Location:
313 km from Kampala via Mbale-Moroto Road.
Air: 269.40 km (167.40 mi) North East of Kampala.
331 km from Kidepo via Kotido-Moroto Road.
Air 247.17 km (153.58 mi) South -South East (SSE) of Kidepo.
Coordinates: 1.6895897, 34.5743179
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve lies in the plains of Karamoja and is the second largest protected area in Uganda, with an area of 2,788 km2.
Pian Upe consists mostly of wooded savanna grasslands with some forests in the north. It is connected to Matheniko Reserve by the Bokora Wildlife Reserve. Mount Kadam near the border with Kenya, is the highest point in the reserve at 3,068m.
The Reserve is most notable for harboring a number of rare animals found nowhere else in Uganda.
These include Cheetahs, Uganda’s only remaining population of Roan Antelopes and special birds of the Somali- Masai biome. Other unique wildlife are: Lesser Kudu, Bright’s gazelle, ostriches, lion, leopard, giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck, Uganda kob, mountain reedbuck, Jackson’s hartebeest and oribi among the many.
On the historical side, there are rock paintings found at various sites within Pian Upe and Matheniko Bokora Wildlife Reserve believed to date back over 3000 years. The art work is believed to have been created by the Kushite and Nilotic peoples.
Birding in Pian Upe
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve Uganda is home to over 300 bird species and it is noted for its bird density. The notable avifaunal species in Pian Upe Uganda include cranes, herons, ostriches, cormorants, African eagles, egrets, horn bills, darters, weavers, Karamoja apalis, Green Bitta Abyssinian ground horn bill, superb starling and secretary bird among the many.
Pian Upe’s ecosystems attract unique bird species that make it an endeared birding hotspot. The reserve’s boundary is broken by the extension of Lake Opeta, one in two places in Uganda and the entire world where the Fox’s Weaver bird can be sighted.
Birds of interest include: The Karamoja Apalis, endemic to northeastern Uganda. Ostriches, , Abyssinian ground Hornbills, Superb Sterlings, and the Secretary birds. The Shoebill can also be sighted.
Pian Upe Game Reserve bird list
- Common Ostrich Struthio camelus
- Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris
- Clapperton’s Spurfowl Pternistis clappertoni
- Vinaceous Dove Streptopelia vinacea
- Black-billed Wood-Dove Turtur abyssinicus
- Namaqua Dove Oena capensis
- Black-bellied Bustard Lissotis melanogaster
- White-bellied Go-away-bird Crinifer leucogaster
- Dideric Cuckoo Chrysococcyx caprius
- Black Cuckoo Cuculus clamosus
- Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus
- African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus
- Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus
- Dark Chanting-Goshawk Melierax metabates
- Little Sparrowhawk Tachyspiza minulla
- Blue-naped Mousebird Urocolius macrourus
- Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus
- Abyssinian Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus minor
- African Gray Hornbill Lophoceros nasutus
- European Bee-eater Merops apiaster
- Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti
- Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus
- Black-billed Barbet Lybius guifsobalito
- African Gray Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae
- Fox Kestrel Falco alopex
- Brubru Nilaus afer
- Northern Puffback Dryoscopus gambensis
- Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis
- Gray-backed Fiscal Lanius excubitoroides
- White-rumped Shrike Eurocephalus ruppelli
- Flappet Lark Amirafra rufocinnamomea
- Kidepo Lark Corypha kidepoensis
- Moustached Grass-Warbler Melocichla mentalis
- Buff-bellied Warbler Phyllolais pulchella
- Karamoja Apalis Apalis karamojae
- Pale Prinia Prinia somalica
- Rattling Cisticola Cisticola chiniana
- Red-pate Cisticola Cisticola ruficeps
- Croaking Cisticola Cisticola natalensis
- Foxy Cisticola Cisticola troglodytes
- Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
- Fan-tailed Grassbird Catriscus brevirostris
- Mosque Swallow Cecropis senegalensis
- Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus
- Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythroryncha
- Superb Starling Lamprotornis superbus
- Greater Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chalybaeus
- Silverbird Empidornis semipartitus
- Gray-capped Social-Weaver Pseudonigrita arnaudi
- Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes rubriceps
- Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus
- Black-winged Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus
- Bronze Mannikin Spermestes cucullata
- Fawn-breasted Waxbill Estrilda paludicola
- Red-cheeked Cordonbleu Uraeginthus bengalus
- Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura
- Shelley’s Rufous Sparrow Passer shelleyi
- Chestnut Sparrow Passer eminibey
- Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow Gymnoris pyrgita
- African Pipit Anthus cinnamomeus
- Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus
- Reichenow’s Seedeater Crithagra reichenowi
- Bruce’s Green-Pigeon Treron waalia
- Brown Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinereus
