Rwanda Bird List : Rwanda – the land of a thousand hills is a great Rwanda tour destination found in the East African region, though Rwanda is famously known for mountain gorillas, it is also a fascinating birding site boasting over 707 confirmed species of birds including 2 species of globally threatened species, 2 introduced species and 29 Albertine Rift endemics, Rwanda Bird List .
Bird species recorded in Rwanda include common species, very scarce species, breeding resident species, and migratory species among others. In Rwanda, the best spots with large concentrations of birds include Akagera national park, Nyungwe national park, Volcanoes national park, Gishwati – Mukura national park, Lake Kivu, wetlands of Rugezi Marsh and Kigali City.
Below is the Bird Checklist of Rwanda
Guineafowl Numididae
Helmeted Guineafowl
Crested Guineafowl
Francolins: Phasiandae
Coqui Francolin
Ring-necked Francolin
Red-winged Francolin
Shelley’s Francolin
Scaly Francolin
Hildebrandt’s Francolin
Handsome Francolin
Red-necked Spurfowl
Common Quail
Harlequin Quail
Blue Quail
Ducks and geese: Anatidae
Fulvous Whistling Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck
White-backed Duck
Spur-winged Goose
African Pygmy Goose
Maccoa Duck
Egyptian Goose
Knob-billed Duck
Hartlaub’s Duck
African Black Duck
Yellow-billed duck
Northern Shoveler
Red-billed Teal
Northern Pintail
Garganey
Eurasian Teal
Hottentot Teal
Southern Pochard
Grebes: Podicipedidae
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Flamingoes: Phoenicopteridae
Lesser Flamingo
Storks: Ciconiidae
Yellow-billed Stork
African Openbill Stork
Black Stork
Abdim’s Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
White Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
Ibis and spoonbill: Threskiornitidae
African Sacred Ibis
Hadada Ibis
Glossy Ibis
African Spoonbill
Bitterns, Herons and Egrets : Ardeidea
Little Bittern
Dwarf Bittern
White-backed Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Striated Heron
Squacco Heron
Rufous-bellied Heron
Western Cattle Egret
Grey Heron
Black-headed Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
Western Great Egret
Intermediate Egret
Black Heron
Little Egret
Western Reef Heron
Dimorphic Egret
Hamerkop: Scopidae
Hamerkop
Shoebill : Balaenicipitidae
Shoebill
Pelicans: Pelicanidae
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican
Cormorants: Phalacrocoracidae
Reed Cormorant
Great Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant
Darter: Anhingidae
African Darter
Secretary Bird : Sagittariidae
Secretary Bird
Osprey: Pandionidae
Western Osprey
Kites, Hawks, Vultures, Eagles, Harriers and Buzzards: Accipitridae
Black-winged Kite
African Harrier-Hawk
Palm-nut Vulture
European Honey Buzzard
African Cuckoo-Hawk
White-backed Vulture
Rüppell’s Vulture
Hooded Vulture
Lappet-faced Vulture
White-headed Vulture
Black-chested Snake Eagle
Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle
Brown Snake Eagle
Western Banded Snake Eagle
Bateleur
Bat Hawk
Cassin’s Hawk Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Steppe Eagle
African Hawk-Eagle
Verreaux’s Eagle
Booted Eagle
Ayres’s Hawk-Eagle
Wahlberg’s Eagle
Long-crested Eagle
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Martial Eagle
Crowned Eagle
Black Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
African Fish Eagle
Grasshopper Buzzard
Augur Buzzard
Common Buzzard
Mountain Buzzard
Lizard Buzzard
Gabar Goshawk
Dark Chanting Goshawk
Pallid Harrier
Montagu’s Harrier
African Marsh Harrier
African Goshawk
Shikra
Great Sparrowhawk
Little Sparrowhawk
Red-thighed Sparrowhawk
Ovambo Sparrowhawk
Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk
Bustards: Otididae
Black-bellied Bustard
Denham’s Bustard
Cranes: Gruidae
Grey Crowned Crane
Flufftails: Sarothruridae
White-winged Flufftail
White-spotted Flufftail
