Birds of Rwanda

Over 700 species of birds live in Rwanda. While the country was once covered entirely with montane forests, nowadays, most of the nation’s wildlife is restricted to a handful of national parks. The avifauna of the region can be found in these places.

Some notable avian species in Rwanda include the African Fish Eagle, the Gray Crowned Crane, and the African Green Pigeon.

List of Common Birds Found in Rwanda

Native Birds

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
African Black Duck
African Blue Flycatcher
African Dusky Flycatcher
African Firefinch
African Fish Eagle
African Golden Oriole
African Goshawk
African Gray Flycatcher
African Gray Hornbill
African Green Pigeon
African Harrier Hawk
African Hill Babbler
African Hoopoe
African Jacana
African Palm Swift
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Pied Hornbill
African Pygmy Kingfisher
African Sacred Ibis
African Stonechat
African Thrush
African Wattled Lapwing
African Wood Owl
Augur Buzzard
Baglafecht Weaver
Bar-tailed Trogon
Black-and-white Casqued Hornbill
Black-and-white Mannikin
Black-backed Puffback
Black-bellied Seedcracker
Black Crake
Black-crowned Waxbill
Black Cuckoo
Black-headed Gonolek
Black-headed Heron
Black-headed Lapwing
Black-headed Oriole
Black-headed Weaver
Black-throated Wattle-eye
Black-winged Red Bishop
Blue-headed Coucal
Blue-naped Mousebird
Blue-spotted Wood Dove
Broad-billed Roller
Bronze Sunbird
Brown-backed Scrub Robin
Brown Parrot
Brown Snake Eagle
Cattle Egret
Chubb’s Cisticola
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Cinnamon-chested Flycatcher
Common Bulbul
Common Hoopoe
Crowned Hornbill
Dark-capped Yellow Warbler
Dusky Turtle Dove
Eastern Gray Plantain-eater
Gray-backed Fiscal
Gray-capped Warbler
Gray Crowned Crane
Gray-headed Kingfisher
Great Blue Turaco
Great Egret
Greater Honeyguide
Green-backed Camaroptera
Hadada Ibis
Hamerkop
Hartlaub’s Turaco
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Hildebrandt’s Francolin
Hooded Vulture
Klaas’s Cuckoo
Lilac-breasted Roller
Little Bee-eater
Little Rush Warbler
Little Sparrowhawk
Long-crested Eagle
Marabou Stork
Marico Sunbird
Mountain Masked Apalis
Mountain Yellow Warbler
Northern Black Flycatcher
Northern Fiscal
Olive Baboob
Olive-green Camaroptera
Pied Crow
Pied Kingfisher
Pink-backed Pelican
Pin-tailed Whydah
Purple-breasted Sunbird
Purple Roller
Purple Starling
Red-chested Flufftail
Red-chested Sunbird
Red-eyed Dove
Red-faced Cisticola
Red-throated Wryneck
Ross’s Turaco
Ruwenzori Batis
Rwenzori Nightjar
Rwenzori Turaco
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Slender-billed Weaver
Southern Banded Snake Eagle
Southern Ground Hornbill
Speckled Mousebird
Speckled Pigeon
Spur-winged Lapwing
Striated Heron
Striped Kingfisher
Taveta Golden Weaver
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Variable Sunbird
Vieillot’s Black Weaver
Village Weaver
White-backed Vulture
White-bellied Tit
White-breasted Cuckooshrike
White-browed Coucal
White-browed Robin-chat
White-eyed River Martin
White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher
White-headed Barbet
White-headed Woodhoopoe
White-necked Raven
White-shouldered Black Tit
White-tailed Blue Flycatcher
White-tailed Crested Flycatcher
White-winged Widowbird
Woodland Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Waxbill
Yellow-billed Stork
Yellow-fronted Canary

Non-native Birds

Amethyst Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
House Sparrow
Little Weaver
Rock Pigeon
White Wagtail

Some of Rwanda’s best places to go birdwatching include Akagera National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, and Volcanoes National Park. The peak season for birdwatching in Rwanda typically coincides with the dry season, considered the best time to visit the country.