- Long-crested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis
- Grasshopper Buzzard Butastur rufipennis
- White-headed Barbet Lybius leucocephalus
- Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus
- Northern Crombec Sylvietta brachyura
- Violet-backed Starling Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
- Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser superciliosus
- Fox’s Weaver Ploceus spekeoides
- Cinnamon-breasted Bunting Emberiza tahapisi
- Klaas’s Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas
- White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus
- Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax
- Black Kite Milvus migrans
- Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus
- Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
- Lesser Gray Shrike Lanius minor
- Fan-tailed Raven Corvus rhipidurus
- White-bellied Tit Melaniparus albiventris
- Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
- Rüppell’s Starling Lamprotornis purpuroptera
- Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
- Scarce Swift Schoutedenapus myoptilus
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus
- Giant Kingfisher Megaceryle maxima
- Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
- Marsh Tchagra Bocagia minuta
- Vitelline Masked-Weaver Ploceus vitellinus
- Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis
- Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle Circaetus beaudouini
- Wattled Starling Creatophora cinerea
- Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
- Cardinal Quelea Quelea cardinalis
- Ring-necked Dove Streptopelia capicola
- Scissor-tailed Kite Chelictinia riocourii
- Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus
- Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus
- Rüppell’s Griffon Gyps rueppelli
- Black-chested Snake-Eagle Circaetus pectoralis
- Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis
- Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinicus
- Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica
- Pied Crow Corvus albus
- Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava
- Winding Cisticola Cisticola marginatus
- Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus
- Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata
- Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush Monticola saxatilis
- Whinchat Saxicola rubetra
- Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe
- Isabelline Wheatear Oenanthe isabellina
- Heuglin’s Wheatear Oenanthe heuglinii
- Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata
- Laughing Dove Spilopelia senegalensis
- Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialis
- African Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia microscelis
- Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumenifer
- Hadada Ibis Bostrychia hagedash
- Hamerkop Scopus umbretta
- Gabar Goshawk Micronisus gabar
- Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops
- Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus
- Spot-flanked Barbet Tricholaema lacrymosa
- White-tailed Lark Mirafra albicauda
- Angola Swallow Hirundo angolensis
- Pale Flycatcher Agricola pallidus
- Little Weaver Ploceus luteolus
- Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus
- Northern Gray-headed Sparrow Passer griseus
- Yellow-fronted Canary Crithagra mozambica
- Black Coucal Centropus grillii
- Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis
- Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus
- Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur chalcospilos
- White-crested Turaco Tauraco leucolophus
- White-browed Coucal Centropus superciliosus
- Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala
- Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis
- White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis
- Eastern Chanting-Goshawk Melierax poliopterus
- Northern Red-billed Hornbill Tockus erythrorhynchus
- Olive Bee-eater Merops superciliosus
- Brown-crowned Tchagra Tchagra australis
- Three-streaked Tchagra Tchagra jamesi
- Tropical Boubou Laniarius major
- Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina
- Yellow-vented Eremomela Eremomela flavicrissalis
- Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio
- Lesser Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chloropterus
- White-browed Robin-Chat Cossypha heuglini
- Western Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes longuemarei
- Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus
- White-billed Buffalo-Weaver Bubalornis albirostris
- Chestnut Weaver Ploceus rubiginosus
- White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus
- Black-rumped Waxbill Estrilda troglodytes
- Quailfinch Ortygospiza atricollis
- Bar-breasted Firefinch Lagonosticta rufopicta
- Eastern Paradise-Whydah Vidua paradisaea
- Steel-blue Whydah Vidua hypocherina
- Straw-tailed Whydah Vidua fischeri
- White-crested Helmetshrike Prionops plumatus
- African Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis
- Siffling Cisticola Cisticola brachypterus
- Cabanis’s Greenbul Phyllastrephus cabanisi
- Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis
- Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus
- Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius
- Western Banded Snake-Eagle Circaetus cinerascens
- Wahlberg’s Eagle Hieraaetus wahlbergi
- African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta
- D’Arnaud’s Barbet Trachyphonus darnaudii
- Northern Red-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus uropygialis
- Gray Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus
- Chinspot Batis Batis molitor
- Western Black-headed Batis Batis erlangeri
- Taita Fiscal Lanius dorsalis
- Singing Bushlark Mirafra javanica
- Yellow-bellied Eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis
- Green-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brachyura
- Gray-capped Warbler Eminia lepida
- Boran Cisticola Cisticola bodessa
- White-headed Buffalo-Weaver Dinemellia dinemelli
- White-browed Sparrow-Weaver Plocepasser mahali
- Holub’s Golden-Weaver Ploceus xanthops
- White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata
- Red-necked Falcon Falco chicquera
- Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea
- Little Swift Apus affinis
- Northern Fiscal Lanius humeralis
- Rufous Chatterer Argya rubiginosa
- Marico Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis
- Heuglin’s Masked-Weaver Ploceus heuglini
- Black Bishop Euplectes gierowii
- Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild
- Swamp Nightjar Caprimulgus natalensis
- Grayish Eagle-Owl Bubo cinerascens
- White-rumped Swift Apus caffer
- Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
- Small Buttonquail Turnix sylvaticus
- Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos
- Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus
- Mourning Collared-Dove Streptopelia decipiens
- African Hawk-Eagle Aquila spilogaster
- Red-headed Quelea Quelea erythrops
- Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea
- Banded Martin Neophedina cincta
- Rufous-chested Swallow Cecropis semirufa
- Zebra Waxbill Amandava subflava
- Red-winged Pytilia Pytilia phoenicoptera
- Meyer’s Parrot Poicephalus meyeri
- Lesser Striped Swallow Cecropis abyssinica
- Bat Hawk Macheiramphus alcinus
- Copper Sunbird Cinnyris cupreus
- Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys
- Knob-billed Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos
- African Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus
- African Crake Crecopsis egregia
- Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius
- European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus
- Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus
- Yellow-crowned Canary Serinus flavivertex
- Gray-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala
- Black-throated Barbet Tricholaema melanocephala
- Greater Honeyguide Indicator indicator
- Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida
- Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes orientalis
- Speckle-fronted Weaver Sporopipes frontalis
- Mouse-colored Penduline-Tit Anthoscopus musculus
- Standard-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus longipennis
- Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus
- Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus
- Eastern Olivaceous Warbler Iduna pallida
- Bank Swallow Riparia riparia
- Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei
- White-bellied Bustard Eupodotis senegalensis
- Abdim’s Stork Ciconia abdimii
- Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus
- Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus
- Brown-backed Woodpecker Dendropicos obsoletus
- African Black-headed Oriole Oriolus larvatus
- Brown Babbler Turdoides plebejus
- Gray Apalis Apalis cinerea
- Rock Pigeon Columba livia
- African Cuckoo Cuculus gularis
- Black-headed Lapwing Vanellus tectus
- African Darter Anhinga rufa
- Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens
- Lizard Buzzard Kaupifalco monogrammicus
- African Goshawk Aerospiza tachiro
- Woodland Kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis
- European Roller Coracias garrulus
- Cardinal Woodpecker Dendropicos fuscescens
- Woodchat Shrike Lanius senator
- Red-faced Crombec Sylvietta whytii
- Splendid Starling Lamprotornis splendidus
- African Gray Flycatcher Bradornis microrhynchus
- Northern Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis
- Purple-banded Sunbird Cinnyris bifasciatus
- Wing-snapping Cisticola Cisticola ayresii
- Whistling Cisticola Cisticola lateralis
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus
- Afep Pigeon Columba unicincta
- Dusky Turtle-Dove Streptopelia lugens
- Common Swift Apus apus
- Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
- Lesser Spotted Eagle Clanga pomarina
- Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus
- Mountain Buzzard Buteo oreophilus
- Black Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus aterrimus
- Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus flavirostris
- Sooty Falcon Falco concolor
- Olive-green Camaroptera Camaroptera chloronota
- Carruthers’s Cisticola Cisticola carruthersi
- Gray-rumped Swallow Pseudhirundo griseopyga
- Plain Martin Riparia paludicola
- Purple Starling Lamprotornis purpureus
- Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala
