Birding Factoids

757 species
in 72 families

No endemic species
22 speciality species
7 endangered species
3 week trip expectation -
about 350 species

Gabon
Hotspots

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For some great pictures, see Brian Schmidt's Birds of Gabon
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Gabon Specialities
(Pause your cursor on the photo to see the species name.)
Green-capped Eremomela - Photo copyright BirdLife On-Line Magazine

Photo copyright BirdLife On-Line Magazine

White-bellied Kingfisher - Photo copyright Brian Schmidt

Photo copyright Brian Schmidt

....Gabon - Directory of Wetlands of International Importance - includes

information on all Gabon's Ramsar designated sites, including:

Wongha-Wonghé
Petit Loango
Setté Cama

....Gabon Birding - by Rod Cassidy. June 6, 2000. Having just returned

from a trip to Gabon I would like to report on a little known area in the south of the country. The coast of Gabon is characterized by a Maze - huge lagoons and rivers. Access is limited to flying in and boat travel and accommodations are very basic. In the 5 days I had there I had little time for extensive birding. However, I still managed to tally more than 100 species of bird, 15 species of mammal and 3 species of crocodile.

....Trip Report: Gabon, July, 1996 - by Don Roberson. As long as I have

looked at geophysical maps of the African continent, I had wanted to visit Gabon. Here was an entire country shaded in dark green, meaning it was entirely tropical lowland forest! As my interest in travel and world birding grew in the 1980s, I learned that Gabon still had one of the highest percentages of forest cover left in the world, with over 90% pristine jungle still intact.

....Trip Report: Gabon - A Photo Account by Brian Schmidt -

February/March, 2002.

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

Tours and Guides

See DISCLAIMER

Photo copyright Minnattallah Boutros

Blue-headed Wood-Dove - Photo copyright Brian Schmidt

Photo copyright Brian Schmidt

**..Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe with Victor Emanuel Nature Tours

(VENT). The Gabonese forest belt is the largest intact forest area in all of Africa and one of the largest in the world, with a very high diversity of tree species and over 1,000 bird species recorded. There is also a good array of primates, with lowland Gorillas and Chimpanzees present and occasionally seen. This tour visits some fine forest areas and reserves such as the Ivindo Basin, possibly the richest single site for birds in Africa, with over 430 species recorded. A newly-created reserve at La Lope holds the highest population of primates in the world and offers a large and subtly different variety of habitats, ensuring a further impressive bird list.

July 27 - August 18, 2001 (23.0 days - Limit 14) with leader Peter Roberts

VENT offers nearly 140 tours to over 100 land-based destinations each year and is the largest tour company in the world specializing in birding and natural history.

Eco-Lodges

See DISCLAIMER

Photo copyright Naoto Noda

Endemics and Specialities

in Gabon

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 Gabon.

Endemics in Gabon
None

Endangered Birds in Gabon
Breeding Birds		Non-Breeding Birds
___ Black-chinned Weaver ___ Grey-necked Rockfowl ___ Loango Weaver	___ Ja River Scrub-Warbler ___ Verreaux's Batis	___ Auduoin's Gull ___ Lesser Kestrel

Other Speciality and Spectacular Birds in Gabon (adapted from *Where to Watch Birds in Africa* - by Nigel Wheatley.)
___ African River-Martin ___ Angola Batis ___ Bare-cheeked Trogon ___ Black Guineafowl ___ Black-chinned Weaver ___ Black-headed Bee-eater ___ Bubbling Cisticola ___ Chocolate-backed Kingfisher	___ Damara Tern ___ Forbes' Plover ___ Gabon Helmetshrike ___ Grey Pratincole ___ Grey-necked Rockfowl ___ Loango Weaver ___ Long-tailed Hawk	___ Pale-olive Greenbul ___ Plumed Guineafowl ___ Rosy Bee-eater ___ Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush ___ Salvadore's Eremomela ___ Woodhouse's Antpecker ___ Vermiculated Fishing-Owl