DR Congo / Burundi / Rwanda Ramsar wetland
Ruzizi River
196 bird species recorded; the most in October.
No machine-readable author provided. Amakuru assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
98 species in January.117 species in February.58 species in March.65 species in April.61 species in May.27 species in June.7 species in July.29 species in August.114 species in September.162 species in October.121 species in November.110 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.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
196 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).
- 196Speciesrecorded more than once
- 101Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,247Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 770 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 16Raptors
- 22Waders
- 5Gulls & seabirds
- 7Ducks & geese
- 22Herons, ibises & grebes
- 3Storks & cranes
- 2Flamingos
- 84Songbirds
- 35Other 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 196 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors16 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- Palm-nut VultureGypohierax angolensis
- Black-winged KiteElanus caeruleus
- African Marsh HarrierCircus ranivorus
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- African Harrier-hawkPolyboroides typus
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- European HobbyFalco subbuteo
- African Fish EagleHaliaeetus vocifer
- Long-crested EagleLophaetus occipitalis
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Black-chested Snake EagleCircaetus pectoralis
- African hobbyFalco cuvierii
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Gabar GoshawkMicronisus gabar
Waders22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Spur-winged LapwingVanellus spinosus
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
- Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
- Little StintCalidris minuta
- African JacanaActophilornis africanus
- Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
- Terek SandpiperXenus cinereus
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- African Wattled LapwingVanellus senegallus
- Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- African SnipeGallinago nigripennis
- Water DikkopBurhinus vermiculatus
- Lesser Black-winged PloverVanellus lugubris
- Brown-chested LapwingVanellus superciliosus
Gulls & seabirds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African SkimmerRynchops flavirostris
- Grey-headed GullChroicocephalus cirrocephalus
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Gull-billed TernGelochelidon nilotica
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
Ducks & geese7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White-faced Whistling-duckDendrocygna viduata
- Fulvous Whistling-duckDendrocygna bicolor
- Knob-billed DuckSarkidiornis melanotos
- Spur-winged GoosePlectropterus gambensis
- Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
- Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
- Red-billed TealAnas erythrorhyncha
Herons, ibises & grebes22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Long-tailed CormorantMicrocarbo africanus
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Black-headed HeronArdea melanocephala
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Goliath HeronArdea goliath
- HadadaBostrychia hagedash
- Pink-backed PelicanPelecanus rufescens
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
- HamerkopScopus umbretta
- Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
- Egretta intermediaEgretta intermedia
- Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
- Black HeronEgretta ardesiaca
- Black-crowned Night-HeronNycticorax nycticorax
- Squacco HeronArdeola ralloides
- DarterAnhinga rufa
- Striated HeronButorides striata
Storks & cranes3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Openbill StorkAnastomus lamelligerus
- Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
- Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum
Flamingos2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
- Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorNT
Songbirds84 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Pied CrowCorvus albus
- Common BulbulPycnonotus barbatus
- Motacilla aguimpMotacilla aguimp
- Bronze MannikinLonchura cucullata
- Northern Grey-headed SparrowPasser griseus
- White-browed Robin-chatCossypha heuglini
- Rüppell's StarlingLamprotornis purpuroptera
- Tropical BoubouLaniarius major
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Grey-backed FiscalLanius excubitoroides
- Village WeaverPloceus cucullatus
- Lanius humeralisLanius humeralis
- Red BishopEuplectes orix
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- African Golden WeaverPloceus xanthops
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Hartlaub's BabblerTurdoides hartlaubii
- Slender-billed WeaverPloceus pelzelni
- Copper SunbirdCinnyris cupreus
- Turdus peliosTurdus pelios
- Swamp FlycatcherMuscicapa aquatica
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Red-billed FirefinchLagonosticta senegala
- Winding CisticolaCisticola marginatus
- Black-headed WeaverPloceus melanocephalus
- Scarlet-chested SunbirdChalcomitra senegalensis
- African Paradise-FlycatcherTerpsiphone viridis
- Arrow-marked BabblerTurdoides jardineii
- Yellow-throated LongclawMacronyx croceus
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
- Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
- Baglafecht WeaverPloceus baglafecht
- Spectacled WeaverPloceus ocularis
- Green-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brachyura
- Pin-tailed WhydahVidua macroura
- Collared Palm-thrushCichladusa arquata
- African Sand MartinRiparia paludicola
