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After decades of civil war and with limited tourist infrastructure, it is not surprising that there are few ornithological records from Chad in recent years. However, with a bird list of over 500 species including Schlegel’s Francolin, Niam-Niam Parrot, River Prinia and Rusty Bush Lark, it offers opportunities for the more adventurous birder should the security situation improve.
Chad is a very large country with bordering Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, Libya, Sudan and the Central African Republic. The climate is tropical in the south and desert in the north with arid plains in the centre, mountains in the north-west and lowlands in the south. Lake Chad is the most significant body of water in the Sahel.
Lake Chad and Lake Fitri are of importance for Palearctic migrants and Lake Fitri is also significant as a drought refuge for Afrotropical waterbirds.
Tibesti Massif, Fada Archei and Ouadi-Rimé - Ouadi-Achim have a number of Saharan-Sindian restricted range species including Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse and Crowned Sandgrouse, White-crowned Black Wheatear and Blackstart.
Lake Chad has 9 restricted range Sahel species including the little known River Prinia. Lake Fitri also holds a major proportion of the western population of Black-crowned Crane.
Zakouma National Park, Binder-Léré and Manda National Park are in the south of Chad with a number of Sudan-Guinea Savanna species including Red-throated Bee-eater and Gambaga Flycatcher.
Text supplied by the African Bird Club
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Black-crowned Crane © Ecsedi Zoltan
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