Uganda Important Bird Area
Echuya Forest reserve
77 bird species recorded; the most in January, in August and in October.
Bruno ashimwe winks · CC BY-SA 4.0
This month here
41 species in January.18 species in February.0 species in March.2 species in April.1 species in May.18 species in June.30 species in July.38 species in August.0 species in September.41 species in October.0 species in November.10 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
No records for this month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
77 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 77Speciesrecorded more than once
- 14Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 357Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 1,797 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 4Raptors
- 2Waders
- 1Ducks & geese
- 13Herons, ibises & grebes
- 2Storks & cranes
- 44Songbirds
- 11Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 77 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Long-crested EagleLophaetus occipitalis
- Augur BuzzardButeo augur
- African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorus
Waders2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
Ducks & geese1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Yellow-billed DuckAnas undulata
Herons, ibises & grebes13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
- HadadaBostrychia hagedash
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- HamerkopScopus umbretta
- Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
- African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
- Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
- Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum
- Black Crowned CraneBalearica pavoninaVU
Songbirds44 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Bronzy SunbirdNectarinia kilimensis
- Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
- Pied CrowCorvus albus
- Variable SunbirdCinnyris venustus
- Green White-eyeZosterops stuhlmanni
- African Blue-flycatcherElminia longicauda
- Collared SunbirdHedydipna collaris
- Motacilla aguimpMotacilla aguimp
- Cape WagtailMotacilla capensis
- Swamp FlycatcherMuscicapa aquatica
- Black-headed WeaverPloceus melanocephalus
- Pin-tailed WhydahVidua macroura
- White-tailed Blue-flycatcherElminia albicauda
- Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta
- Black-crowned WaxbillEstrilda nonnula
- Red-chested SunbirdCinnyris erythrocercus
- Northern Double-collared SunbirdCinnyris reichenowi
- African Paradise-FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis
- Black Rough-winged Swallow or Black Saw-wingPsalidoprocne pristoptera
- Dioptrornis fischeriDioptrornis fischeri
- African StonechatSaxicola torquatus
- Dusky Blue FlycatcherMuscicapa comitata
- White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
- Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
- Red-billed FirefinchLagonosticta senegala
- Red-shouldered WhydahEuplectes axillaris
- Mountain WagtailMotacilla clara
- Scarlet-spectacled Wattle-eyePlatysteira cyanea
- Red-capped RobinCossypha natalensis
- Black-and-white MuniaLonchura bicolor
- African Golden WeaverPloceus xanthops
- Village WeaverPloceus cucullatus
- Baglafecht WeaverPloceus baglafecht
- Slender-billed WeaverPloceus pelzelni
- Yellow BishopEuplectes capensis
- Northern Grey-headed SparrowPasser griseus
- Grey-capped WarblerEminia lepida
- Greater Swamp-WarblerAcrocephalus rufescens
- Tropical BoubouLaniarius major
- Western CitrilCrithagra frontalis
- Streaky SeedeaterCrithagra striolata
- Green-headed SunbirdCyanomitra verticalis
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
Other birds11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- Speckled MousebirdColius striatus
- Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
- Red-chested CuckooCuculus solitarius
- Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaterMerops oreobates
- Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Black CrakeAmaurornis flavirostra
- African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
- Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
- Striped CuckooClamator levaillantii
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in January, in August and in October.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan26°/16°87 mm
- Feb27°/16°91 mm
- Mar27°/16°147 mm
- Apr26°/16°136 mm
- May26°/16°112 mm
- Jun26°/16°63 mm
- Jul27°/15°47 mm
- Aug27°/16°90 mm
- Sep27°/16°134 mm
- Oct26°/16°172 mm
- Nov24°/16°170 mm
- Dec25°/16°111 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Echuya Forest reserve.
Echuya Forest Reserve is a protected area in southern Uganda, specifically in the Kisoro district. The reserve is located on the eastern slopes of the Virunga Mountains and covers roughly 3,810 hectares (9,410 acres).
Echuya Forest reserve is an Important Bird Area (BirdLife) in Uganda, 1,797 m above the sea.
77 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 357 open records.
The most recorded are the Black Kite, the Bronzy Sunbird and the Pied Kingfisher.
3 species come for the summer, 9 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Black Crowned Crane.
The most species are recorded in January, in August and in October.
Get there and watch
- Mutanda Island Lodgecampsite · 4.9 km · 3 within 10 km
- Hotelplace to stay · 5.6 km · 54 within 10 km
- Kisoronearest town · 10 km in a straight line
- Savannah Airstrip (KHX)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 57 km in a straight lineCar hire in KampalaDiscover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 3campsites within 10 kmMutanda Island Lodge, Mutanda Eco-Community Center, Virunga Hotel and Campsite
- 54places to stay within 10 kmHotel, Rafiki hotel, Chameleon Hill Lodge and 51 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Echuya Forest reserve.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas30 mountains within 25 kmGishio · 2.4 kmChieshire · 5.5 kmBufumbira2,440 m · 14 kmMount Gahinga3,474 m · volcano · 19 km↗Mount Muhabura4,127 m · 19 km↗Mount Sabyinyo3,645 m · volcano · 20 km↗Nteko · 24 kmGihishamwotsi · 24 km
Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 kmLake Mutanda21 km² · 6.0 km↗Lake Mulehe2.4 km² · 11 km
Darkskyas5 dark-sky places within 30 kmLake MutandaBortle 2 · 5.8 kmMount GahingaBortle 2 · 19 kmMount MuhaburaBortle 2 · 19 km↗Mount SabyinyoBortle 2 · 20 km↗Lake BureraBortle 2 · 29 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Echuya Forest reserve
Uganda
- 43Birdyas Score
- 77Species
- 14Migrants
- 1Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q118338902) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 357 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas, Darkskyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit