Virunga National Park

National Park · Uganda

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Photo © Fanny Schertzer

Photo © Fanny Schertzer — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where the Western Rift Valley fractures the landscape of North Kivu, Virunga National Park sprawls across terrain as geologically dramatic as it is ecologically vital. Volcanic peaks pierce the montane mist, their slopes cloaked in cloud forest and bamboo thickets that give way to lowland rainforest in the valleys below. The park's mosaic of habitats—from high-altitude grasslands to riverine forest along the Semuliki system—creates a sanctuary for large mammals including forest elephants, buffalo, and carnivores adapted to these rugged slopes. Primates move through the canopy in social groups; insectivorous birds and small mammals inhabit the forest floor, while raptors command the thermals above the ridge lines. The ecological complexity here is a legacy of millions of years of tectonic activity and climatic oscillation, resulting in a protected area of genuine continental significance and rare intactness despite its troubled recent history.

For wildlife photographers and naturalists, Virunga presents an uncompromising but deeply rewarding experience. The park's elevation gradient means dramatic light at dawn and dusk, with mist-wrapped valleys offering photographic opportunities rarely found at lower altitudes. Birdwatchers will find the montane and forest avifaunas exceptionally rich, particularly during local breeding seasons when vocal activity peaks. Large mammal sightings reward patient observers, especially during the drier months when animals concentrate around water sources and visibility improves. Access requires serious commitment—security conditions, terrain, and remoteness demand experienced guides and proper logistical planning—but those who invest the effort encounter wildlife and wilderness that few African national parks can match. The park remains one of Central Africa's most pristine montane ecosystems, a place where the raw geography and untamed character of equatorial Africa still dominate completely.

