Birding In Odzala
Mboko

by Gaël R. Vande weghe

2015

Mboko provides very good birding opportunities with a diverse mix of forest and savanna mosaic landscapes. The river located behind the lodge and in front of the rooms hosts a variety of specialized species. These include the easily spotted Shining-blue Kingfisher and the Violet-backed Sunbird, which is frequently found exploring the tall vegetation along the riverbank. The savanna is home to several characteristic species such as the Blue-breasted Bee-eater and the Red-necked Spurfowl, with the occasional visit from Forbes’s Plover adding a rewarding element to the experience. Additionally, several paths offer easy forest exploration, allowing visitors to encounter most of the typical forest species. These trails include a boardwalk that links the lodge to the road leading to Lango.

Here are a few species photographed while exploring the surroundings of Mboko and the Lekoli.

 

Congo Serpent EagleDryotriorchis spectabilis

Ayres’s Hawk-EagleHieraaetus ayresii

Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle – Aquila africana

Forbes’s PloverCharadrius forbesi

Narina TrogonApaloderma narina

Dusky Long-tailed CuckooCercococcyx mechowi

Shining-blue KingfisherAlcedo quadribrachys

Red-billed Dwarf HornbillLophoceros camurus

Elliot’s WoodpeckerChloropicus elliotii

Buff-spotted WoodpeckerStictopicus nivosa

Western Black-headed Oriole – Oriolus brachyrynchus

Cassin’s Flycatcher – Muscicapa cassini

Eastern Forest RobinStiphornis xanthogaster

Lowland AkalatSheppardia cyornithopsis

Western Black-headed BatisBatis erlangeri

Verreaux’s BatisBatis minima

Chestnut Wattle-eye – Dyaphorophyia castanea (male)

Chestnut Wattle-eye – Dyaphorophyia castanea (female)

Little GreenbulEurillas virens

Red-tailed GreenbulCriniger calurus

Red-throated SwallowPetrochelidon rufigula

Whistling CisticolaCisticola lateralis

Grey Longbill – Macrosphenus concolor

Violet-tailed SunbirdAnthreptes aurantium

Reichenbach’s SunbirdAnabathmis reinchenbachii

Blue-throated Brown Sunbird Cyanomitra cyanolaema

Marsh Widowbird Euplectes hartlaubi