Irangi Forest

Irangi Forest lies on the eastern slopes of Mount Kenya, within the country’s largest remaining forest block. This vital ecosystem serves as an important water catchment for two of Kenya’s major rivers—the Tana and Ewaso Nyiro.

Recognized as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), Irangi Forest supports exceptional biological diversity at both ecosystem and species levels. The forest is home to a remarkable range of wildlife, including several large mammals of international conservation concern, such as Elephant, Leopard, Giant Forest Hog, Eastern Mountain Bongo, and Black-fronted Duiker. The forest is also notable for the Irangi Frog, a species endemic to Kenya and known only from Irangi and Kimandi on the southeastern slopes of Aberdare National Park.

Irangi Forest is therefore not only an important birding hotspot but also a refuge for rare and threatened wildlife, making it a destination of outstanding ecological significance.

Birding in Irangi forest in conducted on foot, on the many nature trails inside the vast forest

Irangi Forest Birds; Mountain Buzzard, Green Ibis, Hamerkop, Eurasian Hobby, African Goshawk Little Sparrow Hawk, Great Sparrowhawk, Augur Buzzard, Booted Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk Eagle, Crowned Eagle, Dusky Nightjar, Olive Pigeon, Lemon Dove, Red-eyed Dove, Tambourine Dove, Hartlaub’s Turaco, African Emerald Cuckoo, African Wood Owl, Little & White-rumped Swifts, Bar-tailed Trogon, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Moustached& Yellow-rumped Tinkerbirds, White-eared Barbet, Fine-banded Woodpecker, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Lesser Honeyguide, Grey Cuckoo Shrike, Kenrick’s, Sharpe & Abbott’s Starlings, Chestnut &Grey throated Apalises, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Slender-billed Greenbul, Cabanis’s Greenbul, Cinnamon-bracken Warbler, Brown Woodland Warbler, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, Thick-billed Seed-eater.

eBird Hotspot link