Birding Tour Madagascar: 14-day Best of Madagascar Birding and Wildlife

Best of Madagascar: 14-day Birding and Wildlife Tour
October 2021/2022/2023

 

Madagascar! Our world’s fourth-largest island is, quite simply, unique. Five bird families and five mammal families (including the lemurs) are endemic to this massive island, and half the world’s chameleons, weird and wonderful endemic plant families, and tons of other wildlife can be found here. An astonishing 120 bird species are endemic – including such exotic groups as vangas, ground rollers, Cuckoo Roller, couas, asities, and mesites. Lemurs vie for attention, from the tiny mouse-lemurs to the marvelous sifakas and the amazing Indri with its calls that resound through the forest. Our tour visits a range of habitats: grasslands, dry deciduous woodland, the bizarre spiny forest with its odd octopus trees (Didiera madagascariensis) and elephant’s foot trees (Pachypodium rosulatum), lush eastern rainforest, as well as lagoons and mudflats. The birds that we’ll look for include the roadrunner-like Long-tailed Ground Roller and the stunning Pitta-like, Scaly, and Rufous- headed Ground Rollers as well as the highly prized Subdesert Mesite, the unforgettable Giant Coua, the astounding Velvet Asity, and Madagascan Ibis, to name just a handful. We invite you to join us on a special tour to an amazing island!

Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur just hanging around.

 

We offer the following pre-tours and extension to this tour, which all can also be booked as a stand-alone tour:

7-day Northwest (Ankarafantsika/Betsiboka Delta) Pre-pre-tour

One hundred and twenty-nine species of birds have been recorded in the north-western Ankarafantsika National Park, more than half of them endemic to Madagascar. They include Van Dam’s Vanga, Rufous Vanga, the elusive Banded Kestrel, and the more easily observed Madagascan Fish Eagle, which can often be seen at Ravelobe Lake. The endangered Humblot’s Heron can also be seen at Lake Ravelobe.

6-day Masoala Peninsula Pre-tour

The Masoala Peninsula pre-tour can generate the unbelievable Helmet Vanga, Brown Mesite, and Short-legged Ground Roller, as well as the largest – and most bizarre – nocturnal lemur, the Aye-aye, and a stack more.

We hope to find Short-legged Ground Roller on our Masoala Peninsula pre-tour.

 

6-day Berenty Reserve Extension

Although most famous for its dense lemur population, with hundreds of individuals per square kilometer (research on lemurs has been continuing here for more than three decades), Berenty Reserve is also a haven for birdwatchers, boasting a high number of endemic species. With luck we might be able to find Madagascan Sandgrouse, Madagascan Green Pigeon, Torotoroka Scops Owl, and perhaps even Madagascan Cuckoo-Hawk here.

This tour can also be combined with our Namibia, Okavango, and Victoria Falls tour.

 

Itinerary (14 days/13 nights)

 

Day 1. Arrival in Antananarivo

Your international flight, or domestic flight if you have joined our Masoala extension, arrives in Antananarivo (shortened to “Tana” by most people). After arrival you will be transferred to your hotel.

Overnight: Relais des Plateaux, Antananarivo

 

Day 2.  Drive to Andasibe, afternoon birding Analamazoatra Special Reserve

Early today we embark on a three-to-four-hour drive to Andasibe, one of Madagascar’s premier rainforest sites. Here the unforgettable call of the Indri resounds through the beautiful Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. In the afternoon we will visit its Analamazoatra section. We’ll find the Indri with ease, along with other spectacularly beautiful species such as Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. Birding is unbelievable, with four different ground rollers possible, along with two nightjars, including the bizarre Collared Nightjar at its daytime roosts. Madagascan Owl, Rainforest Scops Owl, and a suite of nocturnal lemurs and chameleons await us on a night walk in the area.

Overnight: Andasibe Hotel, Andasibe

Collared Nightjar at its day roost!

 

Days 3 – 4. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

We spend two more nights in Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, birding the beautiful primary and secondary forests of the area. We spend the whole day on day 2 and the morning of day 3 in the Mantadia National Park section, while returning to the Analamazoatra section in the afternoon of day 3. We should find Velvet Asity, Common Sunbird-Asity, Benson’s Rock Thrush (Forest Rock Thrush), Madagascan Flufftail, many vangas including Blue Vanga and Nuthatch Vanga, Madagascan Blue Pigeon, Madagascan Cuckooshrike, several endemic warblers such as Rand’s Warbler, and more. We have stakeouts for Madagascan Grebe, the rare Meller’s Duck, and Madagascan Rail. We expect our first couas, Red-fronted Coua being a likely candidate. We should also see a few lemurs such as Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur. We certainly don’t ignore other non-avian wildlife and often see Giraffe Weevil, Madagascar Tree Boa, and many chameleons.

Overnight: Andasibe Hotel, Andasibe

 

Day 5. Drive to Antsirabe, birding on the way

We embark on a long and scenic road trip, breaking the journey to amazing Ranomafana National Park in the south-east of the island with one night in Madagascar’s second largest city, Antsirabe.

Overnight: Couleur Café, Antsirabe

An inquisitive Blue Vanga.

 

Day 6. Transfer to Ranomafana National Park

We hope to see many of Madagascar and its neighboring islands’ common endemics en route to the national park, including species such as Madagascan Wagtail, Malagasy Kingfisher, Mascarene Martin, Malagasy Kestrel, Malagasy Bulbul, and many others.

Overnight: Setam Lodge, Ranomafana

 

Days 7 – 8. Birding Ranomafana National Park

At the magnificent Ranomafana National Park we are in for a real treat. The rainforest here is similar to that at Andasibe, but it is a better place for several species we won’t yet have seen, such as the rare Yellow-bellied Sunbird-Asity, the recently described Cryptic Warbler, Madagascan Yellowbrow, Grey-crowned Tetraka, Pollen’s Vanga, Grey Emutail, Wedge-tailed Jery, Madagascan Snipe, and numerous others. As always in a new part of the island we expect new lemurs, such as Golden Bamboo Lemur. The reptiles here include Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko.

Overnight: Setam Lodge, Ranomafana

 

Day 9. Isalo National Park

After some final birding at Ranomafana while hoping to clean up there, we begin another scenic road trip across the island, with the possibility to stop shortly at Anja Community Reserve. Today we start heading westward, to much drier parts. We’ll spend one night in the beautifully picturesque Isalo National Park. Here we’ll search for some more star birds, such as Benson’s Rock Thrush (Forest Rock Thrush) and the attractively patterned Madagascan Partridge.

Overnight: Relais de la Reine, Isalo

 

Day 10. Transfer westwards to Ifaty, birding en route

We head towards the spiny forests of the southwest. This will be like entering a completely new world, and there is nothing else like this weird landscape anywhere in the world – Africa, although geographically close by, is nothing like Madagascar in landscape or wildlife. However, before reaching these spiny forests we first have another fascinating drive that should generate some of Madagascar’s most localized birds. On our drive westwards towards the spiny forests we stop at a unique dry deciduous forest at Zombitse National Park, inhabited by the Critically Endangered (IUCN) Appert’s Tetraka, Coquerel’s Coua, the incomparable Cuckoo Roller, which we often see displaying, and various other goodies. Then we bird a coastal site further west for two incredibly localized species endemic to “coral rag scrub”, Verreaux’s Coua and Red-shouldered Vanga. We should also start finding our first of more widespread dry-area birds, including Subdesert Brush Warbler and others.

Overnight: Les Dunes d’Ifaty, Ifaty

The incomparable Cuckoo Roller.

 

Day 11. Birding the spiny forests near Ifaty

A world away from the eastern rainforests, after much anticipation, we now bird the spiny forests near Ifaty, where baobabs and Didiera trees provide an absolutely unique habitat for a host of sought-after Madagascar endemics, among them such incredible birds as Long-tailed Ground Roller, Subdesert Mesite, Sickle-billed Vanga, Archbold’s Newtonia, Banded Kestrel, Thamnornis, Lafresnaye’s Vanga, Red-capped Coua (the local olivaceus subspecies, “Green-capped Coua”), Running Coua, and others. We also visit a site for Madagascan Plover.

Overnight: Les Dunes d’Ifaty, Ifaty

 

Day 12. Drive from Ifaty to La Table near Toliara

Today we will explore, on our drive to Toliara, a small hill reminiscent of Table Mountain in Cape Town, here called La Table. Behind it is a small area of scrubby forest, where we will search for the now famous Red-shouldered Vanga, the last lifer Phoebe Snetsinger saw before she was killed in a car accident (while birding!), and the localized Verreaux’s Coua. We hope to locate both, as well as possibly Lafresnaye’s Vanga.

