Endemic Lamprotornis unicolor
Tanzania’s own starling: long-tailed, dusty grey and common around the baobabs of Tarangire.
The Ashy Starling is one of the easiest Tanzanian endemics to see, which makes it a satisfying first tick for a birding tour. It is a plain, long-tailed bird, but plain is the point: it lives only in central and northern Tanzania.
Tarangire is the classic site, with flocks around the baobabs near the park gate and the lodges. Ruaha has them too, in the same baobab woodland.
Baobab country in Tarangire and Ruaha; often near lodges and picnic sites.
Guide’s tipAshy Starlings travel in small, noisy flocks. Check every starling group in Tarangire; the plain grey ones are the prize.
Sightings are never guaranteed: these are wild animals in wild places. What we can promise is a guide who knows where to look.
Destinations
The parks and reserves where our guides look for it, each with its own best season and safaris.
Huge elephant herds, ancient baobabs and Tanzania’s endemic birds.
Tanzania’s largest park: big predators, baobab plains and 570+ bird species.
Keep exploring
Chersomanes beesleyi
Fewer than a hundred birds left, all on one patch of plain north of Arusha. Nowhere else on earth.
Tauraco hartlaubi
A flash of crimson wings in the forest canopy. Arusha National Park is the easiest place to see one.
Tauraco fischeri
The coastal and Usambara forests’ turaco, with a red crest tipped white. A target bird for every East Usambara trip.
Sagittarius serpentarius
A raptor that hunts on foot, stamping snakes to death in the grass. Unmistakable striding across the plains.
Balearica regulorum
The golden crown, the dance and the bugling call. Endangered, but still a daily sight on the crater floor.
Ardeotis kori
The heaviest flying bird in the world, pacing the plains with its neck puffed up in display.
Phoeniconaias minor
Pink crowds on the soda lakes. Numbers rise and fall with the water, so your guide checks before you go.
Agapornis personatus
Green, yellow and masked in black, chattering in flocks around the baobabs. A Tanzanian endemic you will hear before you see.
Tell us your dates and the birds or animals you most want to see. We’ll reply within 24 hours with a route and a full quote.