- African Firefinch Lagonosticta rubricata
- Black-throated Apalis Apalis jacksoni
- Black Sawwing Psalidoprocne pristoptera
- African Pied Wagtail Motacilla aguimp
- Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio
- African Yellow-Warbler Iduna natalensis
- Coqui Francolin Campocolinus coqui
- Denham’s Bustard Neotis denhami
- Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus
- Jackson’s Hornbill Tockus jacksoni
- Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
- Red-tailed Shrike Lanius phoenicuroides
- Red-throated Crag-Martin Ptyonoprogne rufigula
- Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii
- Alpine Swift Tachymarptis melba
- African Swift Apus barbatus
- Ethiopian Swallow Hirundo aethiopica
- Horus Swift Apus horus
- Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
- Crested Francolin Ortygornis sephaena
- White-chinned Prinia Schistolais leucopogon
- Levaillant’s Cuckoo Clamator levaillantii
- Black-rumped Buttonquail Turnix nanus
- Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleschanka
- Gray Crowned-Crane Balearica regulorum
- African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus
- Yellow-billed Egret Ardea brachyrhyncha
- Stout Cisticola Cisticola robustus
- Fan-tailed Widowbird Euplectes axillaris
- Red-faced Cisticola Cisticola erythrops
- Black-crowned Waxbill Estrilda nonnula
- Black-headed Weaver Ploceus melanocephalus
- Crimson-rumped Waxbill Estrilda rhodopyga
- Brimstone Canary Crithagra sulphurata
- Black-headed Gonolek Laniarius erythrogaster
- Grosbeak Weaver Amblyospiza albifrons
- Slender-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus clarus
- African Marsh Harrier Circus ranivorus
- Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus
- Northern Black-Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides
- Familiar Chat Oenanthe familiaris
- Nyanza Swift Apus niansae
- White-throated Bee-eater Merops albicollis
- White-headed Sawwing Psalidoprocne albiceps
- Little Bittern Botaurus minutus
- Pygmy Batis Batis perkeo
- Slate-colored Boubou Laniarius funebris
- Black-cheeked Waxbill Brunhilda charmosyna
- Compact Weaver Pachyphantes superciliosus
- Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata
- White-bellied Canary Crithagra dorsostriata
- Parasitic Weaver Anomalospiza imberbis
- African Thrush Turdus pelios
- Spotted Eagle-Owl Bubo africanus
- Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl Ketupa lactea
- Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba
- African Green-Pigeon Treron calvus
- Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus
- Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus
- Green-backed Eremomela Eremomela canescens
- Upcher’s Warbler Hippolais languida
- Garden Warbler Sylvia borin
- Verreaux’s Eagle Aquila verreauxii
- Bronze-tailed Starling Lamprotornis chalcurus
- Ashy Flycatcher Fraseria caerulescens
- Mocking Cliff-Chat Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris
- Hartlaub’s Bustard Lissotis hartlaubii
- Cut-throat Amadina fasciata
- Western Cattle-Egret Ardea ibis
- Amethyst Sunbird Chalcomitra amethystina
- Blue-spotted Wood-Dove Turtur afer
- White-browed Scrub-Robin Cercotrichas leucophrys
- Spotted Morning-Thrush Cichladusa guttata
- Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca
- Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis
- Black Cuckooshrike Campephaga flava
- Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni
- Bearded Woodpecker Chloropicus namaquus
- Red-fronted Barbet Tricholaema diademata
- Singing Cisticola Cisticola cantans
- Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus
- Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
- White Stork Ciconia ciconia
- Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor
- African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus
- Brown-throated Wattle-eye Platysteira cyanea
- Gray-headed Batis Batis orientalis
- Common Reed Warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus
- Gray Tit-Flycatcher Fraseria plumbea
- Black-and-white Mannikin Spermestes bicolor
- Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cristatus
- Double-toothed Barbet Pogonornis bidentatus
- African Hobby Falco cuvierii
- Piapiac Ptilostomus afer
- African Dusky Flycatcher Muscicapa adusta
- Green-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis
- Northern Double-collared Sunbird Cinnyris reichenowi
- Red-chested Sunbird Cinnyris erythrocercus
- Golden-backed Weaver Ploceus jacksoni
- African Fish-Eagle Icthyophaga vocifer
- Spectacled Weaver Ploceus ocularis
- Scaly Spurfowl Pternistis squamatus
- White-throated Greenbul Phyllastrephus albigularis
- Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
- African Pygmy-Goose Nettapus auritus
- Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
- Striated Heron Butorides striata
- Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
- Pygmy Sunbird Hedydipna platura
- Tacazze Sunbird Nectarinia tacazze
- Northern Brown-throated Weaver Ploceus castanops
- Reed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus
- Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
- African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus
Source: ebird