Buff-spotted Flufftail
Red-chested Flufftail
Streaky-breasted Flufftail
Finfoot: Heliornithidae
African Finfoot
Rails, Crakes, Swamphens, Gallinules, Moorhens and Coots, Rwanda Bird List
African Water Rail
African Crake
Corn Crake
Black Crake
Baillon’s Crake
Striped Crake
Purple Swamphen
Allen’s Gallinule
Common Moorhen
Lesser Moorhen
Red-knobbed Coot
Buttonquails: Turnicidae
Common Buttonquail
Black-rumped Buttonquail
Thick-knees: Burhinidae
Water Thick-knee
Spotted Thick-knee
Grey Plover: Pluvialidae
Grey Plover
Stilts and Avocet: Recurvirostridae
Black-winged Stilt
Pied Avocet
Lapwings and Plovers: Charadriidae
Long-toed Lapwing
Blacksmith Lapwing
Spur-winged Lapwing
White-crowned Lapwing
Senegal Lapwing
Black-winged Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
African Wattled Lapwing
Brown-chested Lapwing
Common Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover
Three-banded Plover
Forbes’s Plover
White-fronted Plover
Lesser Sand Plover
Caspian Plover
Painted Snipe: Rostratulidae
Greater Painted Snipe
Jacanas: Jacanidae
Lesser Jacana
African Jacana
Whimbrel, Curlew, Godwit, Turnstone, Sandpiper, Knot, Stint, Snipe, Ruff, Redshank and Greenshank – Scolopacidae, Rwanda Bird List
Whimbrel
Eurasian Curlew
Black-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Broad-billed Sandpiper
Ruff
Sanderling
Red Knot
Little Stint
Temminck’s Stint
Curlew Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Spotted Redshank
Common Redshank
Marsh Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Green Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Terek Sandpiper
African Snipe
Common Snipe
Great Snipe
Coursers and Pratincoles: Glarolidae
Temminck’s Courser
Bronze-winged Courser
Collared Pratincole
Black-winged Pratincole
Rock Pratincole
Grey Pratincole
Skimmer, Gulls and Terns: Laridae
African Skimmer
Black-headed Gull
Grey-headed Gull
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Lesser Crested Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Black Tern
Pigeons and Doves: Columbidae
Speckled Pigeon
Afep Pigeon
African Olive Pigeon
Lemon Dove
Dusky Turtle Dove
Mourning Collared Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Ring-necked Dove
Laughing Dove
Blue-spotted Wood Dove
Emerald-spotted Wood Dove
Tambourine Dove
Namaqua Dove
African Green Pigeon
Turacos, Plantain-eater, Go-away birds Musophagidae, Rwanda Bird List
Great Blue Turaco
Bare-faced Go-away Bird
Eastern Grey Plantain-eater
Ruwenzori Turaco
Purple-crested Turaco
Ross’s Turaco
Black-billed Turaco
Coucals, Malkoha and Cuckoos Cuculidae
Blue-headed Coucal
White-browed Coucal
Black Coucal
Blue Malkoha
Great Spotted Cuckoo
Levaillant’s Cuckoo
Jacobin Cuckoo
Thick-billed Cuckoo
Diederik Cuckoo
Klaas’s Cuckoo
African Emerald Cuckoo
Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo
Black Cuckoo
Red-chested Cuckoo
Madagascar Cuckoo
African Cuckoo
Common Cuckoo
Barn Owl, Bay Owl: Tytonidae
Western Barn Owl
African Grass Owl
Congo Bay Owl Phodilus prigoginei
Owls: Strigidae
African Scops Owl
Southern White-faced Owl
Spotted Eagle-Owl
Fraser’s Eagle-Owl
Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl
Pel’s Fishing Owl
African Wood Owl
Pearl-spotted Owlet
Red-chested Owlet
African Barred Owlet
Albertine Owlet
Abyssinian Owl
Marsh Owl
Chestnut Owlet
Nightjars: Caprimulgidae
European Nightjar
Black-shouldered Nightjar
Fiery-necked Nightjar
Ruwenzori Nightjar
Swamp Nightjar
Freckled Nightjar
Slender-tailed Nightjar
Square-tailed Nightjar
Pennant-winged Nightjar
Swifts and Spinetails Apodidae
Scarce Swift
Mottled Spinetail
African Palm Swift
Alpine Swift
Mottled Swift
Common Swift
African Black Swift
Little Swift
Horus Swift
White-rumped Swift
Mousebirds Coliidae
Speckled Mousebird
Blue-naped Mousebird
Trogons: Trogonidae
Narina Trogon
Bar-tailled Trogon
Rollers: Coraciidae
