-cheeked hornbill is a large bird of about 70 cm long. It also has a wingspan of about 38 cm.

Males weigh between 1 and 1.5 kg and females weigh between 1 and 2.25 kg.

It has an oversized yellow-brownish bill with a large flattened casque on top, which are enlarged in males. The purpose of the casque is unknown for males, although suggested to be for sexual characterization.

It is unmistakable for its black plumage at the higher body and wings alongside and white plumage on the lower body and wings with black feathers amongst the white feathers of the tail, especially the top tail feathers and the base of the tail feathers.

In Uganda, you can see the Black-and-white casqued hornbill in Kibale National Park, Budongo Forest Reserve, Mabira Forest Reserve, and other forest reserves.

Secretary Bird

Sagittarius serpentarius

Secretary birds are large birds that mostly move on the ground. The origin of their name is much debated. It is said that the feathers jutting out behind the bird’s head reminded the reminded 19^th -century Europeans of the quill pens that secretaries tucked behind their ears.

Secretary birds are creatures of open grassland and savannah.

Standing up to 137 centimeters tall and weigh up 5 kilograms, these birds have a wingspan of about 220 centimeters.

Quite unmistakable, this large bird has an eagle-like body on crane-like legs. The head is also like that of an eagle with a hooked bill.

Though the feature some white feathers, their plumage is mostly grey in colour.  The legs of the secretary bird are the longest of any bird of prey.

With their long legs, these birds prefer walking to flying and on average about 20 to 30 km a day on foot.

They feed on insects, mammals ranging in size from mice to hares and mongoose, crabs, scorpions, lizards, snakes, young birds, bird eggs, and sometimes dead animals killed in grass or bush fires.

These birds are generally silent. When they do call, they typically give a deep, low croaking wail that can be heard for quite some distance. The secretary bird can be seen Murchison Falls National Park and Kidepo Valley National Park.

Marabou Stork

Leptoptilos crumenifer

Often regarded as one of the ugliest birds of Uganda, Marabou Storks are unmistakable due to their size, bare head and neck, black back, and white underparts.

They have huge bills, weird-looking pink gular sac at their hanging down from the base of their necks, a neck ruff, black wings, and skinny white legs.

The marabou’s appearance isn’t the only strange thing about this bird. It has many odd behaviors as well.

For example, instead of flying away from grass fires like other birds, the marabou uses the blazes to its advantage to swoop in and feed on small fleeing animals. If the marabou gets too hot, it cools off by excreting its feces on its legs.

Marabou Storks are massive birds. Large specimens are thought to reach a height of 5 feet and a weight of 9 kg. A wingspan of 3.7 m (12 ft) was accepted by Fisher and Peterson, who ranked the species as having the largest wing-spread of any living bird.

African Green Broadbill

Pseudocalyptomena graueri

The African Green Broadbill is a small bird with mainly green feathers on its body. It also features light blue feathers on the throat, breast, and tail as well as a tan forehead with black streaks.

Although conservationists are making serious efforts to conserve this little rare bird, climate change and deforestation continue to endanger its numbers.

In Uganda, this tiny, enigmatic bird can only be found in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Black Bee-Eater

Merops gularis

The Black bee-eater is one of the most popular Uganda birds. It is a predominantly black bird with a distinctive scarlet throat, shimmering turquoise streaks across the breast, a pale blue eyebrow, and a blue belly.

Black bee-eaters live high in the forest canopies of places like Kibale National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The have a high-pitched sounds of “p’sit p’sit seet,” which you can listen to if you do not see them at first.

Chocolate-Backed Kingfisher

Halcyon badia

Chocolate-backed kingfishers have typical stocky shape of kingfishers with dark upper parts and pure white underparts.

• The head and hind neck are very dark brown
• The mantle is brownish black
• The back is black
• The rump a brilliant iridescent blue
• The upper tail coverts are black, and the tail is pale blue.
• The wings are dark, apart from a brilliant azure speculum formed in the outer webs of the secondary feathers.
• The underparts from the throat to the vent are snowy white, apart from a small blackish flank patch, and are clearly demarcated from the dark upper parts.
• In flight the brilliant blue rump and speculum are distinctive.
• The bill is red or reddish brown.

It is likely to spot it perched in a high tree in the lowland rainforest, scanning the area for prey that includes ants, grasshoppers, beetles, and small lizards. It can be seen in Budongo forest.

You will know the chocolate-backed kingfisher when you hear it because its sound is a high-pitched screech followed by a mournful song.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

Buphagus africanus

Oxpeckers are small, birds that grow up 23cm tall. They are primarily brown with a lighter underbelly that can range from a murky gray to a beige or cream.

They have two big splashes of color on their bodies. One is located around the eyes, which have stark black pupils surrounded by yellow or orange rings. The other color is found on their beaks.

Red-billed oxpeckers have solid red beaks while yellow-billed oxpeckers have yellow beaks with red tips.

These little birds hitch a ride along the backs of big animals including elephants, rhino, buffaloes, giraffes, hippopotamus, and zebras.

Their entire diet consists of ticks, botfly larvae, and other parasites present in the skin and fur of large mammals. They also feed on the host’s earwax, dandruff and blood from open wounds.

Although oxpeckers building nests in the holes of trees and walls, they perform their mating routines on the backs of their hosts

They seem to peck at these animals, however they really eating the ticks and other parasites on their skin.

Bar-tailed trogon

Apaloderma vittatum

The bar-tailed trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae.

• It is about 11 inches long.
• The bill and feet are yellow
• The tail is long and broad as usual for trogons
• It has the underside narrowly barred with black and white
• The male’s head is blue-black with bronze iridescence.
• Below the eye are two yellow or orange patches of bare skin; above the eye is a yellow or grey patch.
• The upper breast is iridescent from violet to blue-green; the rest of the underparts are red.
• The back is green and the upper surface of the tail is blue-black or purple-black.
• The female’s head is brown with less ornamental bare skin and its throat and breast are light cinnamon; otherwise it resembles the male.

There calls are described as a yelping crescendo, “yaow, yow, yow, yow… or wuk-wuk-wuk-wuk….” The female gives “a whining chee-uu.”

Handsome Francolin

(Pternistis nobilis)

These are one of the largest terrestrial forest birds. They grow up to 35cm long and have reddish-brown plumage. They have a redhead, red bills and red legs, brown iris, as well as red orbital skin that make them different.

Both genders look almost similar. The only difference is that the female is a bit smaller than the male. They are found in the Southwest of Uganda.

Green-Breasted Pitta

Pitta reichenowi

Pitta reichenowi or green-breasted pitta is one of the most difficult Uganda birds to spot, making it one of the most sought-after birds by travelers on birding tours in Uganda.

Seeing one is indeed a top highlight a bird watching safari in Uganda. Their plumage closely resembles that of the Africa pitta, but the breast is green and the throat is bordered by a black line.

Young ones have duller, darker plumage, and a brownish olive breast. Kibale National Park is the only reliable area in Uganda to see the Green-Breasted Pitta.