A very special location in search of some of the world’s rarest birds.

Sao Tome and Principe island is not only a pleasant place for tourist, but also for a lot of bird species. Specialists have sighted over 143 species in 40 families on the islands. The number of endemic birds in Sao Tome and Principe equals that of the much more extensive Galapagos Islands and exceeds the Seychelles; they are furthermore much easier to find than those in Hawaii. These factors make them possibly the easiest and most concentrated group of island endemics anywhere in the world!

Species include some wonderfully distinctive and unusual birds. Dohrn’s Flycatcher is in a genus of its own, its former name of Dohrn’s Thrush-babbler suggesting still-unclear  taxonomic relationships. Black-capped and Principe speirops are two of a group of four speirops confined to offshore islands of West Africa and Cameroon—related to the White-eyes, they are distinctive, cute, and precocious! The Giant Weaver really lives up to its name; it is frankly huge. The Sao Tome Weaver has adopted the ecological niche of nuthatch/treecreeper, with behavior quite unusual for a typical weaver. The Sao Tome Sunbird is a rare treat and one of three endemic sunbirds. Its former name of Giant Sunbird is much more apt, as, like the Giant Weaver, it truly is a massive bird compared to its congeners. In addition to these eye-catchers, there is a fascinating and varied range of other endemics, including a paradiseflycatcher, scops-owl, prinia, swift, white-eye, seedeater, oriole, thrush, starling, and four pigeons.

You should also find an interesting “supporting cast” of birds, including many West African mainland specialties such as Olive Ibis, Harlequin Quail, Gray Parrot, Whitebellied and Blue-breasted kingfishers, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Chestnut-winged and Splendid glossy-starlings, Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch, Golden-backed Bishop, and Blue-breasted Cordonbleu. Seabirds and wetland species may include White-tailed Tropicbird, Brown Booby, Bridled Tern, Brown Noddy, Long-tailed Cormorant, and Western Reef-Egret.

Good birding areas are: São João dos Angolares, Lagoa Amélia (mountain forest); São Miguel, Xufexufe and Quija (lowland forest); between Diogo Nunes and Lagoa Azul (north coast savannahs), but also on the island of Principe where parrots lives free in the jungle.