Victoria Falls is a stunning bit of nature. Photo: Monnikhof
Sandwiched between the well-visited regions of Southern and Eastern Africa, Zambia is often overlooked by visiting birdwatchers and tour companies. Yet Zambia’s very position, combined with distinct avian influences from Central Africa, creates some fantastic birdwatching opportunities in a country blessed with a good infrastructure and a reputation as one of the safest in Africa. Indeed, there are those who regard Zambia as offering the best birding on the continent.
Much of the country is cloaked in the Brachystygia-dominated woodland known as miombo, which, although not well known for its mammals or other wildlife, is very rich in birds, many of them restricted to this habitat. Elsewhere we have mushitu, riparian forest, and dambos, bird-rich flooded grasslands that are characteristic of this region. Across this landscape snakes the mighty River Zambezi, which makes its biggest impact when crashing over towering basalt cliffs to form world-famous Victoria Falls, a tumultuous curtain of water and spray more than a mile wide.
In the well-wooded valley of the Zambezi we’ll devote time to looking for one of Africa’s most special birds, Angola Pitta, a bird we have a very real chance of seeing. Elsewhere we’ll look for Chaplin’s Barbet, Zambia’s only endemic, along with miombo specialists and a wealth of other species not easily seen in other parts of Africa.
Day 1: The tour begins with a flight from London to Lusaka.
Day 2: Following our arrival in Lusaka, we’ll begin our safari by driving north to the town of Ndola. As the Zambian countryside opens up before us, we’ll encounter our first common birds, such as African Golden Oriole, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, and Black-eared (or Mennel’s) Seedeater. Night near Ndola.
Day 3: We’ll spend the morning exploring the rich miombo woodland near our lodge, where we can expect encounters with Mashona Hyliota, Reichenow’s Seedeater, and perhaps Boehm’s Bee-eater. In the afternoon we’ll take a leisurely drive west through the Copperbelt town of Chingola, making plenty of birding stops along the way before reaching Lumwana, where we will be spending 3 nights.
Days 4-5: Many of the trees in this region are draped in Usnea, a lichen often called “old man’s beard.” This is the favored habitat of the strange Bar-winged Weaver; quite different in plumage from any other weaver, this species feeds along mossy branches like a nuthatch. We should also see Souza’s Shrike, a true shrike that lives under the canopy of miombo forests, and a number of other miombo specialists such as Black-collared Eremomela, Boehm’s Flycatcher, and Anchietas Sunbird. Nights in Lumwana.
Days 6-7: After a final morning birding around Lumwana, we’ll had back east toward Ndola and then head south to our next lodge, on the banks of the Kafue River, where we will stay for two nights. Kafue is one of the top Important Bird Areas in all of Zambia, and during our two days we’ll visit the Imanda Forest, home to the extremely local Margaret’s Batis and such other difficult species as Black-backed Barbet, Bocage’s Akalat, and Laura’s Warbler. Commoner species here include Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Little and Cabanis’s Greenbuls, African Thrush, Gray Apalis, African Crested-Flycatcher, Green-headed Sunbird, Dark-backed Weaver, Red-throated Twinspot, Black-and-white Mannikin, and Black-tailed Waxbill.
There is also excellent birding close to our lodge, where the many miombo woodland specialists include such local species as Racket-tailed Roller, Miombo Pied and Anchietas Barbets, Miombo Rock-Thrush, Red-capped Crombec, Southern and Yellow-bellied Hyliotas, Miombo Bearded Scrub-Robin, Cinnamon-breasted and Miombo Tits, Souza’s Shrike, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver, and Cabanis’s Bunting. This is also a very good area for Spotted Creeper, though as always, its quiet, high-pitched call and cryptical coloration can make it hard to find. Nights at Kafue.
Day 8: After a final morning in the Kafue area, we’ll drive southeast to another area of miombo woodland. Miombo is a wonderfully diverse habitat, and this region is especially good for Anchieta’s Barbet, Rufous-bellied and White-winged Black Tits, and the stunning Violet-backed Sunbird. Night in Lusaka.
Days 9-10: Leaving Lusaka we have a long drive to the town of Choma, where we’ll stay on another farm devoted to wildlife. Here, among the fig-tree savanna, we’ll find the only species endemic to Zambia, Chaplin’s Barbet; other birds to distract us here will include Lesser Moorhen, Lesser Jacana, Allen’s Gallinule, and Parasitic Weaver on the flooded grasslands, Heuglin’s Courser and Swainson’s Francolin in the savanna, Narina’s Trogon and Schalow’s Turaco in riparian woodland, and African Barred Owlet and the bizarre Pennant-winged Nightjar on a night drive. Nights near Choma.
Days 11-12: Departing Choma we’ll head for the town of Livingstone, where we’ll spend two nights just a short distance from the famous Victoria Falls. In the afternoon we’ll visit the falls, one of Africa’s fantastic natural wonders. There are no superlatives that do justice to this place—you just have to see it for yourself. If we can tear ourselves away from the spectacle of the falls, there will be some birds to find, as the tumbling cliffs and lush woodland host Verreaux’s and Crowned Eagles, Black Stork, African Black Swift, Rock Martin, Mocking Chat, Collared Palm-Thrush, and Striped Pipit.
Farther upstream, the banks of the Zambezi are home to several species often associated with the Okavango delta, and we’ll depart early in the morning to look for Coppery-tailed and White-browed Coucals, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Rufous-bellied Heron, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Greater Swamp Warbler, Hartlaub’s Babbler, Bradfield’s Hornbill, and Chirping and Luapula Cisticolas. After lunch at the hotel, there will be time for a rest on the hotel grounds or to indulge in some local birding before we take to the water for evening sundowners. Cruising the placid waters of the Zambezi above mighty Victoria Falls, cold drink in hand, scanning the river for White-backed Night-Heron, African Finfoot, Rock Pratincole, and African Skimmer is a wonderfully relaxing way to end the day. Nights in Livingstone.
Day 13: Leaving Livingstone, we’ll have a long drive to the Zambezi valley, where we find another distinctive habitat, woodland dominated by open-canopied mopane trees and crossed by occasional streams lined with distinctive riparian vegetation. This woodland, much favored by Elephants, is a favorite of birds as well, and we hope to find Meves’s Starling, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, and with luck Lillian’s Lovebirds during our visit. Our hotel is in the town of Siavonga on the shores of Lake Kariba, where African Fish Eagles and White-breasted Cormorants are a constant sight, and Mozambique Nightjars buzz around the hotel in the evening. Night in Siavonga.
Day 14: Angola Pitta is one of Africa’s most sought-after species, and certainly one of the most difficult to find. Today we visit what is perhaps one of the easiest places in the world to see this enigmatic bird, which is really vocal for only the first two hours of daylight, after which it becomes even more elusive. We’ll depart before dawn to be on site just as the sun rises, and hopefully our efforts and patience will be rewarded with a sighting of this intriguing African endemic. Later we’ll concentrate on some of the other marvelous birds to be found in this woodland, including Barred and African Emerald Cuckoos, African Broadbill, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, and Eastern Bearded Scrub-Robin. Night in Siavonga.
Day 15: If we missed Angola Pitta the day before, we have another chance today to search for it and the other special birds of the region before departing to Lusaka. Night in Lusaka.
Day 16: We transfer to the airport for our morning flight back to London, where the tour ends later the same day.
Updated: 30 April 2008
Prices
- 2008 price about $10,280
- Single Occupancy Supplement $270
Notes
This tour is limited to six participants.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.