Resident Laniarius mufumbiri
A brilliant red, black and yellow bushshrike that lives only in papyrus swamps around the Lake Victoria basin.
The Papyrus Gonolek is one of a small group of birds that depend entirely on papyrus. It is Near Threatened, as papyrus swamps around Lake Victoria are cleared for farming and harvested for building material.
In Tanzania it is a speciality of the lake shore and one of the main reasons birders add Lake Victoria to a northern trip.
Papyrus swamps along the Tanzanian shore of Lake Victoria, including around the Speke Gulf.
Guide’s tipListen for the pair’s duet of whistles and harsh calls, then wait. It rarely comes far out of the papyrus.
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.
Africa’s largest lake, with papyrus specialists and lakeshore birds.
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.
Lamprotornis unicolor
Tanzania’s own starling: long-tailed, dusty grey and common around the baobabs of Tarangire.
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.
