Endemic Tockus ruahae
Described as a species only in 2005 and named after the park. The hornbill that makes Ruaha a birding destination.
The Ruaha Red-billed Hornbill is one of Tanzania’s newest endemics, separated from the other red-billed hornbills by its pale eye and the dark skin around it. It is common in Ruaha, which makes it one of the easiest endemic ticks in the south.
Ruaha sits where northern and southern bird communities meet, with more than 570 species recorded. The hornbill is the one to find first.
Woodland throughout Ruaha National Park.
Guide’s tipCheck the eye colour. The Ruaha bird has a pale eye and a dark bare patch around it, unlike the Northern Red-billed Hornbill.
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.
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.
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.
