Mabamba Swamp - Uganda

Mabamba Bay, also known as Mabamba Swamp, is a 5,990 acre wetland on the edge of Lake Victoria, northwest of Entebbe in Uganda. It is near Kasanje, a small village. It has over 300 birds species and is one of 33 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Uganda and a Ramsar site, which is a wetland of international importance. It has open water and a large open marsh of miscanthus and papyrus that make the swamp rich in species. It is well known as a major breeding site for the shoebill and has one of the highest concentrations of shoebills in the world, about 12 of them. It is rich with lungfish (known as "mamba" in the native language) which is the favorite food of the shoebill. The shoebill is one of the most sought after birds by birdwatchers in Uganda. We went out into the swamp on July 19, 2025 in a motorized wooden boat through a maze of water trails which cut through the thick marsh. One person was at the back of the boat with the motor, steering, and Wilson, our excellent bird guide was near the front. 

Fortunately, we were able to see a shoebill, rated Vulnerable by the IUCN, which stayed pretty still for most of the time we watched it. 

We saw lots of Africa jacana, which we'd seen one of previously in Botswana. It is a gorgeous bird. 

We saw one or two African swamp hens, which I'd not seen before. 

We saw several hadada ibis. I'd seen one previously near Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya.

A little egret, which I've seen previously.

One of my favorite sightings was the long-toed lapwing, which I'd never heard of before. We saw quite a few of them. 

We saw a few malachite kingfishers, which I'd never seen before, which are incredibly colorful. 

The palm-nut vulture, which I'd never seen before, was standing on the high point on a little island.

The pied kingfisher, which I've seen many times, was common, often perching in large groups on the same bush or tree. 

We saw several purple herons which we learned are Wilson's favorite bird. I've seen them before. 

The reed cormorant, or long-tailed cormorant, which I've not seen before. 

The squacco heron which I'd not seen before. 

The western cattle egret which I've seen many times. 

Another favorite was the white-faced whistling duck which I'd never seen before. They are absolutely beautiful. 

Another beautiful bird is the woodland kingfisher, which I'd never seen before. We stayed a couple of nights at the Nkima Forest Lodge which is at the top of the hill above the Mabamba Swamp. My next destination post will be on the Nkima Forest, between Mabamba Swamp and the Lodge. This kingfisher was in a tree right near the water so I'm including it in this post. 

I got a horrible photo of a yellow-billed duck, which I'd never seen before. I had a couple of people in front of me and it flew before I could get a better photo. 

A yellow-billed egret, also a first for me. 

There were also several other birds I'd never seen before that I was not able to photograph. They included the African marsh harrier and the swamp flycatcher. 

We got off to a late start and spent quite a bit of time watching the shoebill which I which we'd abbreviated as the birding was so wonderful. I would love to go back and spend more time on the marsh. 

Oriental Turtle Dove

The oriental turtle dove has at least six subspecies based on geographical variation in plumage. I think I saw more than one, but I have only one photograph of one I saw in the Eastern Range of Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. In trying to determine which subspecies I saw, the western Oriental turtle dove (Streptopelia orientalis meena) winters in India as far south as Sri Lanka. This is option one. The eastern Oriental turtle dove (S. o. orientalis), the nominate subspecies, is found from Assam to Yunnan and northern Vietnam. This is option two. Option three is a subspecies without a common name (S. o. agricola) which is found from Bengal to northeast India. Assam is in northeastern India. In each of the three options, each subspecies is found in other areas I've not descripted, I've just focused on the description that may include Assam, India. 

Range of the Oriental turtle dove from Birds of the World. 

The Oriental turtle dove has a black and white striped patch on the side of its neck. It has a bluish gray forehead, a rufous wash on the nape, a pinkish face, a pale buff throat which merges into a pink-gray on the neck and breast, the iris varies from light red to red-orange or golden and the orbital skin is dark purple or dark pink, the bill is mostly black, gray or dull purple, but red or purplish at gape edges and the base, and so on. The description goes on and on. 

An illustration of the eastern Oriental turtle dove (S. o. orientalis).

The dove I saw looks most like, at least from the back and wing feathers,  S. o. orientalis, or the eastern Oriental turtle dove. 

Oriental turtle dove in Kaziranga NP in Assam, India. 

Boreal Rose-Ringed Parakeet

There are four subspecies of the rose-ringed parakeet. I've previously posted on the Indian rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri manillensis) which we saw in Sri Lanka. On our trip to India in December 2024 we saw another subspecies, the boreal rose-ringed parakeet (P. k. borealis) which is found in northern India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The main difference between manillensis and borealis is that manillensis has a black lower mandible and borealis has a red lower mandible. 

Range map of the rose-ringed parakeet from Birds of the World. As is apparent from the map, the other two subspecies are found in Africa.  

Illustration of female Indian rose-ringed parakeet (manillensis) with black lower mandible from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of female borealis rose-ringed parakeet from Birds of the World. Note the red lower mandible.

Male Indian rose-ringed parakeet with a black lower mandible. 

Male borealis rose-ringed parakeet with a red mandible. 

I saw quite a few borealis rose-ringed parakeets in northern India, most of those in cities. Photos are below:

In the Central Range of Kaziranga NP. A good view of the red lower mandible.

 

In the Eastern Range of Kaziranga. An apparent nesting pair: a female in the cavity of the tree looking down at the male.

In the ruins of Fatehpur Sikri. 

At the Red Fort in Agra.

A beautiful bird at the Buddha Temple in Sarnath, near Varanasi. 

Rhesus Macaque

The rhesus macaque has the widest distribution of any non-human primate and there is great diversity in where it is found in terms of altitude and habitat. They have been used extensively in medical and biological research and one was the first primate astronaut in 1948. There are between six and nine subspecies which are divided between Indian-derived and Chinese-derived groups. It is native to India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Afghanistan, Vietnam and southern China and is found in small groups in Florida and South Carolina. They are good swimmers and tend to move from rural to urban areas where they tend to rely on handouts and refuse from humans. They also are found in larger troops in urban environments.  

We saw many of them in India and it got to the point where I often made no attempt to photograph them. We saw more of them in human habitations, from large cities to small rural environments, than in Kaziranga NP. They could be aggressive and I was warned a number of times by others when I got too close that they could attack. 

The few photos I've got of them in Kaziranga, are as follows. Even in Kaziranga, I got jaded by them and took few photos:

I used my cell phone as a camera outside of Kaziranga and have many photos of them on it. I may get around to adding some of those photos to this post later. 

Mourning Dove

I've previously posted on the mourning dove on August 29, 2020 and on April 28, 2021. I visited the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge headquarters on Saturday, July 5, a very warm day, and it was filled with an overwhelming number of doves, mourning doves in particular. I saw immature mourning doves for the first time and thought I was seeing different birds. Photos from this past Saturday follow:

I photographed this young dove underneath the canopy of a large tree and originally thought it must be a ground dove. 

This immature dove was standing on a bench near the Visitors Center and I thought it might be a new kind of dove. It is much more developed than the first dove, above, but still looks quite a bit different from a mature bird. 

The way these two doves hugged the ground I thought they were ground doves. An enlarged photo of the one on the right below. The white fluffy underbelly threw me off. 

A couple of photos of mature birds.

As my prior posts don't show a range map or illustration, I add them below. 

This is an illustration of the subspecies marginella, the one we have in the western U.S., from Birds of the World. 

A range map from Birds of the World.