Albertine Rift Endemic (ARE) species only exists in the mountain forests (above aproximately 1,700 m) in eastern DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and south-east Uganda. Between 26 and 29 ARE bird species exists in Rwanda and all are present in Nyungwe National Park, most also in the forests of the Volcanoes and the smaller blocks of Gishwati, Mukura and Busaga.

The jury is still out whether, the Ruwenzori Nightjar, the Kivu Ground-Thrush and the Willard’s Boubou, all three present in Rwanda, are just local forms of wider afrotropical mountain birds or real Albertine Rift Endemics.

24 are very common to common, never fully guaranteed but still relatively easy to see at the right seasons. Two species, the Kivu Ground-Thrush and the Dwarf Honeyguide requires a bit of luck. A third species, the Albertine Owlet, is probably more common than observed, but like most forest owls, is not an easy bird. The Rockefeller’s Sunbird and the Shelley’s Crimonswing are the rarest, most difficult to find. Shelley’s Crimsonwing was last seen in Nyungwe in 2012 but more recently in the Volcanoes.

At last, our unicorn, the Congo Bay Owl, remains to be absolutely confirmed despites a few highly probable records, in both Nyungwe and the contiguous Kibira forest in Burundi.