Purple Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller
European Roller
Broad-billed Roller
Kingfishers Alcedinidae
African Pygmy Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
Shining-blue Kingfisher
Half-collared Kingfisher
Giant Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Grey-headed Kingfisher
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Striped Kingfisher
Blue-breasted Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Bee-eaters: Meropidae
Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Cinnammon-chested Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eater
White-throated Bee-eater
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Olive Bee-eater
European Bee-eater
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
Hoopoes: Upupidae
Eurasian Hoopoe
African Hoopoe
Wood Hoopoes and Scimitarbills: Phoeniculidae
Forest Wood Hoopoe
White-headed Wood Hoopoe
Green Wood Hoopoe
Common Scimitarbill
Hornbills: Bucerotidae
Crowned Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill
Ground-Hornbill: Bucorvidae
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Barbets and Tinkerbirds: Lybiidae
Grey-throated Barbet
Western Tinkerbird
Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Spot-flanked Barbet
White-headed Barbet
Red-faced Barbet
Black-collared Barbet
Double-toothed Barbet
Yellow-billed Barbet
Crested Barbet
Honeyguides: Indicatoridae
Green-backed Honeybird
Brown-backed Honeybird
Dwarf Honeyguide
Willcock’s Honeyguide
Least Honeyguide
Lesser Honeyguide
Scaly-throated Honeyguide
Greater Honeyguide
Wrynecks and Woodpeckers: Picidae
Red-throated Wryneck
Bennett’s Woodpecker
Golden-tailed Woodpecker
Green-backed Woodpecker
Tullberg’s Woodpecker
Buff-spotted Woodpecker
Cardinal Woodpecker
Speckle-breasted Woodpecker
Bearded Woodpecker
Elliot’s Woodpecker
African Grey Woodpecker
Olive Woodpecker
Falcons, Hobbys, Kestrels: Falconidae
Pygmy Falcon
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Grey Kestrel
Red-necked Falcon
Red-footed Falcon
Amur Falcon
Eleonora’s Falcon
Sooty Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
African Hobby
Lanner Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Lovebirds and parrots: Psittacidae
Red-headed Lovebird
Fischer’s Lovebird
Grey Parrot
Cape Parrot
Meyer’s Parrot
Broadbill: Calyptomenidae
African Broadbill
Pitta: Pittidae
African Pitta
Batises and Wattle-eyes: Platysteiridae
Ruwenzori Batis
Chinspot Batis
Brown-throated Wattle-eye
Black-throated Wattle-eye
Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye
Western Black-headed Batis
Helmetshrikes: Prionopidae
White-crested Helmetshrike
Rufous-bellied Helmetshrike
Bushshrikes, Tchagras, Puffbacks, Boubous, Gonoleks and Brubru Malaconotidae
Grey-headed Bushshrike
Lagden’s Bushshrike
Many-coloured Bushshrike
Bocage’s Bushshrike
Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
Doherty’s Bushshrike
Marsh Tchagra
Brown-crowned Tchagra
Black-crowned Tchagra
Pink-footed Puffback
Red-eyed Puffback
Black-backed Puffback
Northern Puffback
Mountain Sooty Boubou
Willard’s Sooty Boubou
Slate-coloured Boubou
Lühder’s Bushshrike
Tropical Boubou
Papyrus Gonolek
Black-headed Gonolek
Brubru
Cuckooshrikes: Camephagidae
Grey Cuckooshrike
White-breasted Cuckooshrike
Black Cuckooshrike
Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike
Petit’s Cuckoo shrike
Shrikes and Fiscals: Laniidae
Souza’s Shrike
Red-backed Shrike
Red-tailed Shrike
MacKinnon’s Shrike
Lesser Grey Shrike
Grey-Backed Fiscal
Northern Fiscal
Isabelline Shrike
Orioles: Oriolidae
Euraisan Golden Oriole
African Golden Oriole
Mountain Oriole
Black-headed Oriole
Drongos: Dicuridae
Fork-tailed Drongo
Velvet-mantled Drongo
Paradise and Mantled Flycatchers: Monarchidae
Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher
African Paradise Flycatcher