Overnight: Hotel Victory, Toliara

Sooty Falcon can be seen around Antananarivo.

 

Day 13. Flight to Tana, birding the city

We fly back to Tana and bird sites around this fascinating capital city for Sooty Falcon, Eleonora’s Falcon, Malagasy Pond Heron, and many other birds.

Overnight: Relais des Plateaux, Antananarivo

 

Day 14. Departure

After some final birding in the city either your international flight leaves Tana for home, or we will fly to Fort Dauphin for the Berenty extension.

 

Please note that the itinerary cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. In addition, we sometimes have to use a different international guide from the one advertised due to tour scheduling.

 

ADDITIONAL EXTENSIONS:

Please note that Madagascar is a huge island, and we offer remote extensions for some of Madagascar’s toughest endemics, including Madagascan Serpent Eagle, Red Owl, Madagascan Pochard, and Sakalava Rail.

Download Itinerary

The Best of Madagascar, Birds and Wildlife Trip Report

17 -31 October 2019

By Jason Boyce

DOWNLOAD TRIP REPORT

The Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher was a special bird on this tour; it was our local guide’s favorite bird of all times!

 

Itinerary at a glance                                                                         Overnight

 

Day 1, 17 Oct – Arrival day and local birding                                      Antananarivo

Day 2, 18 Oct – Travel to and birding at Andasibe                             Andasibe

Day 3, 19 Oct – Andasibe-Mantadia National Park                            Andasibe

Day 4, 20 Oct – Analamazoatra Special Reserve                                Andasibe

Day 5, 21 Oct – Travel to Antsirabe                                                       Antsirabe

Day 6, 22 Oct – Antsirabe to Ranomafana National Park                Ranomafana

Day 7, 23 Oct – Ranomafana National Park                                        Ranomafana

Day 8, 24 Oct – Ranomafana National Park                                        Ranomafana

Day 9, 25 Oct – Isalo National Park                                                       Isalo

Day 10, 26 Oct – Isalo to Zombitse-Vohibasia to Ifaty                       Ifaty

Day 11, 27 Oct – Spiny Forest                                                                   Ifaty

Day 12, 28 Oct – Nose Ve boat trip, then transfer to Toliara             Toliara

Day 13, 29 Oct – Birding around Toliara, flight to Antananarivo     Antananarivo

Day 14, 30 Oct – Antananarivo                                                                Antananarivo

Day 15, 31 Oct – International flights home

  

Overview

 

The wonderful world that is Madagascar, the Eighth Continent! It’s easy to see why the world’s fourth-largest island has been given this name. There is a strong African influence in both Madagascar’s fauna and flora, but certainly there also is enough unique wildlife to justify a nickname such as this.

We started the tour at two premier rainforest sites, first Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and then Ranomafana National Park. Both sites produced incredible sightings of various ground rollers, vangas, tetrakas, asities, Cuckoo Roller, and Brown Mesite. Night walks produced incredible close-up sightings of many chameleons, frogs, and of course nocturnal lemurs such as the cute Rufous Mouse Lemur. The central plateau region on the way to the south-western coastal sites was incredibly scenic, and the birding en route in Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park was special. Here we had our first taste of the terrestrial couas as we encountered both Coquerel’s and Giant Couas, and White-browed Owl was also a treat. Toliara and Ifaty were next on the itinerary, and the Spiny Forest was fascinating. Long-tailed Ground Roller and Sickle-billed Vanga certainly stole the show, but we also enjoyed many coua species as well as the weird Subdesert Mesite. A boat trip to the tiny island of Nosy Ve was eventful and produced the expected Red-tailed Tropicbird and the unexpected Great Frigatebird.

 

Detailed Itinerary

 

