Blogs posted from this ecoregion:
The ecoregion is constituted by the higher elevation montane forests of the volcanic ridges that have been thrown up by the tectonic activity along the Great Rift Valley. It covers parts of five countries: Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi, and a few small isolated massifs in Tanzania.
Description of the Ecoregion
A detailed description of the ecoregion can be found at WWF’s site (the map above is a screen shot from that Wildfinder site).
The ecoregion is primarily montane forests but transitioning to other forest types at its edges, including forest-savanna matrices. At very high elevations, it grades into juniper forests, heathlands and montane grasslands.
Birds of the Ecoregion
Biologically it is perhaps most famous for mountain gorilla populations which can be found for example in Virungas National Park and Kahuzi-Biega National Park of the DRC and in Rwanda and Uganda.
There are important numbers of bird endemics in the ecoregion. WWF notes that: “Birds also possess exceptional levels of endemism with 30 strict endemics and another 16 near endemics, although no one genus dominates”.
Resources for the Ecoregion Birder
I have not come across any resources specific to the birds of this ecoregion.