May 23-June 14, 2025 with Terry Stevenson & Errol de Beer
This was our second tour to Angola, and once again it gave us great looks at some of Africa’s least-known birds. Only just getting on the ‘birding map,’ the tour includes several long drives (often on pot-holed roads), but the rewards are great as one heads north to Uige for such specialties as Braun’s Bushshrike, to Kinjila Forest for the rarely seen White-headed Robin-Chat, and to the spectacular rock formations at Pedras Negras for Red-crested Turaco. Further to the southwest we stopped at Mushima for Angola Helmetshrike and at Kumbira for Gabela and Monteiro’s bushshrikes, Southern Hyliota, Yellow-throated Nicator, and Pulitzer’s Longbill. In the arid southern desert we found Monteiro’s Hornbill, Rueppell’s Parrot, and White-tailed Shrike—three species shared only with northern Namibia, and lastly in the giant gorge at Tundavala we had long scope views at the near-mythical Swierstra’s Spurfowl.
Meeting in the capital Luanda, we spent the night. The hotel carpark gave us our first endemic—Red-backed Mousebird. We then drove south for a couple of hours to the Mussulo Peninsula, where the tidal wetland gave us good views of Kittlitz’s and White-fronted plovers, Eurasian Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Curlew Sandpiper. A sandbar provided a resting area for a group of terns (including 7 Damara Terns—a species restricted to the coast of SW Africa), and a feeding flock of Greater Flamingos provided the photographers with a lovely pink background. And in the bushy grasslands along the shore, we enjoyed Dideric Cuckoo, Palm-nut Vulture, Bubbling and Desert cisticolas, and Long-legged Pipit.
Continuing on, we were soon at the Rio Curinge Lodge, a new destination for us and a very pleasant one, too. During two nights here we were able to bird the grounds and mangrove forest and also visit the mouth of the nearby Kwanza River. Just a few of the varied species we saw were Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Gray Go-away-bird, Senegal Coucal, African Woolly-necked and Saddle-billed storks, Black Heron, African Fish-Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Lilac-breasted and Purple rollers, Gray Kestrel, Angola Batis, Gabon Boubou, White-crowned Shrike, White-winged Tit, Angola Swallow, Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush, and in the mangroves the highly distinctive Mouse-brown Sunbird! We also had our first mammals, with both Blue and Malbrouck monkeys and a couple of Congo Rope Squirrels.
We then had a long travel day as we retraced our route back to Luanda and on to the far north to Uige. The journey was not without a bird stop or two, with good looks for all at the endemic White-fronted Wattle-eye, and a strange whitish-throated ‘form’ of Forest Swallow—at least an undescribed race and perhaps even a totally new species!
Uige was our most basic accommodation of the tour but still acceptable as the rooms were clean, electricity worked day and night, the shower water was hot, and even the internet worked. Lunches and dinners were a choice of 5 or 6 meals, and considering the remote location not bad at all. The main target species in this area is Braun’s Bushshrike, and this year we struggled to find a responsive bird; however, eventually we did, and most of the group managed to get decent looks at this very range-restricted species. Other ‘good’ birds we enjoyed here included Red-necked Buzzard, Congo Pied, Black-casqued and Piping hornbills, Black Bee-eater, Naked-faced and Hairy-breasted barbets, Red-fronted Parrot, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Black-winged Oriole, Pink-footed Puffback, Velvet-mantled Drongo, African Blue-flycatcher, Yellow-throated Nicator (Nicators are now a new family, Nicatoridae), Masked Apalis, Honeyguide and Swamp greenbuls, Rufous Flycatcher-thrush, Gray-chinned, Olive-bellied and Superb sunbirds, Red-headed Malimbe, and Yellow-mantled Weaver.
From Uige we had another travel day as we headed southeast to the town of Calandula, where Africa’s second largest waterfall is found. Of course, we made birding stops along the way, and highlights included Black Scimitarbill, Anchieta’s Barbet, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Yellow-bellied Hyliota (another new family), Western Violet-backed Sunbird, Black-winged Bishop, and Yellow-mantled Widowbird.
Based in our nice hotel at the edge of town, we then made an early start to the Kinjila Forest about 45 minutes away. This area is known as the only accessible site for the beautiful (but very shy) White-headed Robin-Chat—tough as always, but eventually we all got good views of this little-known bird. Other new species here were Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Sharpe’s Drongo, Brown-headed Apalis, and brief views Red-crested Turaco.
We then made an afternoon visit to the falls—spectacular as always, and then returned to our hotel in time for great looks at Bat Hawk as it circled the parking area right next to the main entrance.
Leaving Calandula behind we then drove to Pedras Negras (Black Rocks) and had a fabulous morning, with everyone getting wonderful looks at Red-crested Turaco, and new species including Square-tailed Drongo, Black Bishop, Red-collared and White-winged widowbirds, Angola Waxbill, the distinctive race landanae of African Firefinch (soon to be split), a stunning male Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah, Black-faced Canary, and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting.
We then arrived at N’dalatando, where two nights here enabled us to make visits to the Tombingo Forest. This can be a very birdy area, and we were soon enjoying Blue Malkoha, White-spotted Flufftail (brief looks for some), Eastern Yellow-billed and Hairy-breasted barbets, Speckled Tinkerbird, Golden-crowned Woodpecker, Red-fronted Parrot, Chestnut Wattle-eye, African Shrike-flycatcher, Bates’s Paradise-flycatcher, Green Crombec, Plain Greenbul, Red-capped Robin-Chat, Little Green, Carmelite, Orange-tufted and Superb sunbirds, and Red-headed Malimbe.
