Birding Factoids

730 species
in 72 families

No endemic species
18 speciality species
12 endangered species
3 week trip expectation -
about 350 species

Côte
d'Ivoire
Hotspots

Cote d'Ivoire Specialities Lesser Jacana - Photo copyright Peter Miller

Photo copyright Peter Miller ...
Black Magpie - Photo Copyright Lawrence Poh

Photo copyright Laurence Poh ...
Spotted Thick-knee (Stone Curlew) - Photo copyright Naota Noda

Photo copyright Naota Noda

....Taï National Park, Cote d'Ivoire - Over 230 bird

species have been recorded, 143 typical of primary forest, including white-breasted guineafowl, Nimba flycatcher, western wattled cuckoo-shrike, and yellow-throated olive greenbul.

...

....Comoé National Park - information on this Biosphere Reserve and

Natural World Heritage Site

...

....Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve - There are

a number of rare and endemic bird species in this park.

...

....Trip Report - Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso - by Eric Toorman.

I visited Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso from 14 May until 11 June 1993, were I visited a few friends working for NGOs. The trip was not designed for birding in the first place; rather, I took every opportunity to go bird watching wherever I was.

...

....Trip Report: Ivory Coast. 25 February – 24 March 1999. A birdwatching

travel report by Michiel de Boer. The main reason to go to Ivory Coast was to try and find the "Yellow-headed Rockfowl" or White-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes gymnocephalus) which to me seemed to be the most amazing and bizarre bird in the world. This bird is only known from Ivory Coast and adjacent Liberia and was our target bird. I went there without a proper preparatory research and only with the ominous information that the only known breeding site of this bird was destroyed and the bird was only seen incidentally. What I didn’t know was that a new site was discovered in 1984 more than a day’s hike in the middle of the fantastic rainforest of Tai National Park. I and my friend (Ronald Jansen) found out this while we were there and of course Tai NP was on our list of sites to be visited. During this trip I had probably the most spectacular sighting that I have ever had in 25 years of birdwatching and other numerous occasions of fantastic sightings of birds and animals made this a memorable trip.

...

....Trip Report - Ivory Coast: April - June, 2000 - by Frank Rheindt. This

extensive trip report covers all the main sites in the Ivory Coast, including:

Tai National Park
The Yapo Forest
Comoe National Park

A full trip list with all species is also included.

...

Factoids taken from Where to Watch Birds in Africa - by Nigel Wheatley.

Tours and Guides

See DISCLAIMER

Eco-Lodges

See DISCLAIMER

Endemics and Specialities

in Cote d'Ivoire

Information on endemics and specialities is derived from Sibley & Monroe checklists and bird distribution lists in Thayer's Birder's Diary - Version 2.05, supplemented by material found in Where to Watch Birds in Africa - by Nigel Wheatley. African speciality birds, while not endemic, are those that can only be found in three or less countries of Africa. Information on endangered birds is derived from the IUCN Red List, Birdlife International. The endemic, endangered and speciality birds may be uncommon, extremely rare vagrants, may be extirpated in the country now or may only be present in migration. However, documented sightings of each species noted below have been made in Cote d'Ivoire.

Endemics in Cote d'Ivoire
None

Endangered Birds in Cote d'Ivoire (endemics are printed in *bold italic*)
Breeding Birds		Non-Breeding Birds
___ Ballman's (Gola) Malimbe ___ Black-capped Rufous Warbler ___ Ghana Cuckooshrike ___ Green-tailed Bristlebill ___ Rufous Fishing-Owl ___ West African Black-flycatcher	___ White-breasted Guinea-fowl ___ White-eyed (Sierra Leone) ___ Prinia ___ White-necked Rockfowl ___ Yellow-bearded Bulbul ___ Yellow-footed Honeyguide	___ Lesser Kestrel

Other Speciality and Spectacular Birds in Cote d'Ivoire (adapted from *Where to Watch Birds in Africa* - by Nigel Wheatley.)
___ African Finfoot ___ Ballman's Malimbe ___ Black Bee-eater ___ Black-collared Lovebird ___ Blue-headed Bee-eater ___ Chocolate-backed Kingfisher	___ Egyptian Plover ___ Forbes Plover ___ Ghana Cuckoo-shrike ___ Iris Glossy-Starling ___ Jameson's Antpecker ___ Liberian Black-Flycatcher	___ Long-tailed Hawk ___ Red-cheeked Wattle-eye ___ Rufous Fishing-Owl ___ White-breasted Guinea-fowl ___ White-necked Rockfowl ___ Yellow-throated Cuckoo

Weather and Best Birding

Information obtained from

and
from Where to Watch Birds in Africa - by Nigel Wheatley.

Month	Birding Conditions	Abidjan
Month	Birding Conditions	Temperature F / C	Rainfall (inches)
January	Good birding	79.9 / 26.6	0.9
February	Best birding	81.5 / 27.5	1.8
March	Good birding	81.9 / 27.7	4.3
April	...	81.9 / 27.7	5.6
May	...	81.0 / 27.2	12.2
June	...	78.8 / 26.0	21.4
July	...	77.0 / 25.0	9.4
August	...	75.6 / 24.2	1.4
September	...	76.6 / 24.8	2.9
October	...	78.8 / 26.0	6.8
November	...	80.8 / 27.1	6.6
December	Good birding	80.4 / 26.9	3.4

Average Temperature

The monthly mean of the daily (24 hour) temperature.

Average Rainfall
This is the mean monthly precipitation, including rain, snow, hail etc.