Picathartes or Your Money Back Tour

PICATHARTES OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

The Red-headed Picathartes, (Rockfowl or Bald crows), perhaps the most prized bird in Africa,  are a small genus of two passerine bird species forming the family Picathartidae found in the rain-forests of tropical west and central Africa. They have unfeathered heads, and feed on insects and invertebrates picked from damp rocky areas.  Both species are totally non-migratory, being dependent on a specialized rocky jungle habitat. Both species are listed as Vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List.

This tour that guarantees the sighting of this rare bird species or we will refund 50% of the land portion of the tour fee.  After a short flight to Abuja from Lagos, we will drive to Obudu Cattle Ranch, in the heart of the Cameroon Mountain EBA.  From this comfortable base, we will explore the trails of the Becheve Nature Reserve, a hugh, well protected forest that is home to such species as Bnnerman’s Weaver, White-throated Mountain-Babbler, and Yellow-breasted Boubou.

We will spend at least one day in the lowland forest looking for Red-faced Picathartes, which in this area can usually be seen with little difficulty. We continue on to Agenebode, where we will spend two days searching for birds more typical of Guinea Savanna. The rare Vermiculated Fishing-Owl and the enigmatic Egyptian Plover occur along the Niger River and we will make a special effort to see them.

Our next destination is the Okomu National Park, one of the prime rainforest sites in West Africa.  All the large hornbills and four species of spintails can be seen from the conveniently located platform high up in the forest canopy. From here we continue on to the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, whose lush grounds support over 350 bird species in an area of only 250 acres (100 hectares).  This is the best place to find the Ibadan Malimbe, endemic to Nigeria.