Zambia

Zambia is a memorably scenic country in the middle of Africa with numerous wonderful parks and safari areas. It is unusually diverse biologically and, even though under-birded, has one of the largest bird lists in Africa, surpassing 750 species. In addition to birds, Zambia is also a premier destination for mammals, and, including the extension, we should see most if not all the species for which sub-Saharan Africa is famous including perhaps groups of African Wild Dogs.

We’ll begin near renowned Victoria Falls. It stretches for a mile and drops 350 ft creating a mist-forming microclimate surrounding the falls which supports lush green forests full of birds.

Moving to the interior, we’ll visit an area that hosts the localized Black-cheeked Lovebird, and further east to the miombo woodlands around Choma, host to Zambia’s only true endemic, Chaplin’s Barbet. We’ll continue to the northeast and Kasanka National Park where we’ll spend three nights. The birding here is phenomenal and we’ll keep an eye out especially for Fulleborn’s Longclaw, and Pel’s Fishing-Owl. There are plenty of mammals around as well including the Sitatunga, and we should witness hundreds of thousands if not millions of Straw-colored Fruit Bat departing their colonial roosts.

Nearby, we’ll plan a trip to see the highly localized Katanga Masked-Weaver before moving on to Mutinondo Wilderness Area. This is undoubtably the most scenic region of Zambia and our accommodation is nestled among spectacular inselbergs. There’s a whole host of species easier here than nearby Kasanka as well as a few specials including Chestnut-headed Flufftail, African Spotted Creeper, and Laura’s Woodland-Warbler.

We’ll finish the main tour back on the southern border along the Lower Zambezi River valley where we’ll target African Pitta at the best time of year, and we can expect it to be displaying on territory.

For those inclined to extend their tour a bit longer, our extension to South Luangwa National Park should increase the mammal list substantially, with many classic African animals such as hippos, Impala, lion, and giraffe present. Our chance for additional encounters with African Pitta is also high. The highlight bird of the extension is Lillian’s Lovebird, which we are unlikely to encounter on the main tour but are common in Luangwa.