Crows and Ravens: Corvidae
Pied Crow
White-necked Raven
Hyliotas: Hyliotidae
Yellow-bellied Hyliota
Violet-backed Hyliota
Blue and Crested Flycatchers: Stenostiridae
White-tailed Blue Flycatcher
White-bellied Crested Flycatcher
White-tailed Crested Flycatcher
Tits: Paridae
White-winged Black Tit
Dusky Tit
Stripe-breasted Tit
Pendilune Tit: Remizidae
Grey Penduline Tit
Larks: Alaudidae
Rufous-naped Lark
Flappet Lark
Dusky Lark
Red-capped Lark
Bulbul, Greenbul and Leaflove Pycnonotidae
Dark-capped Bulbul
Kakamega Greenbul
Olive-breasted Greenbul
Slender-billed Greenbul
Little Greenbul
Plain Greenbul
Yellow-whiskered Greenbul
Yellow-throated Leaflove
Red-tailed Leaflove
Cabanis’s Greenbul
Yellow-streaked Greenbul
Black-collared Greenbul
Saw-wings, Martins and Swallows: Hirundinidae
White-headed Saw-wing
Black Saw-wing
Grey-rumped Swallow
Brown-throated Martin
Sand Martin
Banded Martin
Barn Swallow
Angola Swallow
Wire-tailed Swallow
Blue Swallow
Rock Martin
Common House Martin
Lesser Striped Swallow
Red-breasted Swallow
Mosque Swallow
Red-rumped Swallow
Warblers, Crombecs, Chiffchaff, Cisticolas, Prinia, Apalis, Camaroptera, Wren-warbler, Eremomelas, Blackcap, Whitethroat and Hill Babbler
Macrosphenidae
Grauer’s Warbler
Moustached Grass Warbler
Red-faced Crombec
White-browed Crombec
Cettiidae
Neumann’s Warbler
Phylloscopidae
Willow Warbler
Common Chiffchaff
Wood Warbler
Red-faced Woodland Warbler
Brown Woodland Warbler
Acrocephalidae
Papyrus Yellow Warbler
Dark-capped Yellow Warbler
Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
Mountain Yellow Warbler
Icterine Warbler
Sedge Warbler
African Reed Warbler
Marsh Warbler
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Great Reed Warbler
Lesser Swamp Warbler
Greater Swamp Warbler
Locustellidae
Broad-tailed Warbler
Little Rush Warbler
Grauer’s Swamp Warbler
White-winged Swamp Warbler
Evergreen Forest Warbler
Cinnamon Bracken Warbler
Cisticolidae
Red-faced Cisticola
Singing Cisticola
Trilling Cisticola
Chubb’s Cisticola
Rock-loving Cisticola
Winding Cisticola
Carruthers’s Cisticola
Stout Cisticola
Croaking Cisticola
Short-winged Cisticola
Long-tailed Cisticola
Zitting Cisticola Cisticola
Wing-snapping Cisticola
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Banded Prinia
White-chinned Prinia
Ruwenzori Apalis
Buff-bellied Warbler
Yellow-breasted Apalis
Mountain Masked Apalis
Black-throated Apalis
Chestnut-throated Apalis
Grey Apalis
Grey-capped Warbler
Grey-backed Camaroptera
Olive-Green Camaroptera
Miombo Wren-warbler
Black-faced Rufous Warbler
Green-backed Eremomela
Green-capped Eremomela
Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Green-backed Camaroptera
Sylviidae
Eurasian Blackcap
Garden Warbler
Common Whitethroat
Ruwenzori Hill Babbler
African Hill Babbler
White-eye: Zosteropidae
African Yellow White-eye
Illadopsis: Pellorneidae
Brown Illadopsis
Mountain Illadopsis
Babblers: Leicothrichidae
Red-collared Babbler
Black-lored Babbler
Arrow-marked Babbler
Hartlaub’s Babbler
Creeper: Certhiidae
Spotted Creeper
Oxpecker Buphagidae
Yellow-billed Oxpecker
Red-billed Oxpecker
Starlings Sturnidae
Wattled Starling
Rüppell’s Starling
Splendid Starling
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Violet-backed Starling
Slender-billed Starling
Waller’s Starling
Stuhlmann’s Starling
Sharpe’s Starling
Thrushes Turdidae
White-tailed Rufous Thrush
Kivu Ground Thrush
African Thrush
Abyssinian Thrush
Abyssinian Ground Thrush
Olive Thrush
Scrub Robins, Flycatchers, Robin-chats, Robins, Alethes, Rock Thrushes, Akalat, Redstart, Whinchat, Stonechat, Chats, Wheatears Muscicapidae
Brown-backed Scrub Robin
White-browed Scrub Robin
White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher
Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher
Southern Black Flycatcher
Pale Flycatcher
Grey-tit Flycatcher