Heading further south, we then spent a night at the Bon Amigos Resort, where Square-tailed Nightjars were along the driveway after dinner, and an hour or so birding at dawn the next morning gave us great looks at a pair of endemic Gray-striped Spurfowls.
We then drove southwest to the coast and Mushima Forest, where a small flock of Angola Helmetshrikes (another endemic) were the major highlight of this day. After a night at our very pleasant hotel on the coast, we continued back inland for a three-night stay in good accommodation (and wonderful food) near the Kumbira Forest. Sadly, the habitat has become rather degraded, but it is still home to some wonderful birds. We slowly added Fiery-necked Nightjar, Booted Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Little Sparrowhawk, Spotted Eagle-Owl, African Wood-Owl, Black-backed Barbet, Cassin’s Honeybird, Great Honeyguide, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, Gabela and Monteiro’s bushshrikes (both extremely difficult endemics), Southern Hyliota, Yellow-throated Nicator (a catchup species for most of the group), Pulitzer’s Longbill (a super shy endemic we all saw well), Black-throated Apalis, Pale-olive Greenbul, Angola White-eye, and Black-necked and Vieillot’s Black weavers.
By special arrangement, our local agent had arranged for us to spend two nights at the privately owned (and not open to the public) Lupupa Lodge, but first we stopped along the way in an area of Miombo woodland, finding Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Cardinal Woodpecker, Chinspot Batis, Red-capped Crombec, Green-capped Eremomela, Black-collared Bulbul, Anchieta’s Sunbird, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, and Golden-breasted Bunting. A nearby wet grassland also held Blue-headed Coucal, African Marsh Harrier, Chirping Cisticola, and the beautiful Black-and-Rufous Swallow.
Taking a break from the long travel day, we then spent a day just walking around the lodge grounds, with just a few highlights being Schalow’s and Ross’s turacos, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Black Goshawk, Eurasian Hoopoe, Narina Trogon, Olive Woodpecker, Cabanis’s Greenbul, mega good looks at the normally super shy Bocage’s Akalat, and Bannerman’s and Montane (Ludwig’s) sunbirds.
The roads of Angola don’t give much choice for heading to different areas on good or bad, and potholes are the norm here—so we took the main route (potholes and all) as we headed back to the coast, with a stop at Mt. Moco along the way. Moco is the highest mountain in Angola, and most of its forest was destroyed many years ago. However, it’s still worth a half-day stop here, and were able to add the following to our list: White-fronted Bee-eater, Western Tinkerbird, Red-throated Wryneck, White-tailed Blue-flycatcher, Stout (Angola) Cisticola, Capped Wheatear, and Bocage’s Sunbird.
The final leg of our tour included another night on the coast near Benguela and then three nights at the lovely Casper Resort on the outskirts of Lubango. It proved to be a wonderful way to conclude the tour in a country so rarely visited even by worldwide birders. With three full days we were able to visit an area of semi-arid bush and rocky hills, the spectacular Tundavala Escarpment, and the Namib Desert. Just some of the highlight species we saw during this time included Hartlaub’s and Swierstra’s Spurfowl (the latter only ever seen by perhaps a few hundred birders), Booted and Verreaux’s eagles, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Monteiro’s and Damara Red-billed hornbills (both regional endemics), Pied Barbet, White-tailed Shrike, Pririt Batis, Bokmakierie, Southern (Latakoo) Fiscal, Ashy Tit, Karoo Long-billed (Benguela) Lark, Long-billed Crombec, Rockrunner, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Black-chested Prinia, Black-fronted Bulbul, Chestnut-vented Warbler, Bare-cheeked Babbler, Meves’s Starling, Groundscraper Thrush, Chat Flycatcher, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, the striking Angola Cave-Chat, Short-toed Rock-Thrush, Mountain and Tractrac chats, White-bellied Sunbird, Scaly Weaver, White-browed Sparrow-Weaver, Red-headed Weaver, Jameson’s Firefinch, Striped Pipit, and White-throated Canary.
A flight back to Luanda saved us more than a thousand kilometers of driving, and then after a night and breakfast at a hotel near the airport, we said our goodbyes and made our way to the flights home, or a day of rest back at the Ilamar Hotel—our starting point just three weeks earlier. Many thanks to everyone who came on this tour to ‘A Little Known Land’—a developing country with not much tourist infrastructure but some gorgeous scenery and plenty of pretty amazing birds!
Mammals seen on the 2025 Angola tour
- Blue Monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) - Three at the Kwanza River bridge, and 1 at Muxima.
- Malbrouck Monkey (Chlorocebus cynosuros) - Part of the ‘Vervet Monkey group’ they were widespread in small numbers; with a total of about 30.
- Thick-tailed Greater Galago (Ottolemur crassicaudtus) - One at Lupupa Lodge.
- Scrub Hare (Lepus saxatalis) - Some of the group saw 1 on the way to Uige.
- Congo Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus congicus) - A few were seen around the Kwanza River, but they were most common in the south from Civite to Lubango and at the bottom of Leba Pass where we saw about 30.
- Fire-footed Rope Squirrel (Funisciurus pyrrhopus) - On taxonomic evidence, the squirrels which were formerly known as Gambian Sun Squirrel are now this species; we saw singles in the forests at Damengola and Kumbira.
- Common Slender Mongoose (Herpestes sanguineus) - One at Black Rocks.
- Common Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula) - Two in the Civite area.
- Rock Hyrax (Procavia capensis) - We saw 3 at Civite, and about 15 at Tundavala.
You can see my complete trip report on eBird at this link: https://ebird.org/tripreport/426358
You can download a combined PDF of this page and the eBird report at this link: https://fieldguides.com/triplists/ang25TRIPLIST.pdf
-- Terry