Resident Pogonocichla stellata
A yellow-and-blue robin of the forest floor with a white star on its forehead, singing in the half-light.
The White-starred Robin is one of the most beautiful small birds in the montane forests of Tanzania, and one of the most confiding. Its slate-blue head, yellow underparts and tiny white star make it easy to recognise once seen.
It is common in the right habitat, from the Arusha National Park forest to the Usambaras and the crater rim. Sitting still for ten minutes on a forest trail is usually all it takes.
Montane forest in Arusha National Park, the Usambaras, Udzungwa and the Ngorongoro highlands.
Guide’s tipIt feeds on the forest floor at dawn and sings from low perches. Sit quietly on a trail and it will often approach.
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.
Montane forest, the Momella Lakes and Hartlaub’s Turaco, just 45 minutes from Arusha.
A volcanic caldera with black rhino, lions and big grassland birds.
Ancient Eastern Arc forests holding Tanzania’s rarest endemic birds.
Rainforest endemics, Sanje Falls and the Kilombero Weaver in southern Tanzania.
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.