Website virunga.org

Balaeniceps rex

Great Blue Turaco

Corythaeola cristata

African Fish Eagle

Icthyophaga vocifer

Pycnonotus barbatus

Yellow-billed Stork

Pied Kingfisher

Pink-backed Pelican

Pelecanus rufescens

Long-crested Eagle

Lophaetus occipitalis

Slender-billed Weaver

Ploceus pelzelni

Red-chested Sunbird

Cinnyris erythrocercus

African Spoonbill

Northern Black Flycatcher

Melaenornis edolioides

Common Greenshank

Tringa nebularia

Marsh Sandpiper

Tringa stagnatilis

Calidris minuta

Collared Pratincole

Glareola pratincola

Crested Francolin

Ortygornis sephaena

Green-backed Camaroptera

Camaroptera brachyura

Common Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticula

Mourning Collared Dove

Streptopelia decipiens

Palm-nut Vulture

Gypohierax angolensis

Red-necked Spurfowl

Pternistis afer

Spur-winged Lapwing

Vanellus spinosus

African Sacred Ibis

Threskiornis aethiopicus

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carbo

Microcarbo africanus

Grey Crowned Crane

Balearica regulorum

Black-headed Heron

Ardea melanocephala

Black-winged Kite

Elanus caeruleus

White-backed Vulture

Helmeted Guineafowl

Numida meleagris

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

Speckled Mousebird

Colius striatus

African Harrier-Hawk

Polyboroides typus

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow

Crowned Hornbill

Lophoceros alboterminatus

Double-toothed Barbet

Pogonornis bidentatus

Spilopelia senegalensis

Ring-necked Dove

Streptopelia capicola

White-headed Vulture

Trigonoceps occipitalis

Striped Kingfisher

Halcyon chelicuti

Fork-tailed Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

African Green Pigeon

Streptopelia semitorquata

Blue-spotted Wood Dove

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Fan-tailed Widowbird

Euplectes axillaris

Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat

Cossypha niveicapilla

Lesser Masked Weaver

Ploceus intermedius

Blue-naped Mousebird

Urocolius macrourus

Brown-throated Wattle-eye

Platysteira cyanea

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus bilineatus

Violet-backed Starling

Cinnyricinclus leucogaster

Vieillot's Black Weaver

Ploceus nigerrimus

Swamp Flycatcher

Muscicapa aquatica

White-winged Tern

Chlidonias leucopterus

Hirundo angolensis

Wire-tailed Swallow

Hirundo smithii

White-rumped Swift

Red-throated Bee-eater

White-throated Bee-eater

Merops albicollis

Olive Bee-eater

Merops superciliosus

African Woolly-necked Stork

Ciconia microscelis

Red-chested Cuckoo

Cuculus solitarius

Leptoptilos crumenifer

Alopochen aegyptiaca

Bostrychia hagedash

White-browed Coucal

Centropus superciliosus

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

Buphagus africanus

Rüppell's Starling

Lamprotornis purpuroptera

Ploceus cucullatus

Water Thick-knee

Burhinus vermiculatus

Grey-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus

Great White Pelican

Pelecanus onocrotalus

Black-headed Gonolek

Laniarius erythrogaster

Scopus umbretta

African Pied Wagtail

Motacilla aguimp

Pin-tailed Whydah

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Macronyx croceus

Actophilornis africanus

Brown Snake Eagle

Circaetus cinereus

Malachite Kingfisher

Corythornis cristatus

Grey-backed Fiscal

Lanius excubitoroides

Black-headed Weaver

Ploceus melanocephalus

Woodland Kingfisher

Halcyon senegalensis

Myrmecocichla nigra

Black-bellied Bustard

Lissotis melanogaster

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

African Wattled Lapwing

Vanellus senegallus

Ardeola ralloides

Terathopius ecaudatus

Polemaetus bellicosus

African Openbill

Anastomus lamelligerus

Red-billed Firefinch

Lagonosticta senegala

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Long-toed Lapwing

Vanellus crassirostris

Egretta garzetta

Grey-headed Kingfisher

Halcyon leucocephala

Falco ardosiaceus

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Merops persicus

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Senegal Lapwing

Vanellus lugubris

Broad-billed Roller

Eurystomus glaucurus

Red-billed Quelea

Southern Red Bishop

Wahlberg's Eagle

Hieraaetus wahlbergi

White-browed Robin-Chat

Cossypha heuglini

Little Bee-eater

Merops pusillus

Hirundo rustica

Crowned Lapwing

Vanellus coronatus

Tringa glareola

Western Banded Snake Eagle

Circaetus cinerascens

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Lesser Striped Swallow

Cecropis abyssinica

Stout Cisticola

Cisticola robustus

Black-lored Babbler

Turdoides sharpei

Western Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flava

Lappet-faced Vulture

Torgos tracheliotos

Wattled Starling

Creatophora cinerea

Red-collared Widowbird

Euplectes ardens

Temminck's Courser

Cursorius temminckii

Red-knobbed Coot

Fulica cristata

White-necked Raven

Corvus albicollis

White-faced Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna viduata

Knob-billed Duck

Sarkidiornis melanotos

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Caprimulgus pectoralis

Mottled Spinetail

Telacanthura ussheri

Blue-headed Coucal

Centropus monachus

Cuculus canorus

Tambourine Dove

Turtur tympanistria

African Finfoot

Podica senegalensis

Tachybaptus ruficollis

Spotted Thick-knee

Burhinus capensis

Gallinago nigripennis

Yellow-billed Egret

Ardea brachyrhyncha

Pandion haliaetus

Necrosyrtes monachus

Kaupifalco monogrammicus

Western Marsh Harrier

Circus aeruginosus

Common Scimitarbill

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

African Grey Hornbill

Lophoceros nasutus

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

Halcyon malimbica

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Merops hirundineus

Eastern Yellow-billed Barbet

Trachylaemus purpuratus

Yellow-throated Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus subsulphureus

Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus chrysoconus

Spot-flanked Barbet

Tricholaema lacrymosa

White-headed Barbet

Lybius leucocephalus

Nubian Woodpecker

Campethera nubica

Yellow-crested Woodpecker

Chloropicus xantholophus

Tropical Boubou

Laniarius major

Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike

Campephaga phoenicea

Black-headed Oriole

Oriolus larvatus

African Paradise Flycatcher

Terpsiphone viridis

Northern Fiscal

Lanius humeralis

Mackinnon's Shrike

Lanius mackinnoni

White-winged Black Tit

Melaniparus leucomelas

Pale-throated Greenbul

Atimastillas flavigula

Little Greenbul

Eurillas virens

Yellow-streaked Greenbul

Phyllastrephus flavostriatus

White-headed Saw-wing

Psalidoprocne albiceps

Neophedina cincta

Riparia riparia

Red-breasted Swallow

Cecropis semirufa

Sylvietta virens

Phylloscopus trochilus

Singing Cisticola

Cisticola cantans

Trilling Cisticola

Cisticola woosnami

Winding Cisticola

Cisticola marginatus

Grey-capped Warbler

Splendid Starling

Lamprotornis splendidus

White-browed Scrub Robin

Cercotrichas leucophrys

Grey-throated Tit-Flycatcher

Fraseria griseigularis

Ashy Flycatcher

Fraseria caerulescens

White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher

Melaenornis fischeri

Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher

Melaenornis ardesiacus

Cassin's Flycatcher

Muscicapa cassini

Red-capped Robin-Chat

Cossypha natalensis

Collared Sunbird

Hedydipna collaris

Green-headed Sunbird

Cyanomitra verticalis

Cyanomitra olivacea

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Chalcomitra senegalensis

Nectarinia kilimensis

Purple-banded Sunbird

Cinnyris bifasciatus

Cinnyris cupreus

Passer domesticus

Spectacled Weaver

Ploceus ocularis

Black-necked Weaver

Ploceus nigricollis

Estrilda astrild

Crimson-rumped Waxbill

Estrilda rhodopyga

African Firefinch

Lagonosticta rubricata

Black-bellied Firefinch

Lagonosticta rara

Golden-breasted Bunting

Emberiza flaviventris

White-backed Duck

Thalassornis leuconotus

Spur-winged Goose

Plectropterus gambensis

Blue-billed Teal

Spatula hottentota

Western Crested Guineafowl

Guttera verreauxi

Coturnix coturnix

Harlequin Quail

Coturnix delegorguei

Pternistis squamatus

Caprimulgus natalensis

Pennant-winged Nightjar

Caprimulgus vexillarius

African Palm Swift

Cypsiurus parvus

African Black Swift

Eastern Plantain-eater

Crinifer zonurus

Black-billed Turaco

Tauraco schuettii

Centropus senegalensis

Centropus grillii

Ceuthmochares aereus

Levaillant's Cuckoo

Clamator levaillantii

Clamator jacobinus

Diederik Cuckoo

Chrysococcyx caprius

Chrysococcyx klaas

African Emerald Cuckoo

Chrysococcyx cupreus

Cuculus gularis

African Olive Pigeon

Columba arquatrix

Dusky Turtle Dove

Streptopelia lugens

Emerald-spotted Wood Dove

Turtur chalcospilos

Buff-spotted Flufftail

Sarothrura elegans

Crecopsis egregia

Paragallinula angulata

Senegal Thick-knee

Burhinus senegalensis

Brown-chested Lapwing

Vanellus superciliosus

Greater Painted-snipe

Rostratula benghalensis

Microparra capensis

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Gallinago gallinago

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropus

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferruginea

Chlidonias hybrida

Black-headed Gull

Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Ciconia abdimii

Ciconia ciconia

Plegadis falcinellus

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

White-backed Night Heron

Calherodius leuconotus

Butorides striata

European Honey Buzzard

Pernis apivorus

Black-chested Snake Eagle

Circaetus pectoralis

Stephanoaetus coronatus

Circus macrourus

Montagu's Harrier

Circus pygargus

African Marsh Harrier

Circus ranivorus

Mountain Buzzard

Buteo oreophilus

Spotted Eagle-Owl

African Wood Owl

Strix woodfordii

White-thighed Hornbill

Bycanistes albotibialis

Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill

Bycanistes subcylindricus

European Roller

Coracias garrulus

Giant Kingfisher

Megaceryle maxima

Blue-breasted Bee-eater

Merops variegatus

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

Merops oreobates

European Bee-eater

Merops apiaster

Speckled Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus scolopaceus

Cassin's Honeybird

Prodotiscus insignis

Lesser Honeyguide

Indicator minor

Spotted Honeyguide

Indicator maculatus

Greater Honeyguide

Indicator indicator

Brown-eared Woodpecker

Pardipicus caroli

Green-backed Woodpecker

Campethera maculosa

Cardinal Woodpecker

Dendropicos fuscescens

African Grey Woodpecker

Dendropicos goertae

Olive Woodpecker

Dendropicos griseocephalus

Falco tinnunculus

Psittacus erithacus

Red-headed Lovebird

Agapornis pullarius

Pitta angolensis

Orange-breasted Bushshrike

Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus

Doherty's Bushshrike

Telophorus dohertyi

Brown-crowned Tchagra

Tchagra australis

Black-crowned Tchagra

Tchagra senegalus

Black-backed Puffback

Dryoscopus cubla

Northern Puffback

Dryoscopus gambensis

Albertine Sooty Boubou

