Uganda’s forest parks hold some of Africa’s most spectacular large birds — the hornbills and turacos that move through the canopy in noisy, colourful groups are among the first species that imprint on visitors regardless of their birding experience. These are birds that non-birders immediately notice and want to identify. This guide covers the hornbill and turaco species visible on a Uganda self-drive circuit, where to find them, and what distinguishes each species.
Great Blue Turaco: Uganda’s Most Spectacular Bird
The Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) is an absurdly large and colourful bird — 70 cm long, 900g, with brilliant turquoise-and-green plumage, a yellow bill, and a red-tipped crest. It moves through the forest canopy in noisy groups of 3–8, calling loudly and gliding between trees with its large wings spread. Found at Kibale Forest, Bwindi margins, Bwindi forest edge habitats, and in riverine forest near Fort Portal. It is impossible to mistake once seen — there is nothing quite like it in Uganda’s forest.
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill: Savannah Giant
The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus) is Africa’s largest hornbill — a turkey-sized bird that walks the savannah grassland on foot rather than flying, hunting small vertebrates and invertebrates with its massive casqued bill. The species walks in family groups of 3–6 and is easily visible on open savannah. Best sites: Murchison Falls north bank (particularly the Pakuba circuit), Queen Elizabeth Kasenyi Plains, and Kidepo Valley. Male birds have vivid red facial skin; females have purple-blue facial skin. One of the most dramatic savannah birds in Uganda.
Black-and-White Casqued Hornbill
The Black-and-White Casqued Hornbill (Bycanistes subcylindricus) is a large forest hornbill with a spectacular ivory bill and casque. It occurs in pairs and small groups in Kibale Forest, Bwindi, and Budongo Forest at Murchison Falls. The call — a braying, harsh honk that carries hundreds of metres through the forest — announces its presence before the bird itself is visible. One of the most characteristic sounds of Uganda’s lowland forests.
Ross’s Turaco and Others
Ross’s Turaco (Tauraco rossae) is a stunning dark-blue turaco with crimson wing flashes and a golden-yellow bill — visible at Kibale and Bwindi in the canopy edge. The Purple-crested Turaco occurs in more open woodland and is sometimes seen at Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo. The Eastern Grey Plantain-eater is the most commonly seen turaco in Uganda — grey and yellow-billed, found in virtually every woodland habitat from lake shores to park boundaries.
Car Hire 4×4 Drive provides vehicles for Uganda birding circuits covering hornbill and turaco species across all major parks. Contact us for vehicle rental for your Uganda birding safari.