- Red-chested SunbirdCinnyris erythrocercus
- Lesser Striped SwallowCecropis abyssinica
- Yellow-throated LeafloveAtimastillas flavicollis
- Chirping CisticolaCisticola pipiens
- Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild
- Zitting CisticolaCisticola juncidis
- Wire-tailed SwallowHirundo smithii
- Olive-bellied SunbirdCinnyris chloropygius
- Grey-headed BushshrikeMalaconotus blanchoti
- Wattled StarlingCreatophora cinerea
- Tawny-flanked PriniaPrinia subflava
- Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
- Sharpe's Pied-BabblerTurdoides sharpei
- Red-billed QueleaQuelea quelea
- Grosbeak WeaverAmblyospiza albifrons
- Banded MartinRiparia cincta
- Yellow-fronted CanaryCrithagra mozambica
- Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
- Village IndigobirdVidua chalybeata
- Violet-backed StarlingCinnyricinclus leucogaster
- Greater Blue-eared StarlingLamprotornis chalybaeus
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- African PipitAnthus cinnamomeus
- Fischer's Sparrow-larkEremopterix leucopareia
- Garden WarblerSylvia borin
- Crimson-rumped WaxbillEstrilda rhodopyga
- Black-winged Red BishopEuplectes hordeaceus
- Angolan SwallowHirundo angolensis
- Grey-capped WarblerEminia lepida
- Erythropygia hartlaubiErythropygia hartlaubi
- Brimstone CanaryCrithagra sulphurata
- White-necked RavenCorvus albicollis
- Black Cuckoo-shrikeCampephaga flava
- Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus
- Plain-backed PipitAnthus leucophrys
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- Chubb's CisticolaCisticola chubbi
- Lesser Grey ShrikeLanius minor
- Isabelline ShrikeLanius isabellinus
- Black-and-white MuniaLonchura bicolor
- African FirefinchLagonosticta rubricata
- Bronzy SunbirdNectarinia kilimensis
- Lesser Swamp WarblerAcrocephalus gracilirostris
- Greater Swamp-WarblerAcrocephalus rufescens
- Black-crowned TchagraTchagra senegalus
- Grey-rumped SwallowPseudhirundo griseopyga
Other birds35 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Speckled MousebirdColius striatus
- Laughing DoveSpilopelia senegalensis
- Woodland KingfisherHalcyon senegalensis
- African Palm SwiftCypsiurus parvus
- Pied KingfisherCeryle rudis
- White-browed CoucalCentropus superciliosus
- Little SwiftApus affinis
- Black CrakeAmaurornis flavirostra
- Red-necked SpurfowlPternistis afer
- Blue-headed CoucalCentropus monachus
- Malachite KingfisherCorythornis cristatus
- Little Bee-eaterMerops pusillus
- Bee-eaterMerops apiaster
- African Pygmy KingfisherIspidina picta
- Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterMerops persicus
- Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
- Diederik CuckooChrysococcyx caprius
- Western SwamphenPorphyrio porphyrio
- Southern Carmine Bee-eaterMerops nubicoides
- Golden-tailed WoodpeckerCampethera abingoni
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- White-rumped SwiftApus caffer
- Red-knobbed CootFulica cristata
- White-throated Bee-eaterMerops albicollis
- Cardinal WoodpeckerDendropicos fuscescens
- European SwiftApus apus
- Tambourine DoveTurtur tympanistria
- African Black CoucalCentropus grillii
- Black-bellied KorhaanLissotis melanogaster
- Double-toothed BarbetLybius bidentatus
- Jacobin CuckooClamator jacobinus
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- Blue-spotted Wood-doveTurtur afer
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 October.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan25°/17°202 mm
- Feb26°/18°168 mm
- Mar26°/18°219 mm
- Apr25°/17°213 mm
- May25°/17°94 mm
- Jun24°/15°29 mm
- Jul25°/15°15 mm
- Aug26°/16°42 mm
- Sep27°/17°94 mm
- Oct26°/18°172 mm
- Nov25°/17°341 mm
- Dec25°/17°218 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Ruzizi River.
River in Central Africa
Ruzizi River is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in DR Congo, 770 m above the sea.
196 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,247 open records.
The most recorded are the Pied Crow, the White-faced Whistling-duck and the Black Kite.
76 species come for the summer, 23 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Curlew Sandpiper.
The most species are recorded in October.
Get there and watch
- Karera Beach Hotel (unofficial campsite)campsite · 6.3 km · 5 within 10 km
- YUCCA BEACHplace to stay · 4.4 km · 40 within 10 km
- Gatumbanearest town · 4.0 km in a straight line
- Bujumbura Melchior Ndadaye International Airport (BJM)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 7 km in a straight line
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
- 3observation towers within 6 km
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmRusizi Park Office
- 2restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 5campsites within 10 kmKarera Beach Hotel (unofficial campsite), Groupe St Athanase, groupe saint benoit and 2 more
- 40places to stay within 10 kmYUCCA BEACH, ROYAL PALM, Club du Lac Tanganyika and 37 more
- bird hides within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- car parks 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 Ruzizi River.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas1 mountains within 25 kmMont Mboza1,643 m · 18 km
Riveryasthe river nearbyRuzizi River117 km · 400 m³/s↗Mugere River↗RuzibaziMuha RiverNtahangwariver KanyoshaMutimbuziMpanda River
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Ruzizi River
DR Congo
- 68Birdyas Score
- 196Species
- 101Migrants
- 1Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q748195) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,247 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, Riveryas |
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?
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