Laniarius holomelas

Lühder's Bushshrike

Laniarius luehderi

Papyrus Gonolek

Laniarius mufumbiri

Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher

Black Cuckooshrike

Campephaga flava

Petit's Cuckooshrike

Campephaga petiti

Oriolus brachyrynchus

Mountain Oriole

Oriolus percivali

Eurasian Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolus

Dicrurus atripennis

Isabelline Shrike

Lanius isabellinus

Red-backed Shrike

Lanius collurio

White-tailed Blue Flycatcher

Elminia albicauda

Fischer's Sparrow-Lark

Eremopterix leucopareia

Red-capped Lark

Calandrella cinerea

Joyful Greenbul

Chlorocichla laetissima

Honeyguide Greenbul

Baeopogon indicator

Kikuyu Mountain Greenbul

Arizelocichla kikuyuensis

Yellow-whiskered Greenbul

Eurillas latirostris

Eurillas curvirostris

Psalidoprocne pristoptera

Grey-rumped Swallow

Pseudhirundo griseopyga

Brown-throated Martin

Riparia paludicola

Red-throated Rock Martin

Ptyonoprogne rufigula

Western House Martin

Delichon urbicum

Cecropis senegalensis

Moustached Grass Warbler

Melocichla mentalis

Northern Crombec

Sylvietta brachyura

White-browed Crombec

Sylvietta leucophrys

Brown Woodland Warbler

Phylloscopus umbrovirens

Red-faced Woodland Warbler

Phylloscopus laetus

Lesser Swamp Warbler

Acrocephalus gracilirostris

African Yellow Warbler

Iduna natalensis

Mountain Yellow Warbler

Cinnamon Bracken Warbler

Bradypterus cinnamomeus

Red-faced Cisticola

Cisticola erythrops

Chubb's Cisticola

Cisticola chubbi

Carruthers's Cisticola

Cisticola carruthersi

Croaking Cisticola

Cisticola natalensis

Short-winged Cisticola

Cisticola brachypterus

Zitting Cisticola

Cisticola juncidis

Tawny-flanked Prinia

Prinia subflava

White-chinned Prinia

Schistolais leucopogon

Rwenzori Apalis

Oreolais ruwenzorii

Buff-bellied Warbler

Phyllolais pulchella

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Mountain Masked Apalis

Apalis personata

Buff-throated Apalis

Apalis rufogularis

Black-faced Rufous Warbler

Bathmocercus rufus

Green-backed Eremomela

Eremomela canescens

Eurasian Blackcap

Sylvia atricapilla

Rwenzori Hill Babbler

Sylvia atriceps

Green White-eye

Zosterops stuhlmanni

Brown Illadopsis

Illadopsis fulvescens

Turdoides plebejus

Arrow-marked Babbler

Turdoides jardineii

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Lamprotornis chalybaeus

Sharpe's Starling

Abyssinian Thrush

Turdus abyssinicus

Brown-backed Scrub Robin

Cercotrichas hartlaubi

Grey Tit-Flycatcher

Fraseria plumbea

African Dusky Flycatcher

Muscicapa adusta

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

White-starred Robin

Pogonocichla stellata

Brown-chested Alethe

Chamaetylas poliocephala

Cape Robin-Chat

Dessonornis caffer

Grey-winged Robin-Chat

Sheppardia polioptera

Semicollared Flycatcher

Ficedula semitorquata

Blue-headed Sunbird

Cyanomitra alinae

Green-throated Sunbird

Chalcomitra rubescens

Purple-breasted Sunbird

Nectarinia purpureiventris

Malachite Sunbird

Nectarinia famosa

Olive-bellied Sunbird

Cinnyris chloropygius

Cinnyris minullus

Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird

Cinnyris stuhlmanni

Northern Double-collared Sunbird

Cinnyris reichenowi

Cinnyris regius

Cinnyris mariquensis

Cinnyris superbus

Variable Sunbird

Cinnyris venustus

Thick-billed Weaver

Amblyospiza albifrons

Baglafecht Weaver

Ploceus baglafecht

Ploceus luteolus

Ploceus alienus

Holub's Golden Weaver

Ploceus xanthops

Ploceus aurantius

Northern Brown-throated Weaver

Ploceus castanops

Yellow-mantled Weaver

Ploceus tricolor

Red-headed Quelea

Quelea erythrops

Pachyphantes superciliosus

Euplectes gierowii

Black-winged Red Bishop

Euplectes hordeaceus

Northern Red Bishop

Euplectes franciscanus

Euplectes capensis

White-winged Widowbird

Euplectes albonotatus

Bronze Mannikin

Spermestes cucullata

Black-and-white Mannikin

Spermestes bicolor

Yellow-bellied Waxbill

Coccopygia quartinia

Dusky Crimsonwing

Cryptospiza jacksoni

Red-faced Crimsonwing

Cryptospiza reichenovii

Grey-headed Nigrita

Nigrita canicapillus

Black-crowned Waxbill

Estrilda nonnula

Kandt's Waxbill

Estrilda kandti

Fawn-breasted Waxbill

Estrilda paludicola

Red-headed Bluebill

Spermophaga ruficapilla

Village Indigobird

Vidua chalybeata

Motacilla capensis

Anthus cinnamomeus

Long-billed Pipit

Plain-backed Pipit

Anthus leucophrys

Crithagra frontalis

Yellow-fronted Canary

Crithagra mozambica

Brimstone Canary

Crithagra sulphurata

Thick-billed Seedeater

Crithagra burtoni

Streaky Seedeater

Crithagra striolata

Yellow-crowned Canary

Serinus flavivertex

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Emberiza tahapisi

Mountain Gorilla

Gorilla beringei beringei

Common Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius

Red-legged Sun Squirrel

Heliosciurus rufobrachium

African Savanna Elephant

Loxodonta africana

Syncerus caffer

Colobus guereza

Kobus ellipsiprymnus

Giant Forest Hog

Hylochoerus meinertzhageni

Crocuta crocuta

Cercopithecus mitis

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