Namibia and Botswana
Zambia and Namibia
Zambia, Namibia, and Botswana

Zambia is curiously underestimated as a birding destination despite a long list of selling points: it has a high diversity of habitats, many localised species, stable politics and good infrastructure. Those who visit will be welcomed by wonderfully friendly people and get the chance to explore huge expanses of wilderness whilst experiencing some of the finest game-viewing in the world. Amongst the attractions for birders are pulse-quickening miombo bird parties and the most southerly tracts of the great equatorial forests. Zambia lies at the very heart of the Zambezian biome and much of the country remains covered in miombo woodland (typical of central Africa) interspersed with moist grassy dambos along the drainage lines. It is therefore not surprising that Zambia offers the most productive and diverse miombo and dambo birding in the world with opportunities to seek virtually all the species restricted to these fascinating habitats. North of about 14°S one begins to find patches of moist evergreen forest, usually in the centre of dambos. These are known as ‘mushitus’. In the Mwinilunga district of the far north-west, many species typical of the Congolese rainforests can be found in the mushitus, but this habitat also holds its own set of specialties.

Namibia holds another set of amazing endemics, and needs no introduction as one of the most amazing wilderness areas in Africa. Sparse, uninhabited plains, vermillion dune seas reputed to be 150 million years old and stark impressive mountains clothed in flat-topped Acacia’s are the backdrop to this endemic birding bonanza. The great plains of Etosha support enormous numbers of game and their associated predators. The final leg pushes us into the broadleaved woodland of the northeast and the mighty Kavango River. Namibia’s star birding attractions include White-tailed Shrike, Monteiro’s Hornbill, Rüppell Parrot, the Okavango specialities and a gamut of endemic larks and chats. Fortunately, the best areas for birds and mammals overlap extensively. This itinerary allows us to see a huge diversity of southern Africa’s most spectacular birds from a plethora of storks, barbets, bee-eaters, rollers and seedeaters to a host of magical Namibian endemics.