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 the Ewaso Nyiro. Recognized as an Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), Irangi  forest boasts exceptional biological diversity, both in ecosystems and species.

The forest is home to a variety of fauna, including several large mammals of international conservation concern such as Elephant, Leopard, Giant Forest Hog, Eastern Mountain Bongo, and Black-fronted Duiker. Remarkably, the Irangi Frog, a species endemic to Kenya, is only found here and in Kimandi, on the south-eastern slopes of Aberdare National Park.

Irangi Forest is thus not only a birding hotspot but also a haven for rare wildlife, making it a destination of great 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