Angola trip report: all endemics and 535 species!

Michael Mills has spent over a year in Angola, where he conducts ground braking bird research, records vocalisations and prioritises conservation sites. He had been the sole birder to have seen all of Angola’s endemics, until he led a Birding Africa trip to Angola in August 2011 and reported:

“Over the 19 days of birding we notched up a superb list of species, making this expedition the most successful birding trip to Angola to date. Every participant enjoyed outstanding views of every single Angolan endemic bird, plus local specials such as Bocage’s Sunbird, Brazza’s Martin, Black-and-rufous Swallow, Anchieta’s Barbet, Bocage’s Weaver, Bannerman’s Sunbird, White-headed Robin-Chat and Cinderella Waxbill. While our focus was very much on the endemics and specials, we amassed a respectable total of 535 species.”

See the Birding Africa trip report for a full list of species recorded, with details of the best sightings for each family.

To join the next Birding Africa Angola expedition from August 14 until 1 September 2012 with Michael Mills, please contact info@birdingafrica.com or phone +27 21 531 9148.

Angola's near-endemic Bocage's Sunbird was seen along dambos in the Mount Moco area on the Birding Africa trip in 2011. Nectarinia bocagei © Alexandre Vaz

We watched several brightly coloured male Bocage's Weavers display at their nest sites in the Angolan highlands on this Birding Africa tour. Ploceus temporalis © Alexandre Vaz

The little-known Brazza's Martin Phedina was discovered in the Angolan highlands by Michael Mills in 2005. We watched it sing from its perch and saw it superbly in flight. Phedina brazzae © Alexandre Vaz