Tooro botanical gardens has an exclusive exposition of birds typical of western Uganda and some of the lower montane species typical of Rwenzori Mountains. There are many common species as well as some of the rarer, more threatened and sometimes migratory species. Perhaps what not many people realize is how rich the gardens are in fauna including Reptiles, Insects, Mammals and specifically birds. The recent bird checklist in the gardens indicate over 241 species sighted.
At the northern gate is a unique habitat where a variety of tree and plantain species that have encouraged to keep an under-story of bushes and shrubs. There is abundant food and cover for a verity of resident birds such as Scaly francolin, Luther bush shrike and black faced Rufous warbler. While in the mother garden, sunbirds, warblers like wood, willow and the Reed warbler, can be found feeding on a myriad of small insects to grain energy for their long journey back to the northern hemisphere.
To the south of the visitors Centre adjacent to the Banda is a magnificent fig trees with palms and Albezia surrounding it. This fig tree is an occasional roost of a pair of verreaux’s engle-owel. Also in the vicinity are Bottle brush and tulip trees much favoured by many various sun birds and flycatchers. Others which can be seen are white browed robin chat(cossypha heuglini),MacKinnon’s fiscal (lanius mackinnoni),African paradise flycatcher(Terpsiphone viridis),Great blue turaco(corytheola cristata),Ross’s turaco(musophaga rossae) and Eastern grey plantain eater(crinifer zonorus) and the iconic banbo warblers.
Moving into the gardens valley bottom an area of Elephant grass, palm and bamboo occurs it habitant for various weave’s such as yellowed-backed, brown throated,bagglafecht and vieillot’s black, while chubb’s cisticola,great swamp warbler and ludher’s-bush like can be found.Mannikins,Grey blacked fiscal, brown throated wattle eye(platysteira cyanea),singing cisticola and speckled mouse bird can also be spotted.
