Map of the world

  • Where to watch BIRDS and

  • other wildlife in the world
  • Photograph of Western Lowland Gorilla

    A wonderful portrait of a male 'Western Lowland' Gorilla at Mondika in the adjacent Republic of Congo by Sjef Ollers.

  • Where to watch birds and wildlife in
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC


    Best Birds and other wildlife in the Central African Republic

    Birds

    Near-endemics

    Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon and Gabon 1
    Dja River Swamp-warbler.

    CAR, Cameroon, Angola, Republic of the Congo (RC) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 1
    Bob-tailed Weaver.

    CAR, Gabon, RC, DRC and Angola 1
    African River Martin.

    CAR, RC, DRC and Uganda 1
    Grey-capped Capuchin Babbler.

    CAR, DRC, Chad and South Sudan 1
    Niam-niam Parrot.

    DRC Area 3
    Eastern Little (Black Dwarf) Hornbill, Sladen’s Barbet and Congo Sunbird.

    Other specialities
    Plumed Guineafowl, Hartlaub's Duck, Congo Serpent-eagle, Forbes's Plover, Blue-headed Bee-eater, Lyre-tailed Honeyguide and Grey-necked Rockfowl (Red-headed Picathartes) (at colony, usually easiest to observe in October).

    Others
    African Darter, Hamerkop, Palm-nut Vulture, African Harrier-hawk, Crowned Eagle, Bat Hawk, African Finfoot, African Jacana, Guinea Turaco, cuckoos including Yellow-throated, Chattering Yellowbill, Fraser’s Eagle-owl, spinetails, Grey Parrot, Bare-cheeked Trogon, Great Blue Turaco, kingfishers including Blue-breasted, Chocolate-backed, Giant and Shining-blue, Black Bee-eater, Blue-throated Roller, African Pied, Black-casqued, Black Dwarf, Red-billed Dwarf, Piping, White-crested and White-thighed Hornbills, barbets, tinkerbirds, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Gabon Batis, Blue Cuckooshrike, Western Oriole, drongos, Blue-headed Crested-flycatcher, Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher, White-throated Blue Swallow, many greenbuls including Sjostedt’s, Buff-throated and Gosling’s Apalises, Banded Prinia, Grey Longbill, Green Hylia, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Green and Lemon-bellied Crombecs, Violet-backed Hyliota, Fire-crested Alethe, (Sangha) Forest Robin, sunbirds including Superb, weavers and malimbes. Also a chance of Spot-breasted Ibis, Egyptian Plover, Grey-throated and Nkulengu Rails, and White-spotted Flufftail.

    Mammals
    (Western Lowland) Gorilla, Agile Mangabey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Crowned, De Brazza’s, Moustached and Putty-nosed Monkeys, African (Forest) Elephant, African (Forest) Buffalo, Sitatunga, Lord Derby's Anomalure, Demidoff's Dwarf, Elegant Needle-clawed, Gabon Squirrel and Thomas's Galagos, (Milne-Edwards's) Potto and a world-record 17 species of shrew around Sangha Lodge. Also a chance of Bongo, Giant Forest Hog and Red River Hog, and an outside chance of Black-bellied and White-bellied Pangolins. (In September 2019 a Black-bellied Pangolin at Sangha Lodge was being followed around the clock by Ba’Aka trackers.)

    Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in the Central African Republic

    Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in the Central African Republic

    The best times to visit the Central African Republic are the first half of April and mid-August to mid-September.

    Recommended Bird Books etc. for the Central African Republic

    The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. Bloomsbury, 2015 (Second Revised Edition).

    The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals by J Kingdon. Bloomsbury, 2016 (Second Edition).

    Birds of Western Africa by N Borrow and R Demey. Helm, 2014 (Second Edition).

    Birds of Africa south of the Sahara by I Sinclair and P Ryan. C Struik, 2011 (Second Edition).


    Apps etc.

    The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals.

    Where to watch birds in Africa by N Wheatley. Helm, 1995.

    Don’t know which country/countries to visit in Africa? Then it may be worth considering taking a look at this book, written by this website’s author. It is many years old of course but it still provides a starting point, an overview and a guiding light to the best birds and the best places to look for them on the continent, and could save hours of searching for similar information on the internet. However, it is important to check more up-to-date sources for sites which have been opened up, sites and species which have been discovered, lodges that have been built etc. since the book was published.

    Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for the Central African Republic

    Many trip reports, some for the Central African Republic, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to the Central African Republic. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to the Central African Republic' below.

    Local bird and wildlife guides in the Central African Republic

    The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.

    Accommodation for birders in the Central African Republic

    Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to the Central African Republic

    There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.

    While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.

    Tour companies who are running organized tours to the Central African Republic in the next couple of years include the following. Many of these also offer custom tours.