Ashy Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
Swamp Flycatcher
Cassin’s Flycatcher
African Dusky Flycatcher
Cape Robin-Chat
Archer’s Ground Robin
White-starred Robin
White-bellied Robin-Chat
Red-throated Alethe
Brown-chested Alethe
White Browed Robin-Chat
Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat
Red-capped Robin-Chat
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
Eastern Forest Robin
Collared Palm Thrush
Equatorial Akalat
Grey-winged Robin-Chat
Collared Flycatcher
Semicollared Flycatcher
Common Redstart
Miombo Rock Thrush
Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush
Whinchat
African Stonechat
Mocking Cliff Chat
Sooty Chat
Ruaha Chat
Familiar Chat
Kakamega: Promeropidae
Grey-chested Kakamega
Sunbirds Nectariniidae
Western Violet-backed Sunbird
Little Green Sunbird
Collared Sunbird
Green-headed Sunbird
Blue-throated Brown Sunbird
Blue-headed Sunbird
Olive Sunbird
Green-throated Sunbird
Amethyst Sunbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Bronzy Sunbird
Purple-breasted Sunbird
Malachite Sunbird
Scarlet-tufted Sunbird
Olive-bellied Sunbird
Ruwenzori Double-collared Sunbird
Northern Double-collared Sunbird
Regal Sunbird
Rockefeller’s Sunbird
Beautiful Sunbird
Marico Sunbird
Red-chested Sunbird
Purple-banded Sunbird
Variable Sunbird
Copper Sunbird
Eastern Violet-Backed Sunbird
Western Olive Sunbird
Weavers, Queleas, Bishops and Widowbirds Ploceidae
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
Thick-billed Weaver
Baglafecht Weaver
Slender-billed Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Black-necked Weaver
Strange Weaver
Black-billed Weaver
Holub’s Golden Weaver
Northern Brown-throated Weaver
Lesser Masked Weaver
Village Weaver
Vieillot’s Black Weaver
Black-headed Weaver
Compact Weaver
Dark-backed Weaver
Brown-capped Weaver
Red-headed Weaver
Cardinal Quelea
Red-headed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Black-winged Red Bishop
Southern Red Bishop
Yellow Bishop
Fan-tailed Widowbird
White-winged Widowbird
Red-collared Widowbird
Mannikins, Waxbills, Quail-finch, Cordon-bleu, Bluebill, Twinspots, Pytilias, Firefinches, Oliveback, Crimsonwings Estrildidae, Rwanda Bird List
Bronze Mannikin
Black-and-white Mannikin
Orange-breasted Waxbill
Black-chinned Quailfinch
Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
Red-headed Bluebill
Dusky Twinspot
Orange-winged Pytilia
Green-winged Pytilia
Red-billed Firefinch
African Firefinch
Grey-headed Nigrita
White-breasted Nigrita
Yellow-bellied Waxbill
White-collared Oliveback
Green Twinspot
Dusky Crimsonwing
Red-faced Crimsonwing
Abyssinian Crimsonwing
Shelley’s Crimsonwing
Fawn-breasted Waxbill
Orange-cheeked Waxbill
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
Common Waxbill
Black-crowned Waxbill
Kandt’s Waxbill
Black-faced Waxbill
Black-headed Waxbill
Indigobirds, Whydas and Cuckoo Finch Viduidae
Village Indigobird
Pin-tailed Whydah
Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah
Cuckoo-finch
Sparrows: Passeridae
House Sparrow Passer
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Wagtails, Pipits and Longclaws Motacillidae
Western Yellow Wagtail
Cape Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Mountain Wagtail
White Wagtail
African Pied Wagtail
Yellow-throated Longclaw
African (Grassland) Pipit
Long-billed Pipit
Plain-backed Pipit
Tree Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Striped Pipit
Short-tailed Pipit
Woodland Pipit
Oriole Finch, Canaries, Citril, Seed-eaters – Fringillidae, Rwanda Bird List
Oriole Finch
Thick-billed Seedeater
Streaky Seedeater
Brimstone Canary
Western Citril
Papyrus Canary
Yellow-fronted Canary
Black-throated Seed-eater
Yellow-crowned Canary
Cape Canary
Buntings: Emberizidae
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
Golden-breasted Bunting
Cabanis’s Bunting