 Day 1, 17^th October 2019 – Arrival day and local birding in Antananarivo

Our whole group arrived safely the previous day, some of the group from a successful pre-tour to the Masoala Peninsula and others from the main Johannesburg connection. It was to be a very relaxed “catch-up” day today, but even so most of the group opted to join a morning birding session at the well-known Parc Tsarasaotra. The small lake here, surrounded by scrub and various larger trees, is a great introductory birding locality. Hundreds of Red-billed Teals and White-faced Whistling Ducks overwhelm you as you enter the gates, while a few pairs of the endemic Meller’s Duck can be picked out among them. We loved watching a pair of Madagascan Hoopoes drop in alongside us to feed a chick in a cavity in a tree. Red Fody occurred in good numbers, while Common Jery and Malagasy Brush Warbler were less common. The small island in the middle of the lake has a host of various egrets and herons, many in full display and others with chicks: Great Egret, Dimorphic Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Black Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, and, most notably, Malagasy Pond Heron. A few Madagascan Mannikins were flitting over the footpath, and a pair of Madagascan Swamp Warblers showed well in the reedbed. Another highlight was finding a White-throated Rail, which responded incredibly well to a burst of playback. It sauntered up the small bank and crossed the open path. Malagasy Kestrel and Mascarene and Brown-throated Martins as well as a few Malagasy Kingfishers were some of the last species that we added for the day. We rested up after lunch and prepared for our journey to Andasibe the following day.

Certainly one the most enjoyable sightings of the first day was watching this Madagascan Hoopoe feeding it’s chicks.

 

Day 2, 18^th October 2019 – Drive to Andasibe, birding Analamazoatra Special Reserve

We had a 6 a.m. breakfast in “Tana”, and by 7 a.m. we were on the way to one of Madagascar’s premier rainforest birding sites, Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. One or two brief stops en route produced sightings of the bizarre Hamerkop, Striated Heron, Three-banded Plover, Brown-throated Martin, African Palm Swift, and a couple of Common Sandpipers. One of the regular Madagascan Pratincole sites produced a single bird perched up on the rocks in the middle of the river.

After a long drive on a road that is unfortunately getting worse we enjoyed a much-needed lunch and rest. At the lunch stop we picked up a few great birds; here we had our first vanga sighting, that of Chabert Vanga. We also encountered some Broad-billed Rollers, Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher, Greater Vasa Parrot, and Ward’s Flycatcher.

Then we met our site guide and headed into the forest. After starting with a lovely little Rainforest Scops Owl at a day roost we soon bumped into a mixed-species flock, which included Madagascan Cuckooshrike, Blue Vanga, Crested Drongo, Forest Fody, and Stripe-throated Jery. Madagascan Wood Rail was also a real treat; a single bird was moving slowly, fairly unphased by our presence, on the forest floor. The site guides in Madagascar are the unsung heroes; they spend much time staking out birds and communicating with each other by sharing locations of tricky species in order to show their groups as much as possible. Our guide took us to a roosting Collared Nightjar next, what a bird! Nuthatch Vanga was also stunning; a single bird was seen on the nest. We also thoroughly enjoyed spending some time with a couple of lemur species here; a small group of Brown Lemurs was indeed fun to watch. But most of us were unsurprisingly more impressed by the family group of Indris nearby. The Indri mother, with an incredibly cute baby attached to its side, was unphased by our presence and continued with her day-to-day activities. We also heard a couple calling over the course of the next few days, their vocalization can give you goosebumps! The next animal we saw, we almost didn’t see; it took us a while to spot the master of camouflage, a Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko. The way these creatures wrap themselves around a mossy tree trunk and blend in is just incredible. Our first coua was the arboreal Blue Coua, hopping through the trees in a similar way to African turacos. We went out for a night walk later that evening.

Andasibe Night Walk: Our second Short-horned Chameleon and our first Nose-horned Chameleon were seen. The latter is incredible small, one of the smallest chameleon species on the island. We also thoroughly enjoyed our first mouse lemur in the form of Goodman’s Mouse Lemur and also found a couple of Geoffroy’s Dwarf Lemurs moving around the mid-strata of the forest.

One of the most iconic lemurs in Madagascar is the Indri.

 

Day 3, 19^th October 2019 – Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

We left fairly early for Mantadia National Park – the meaning of “mantadia” is best described by some local people as “not-made-well road”; we can confirm that the road definitely needs an upgrade. Nevertheless we arrived after picking up Blue Coua, Rand’s Warbler, Madagascan Blue Pigeon and a few Olive Bee-eaters and headed straight into the mature forest on the hunt for ground rollers. Unfortunately, try as we might, we could only hear the likes of Scaly and Short-legged Ground Rollers, but we did have a superb sighting of Pitta-like Ground Roller a couple of hours into our forest walk. We watched the bird call a number of times; the way in which it tilts its head downward and puffs up its whole throat to call was interesting to observe. Long-billed Bernieria and Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher were showing pretty well in some nearby thick forest.

How’s this for a bird? The Pitta-like Ground Roller.

 

We birded near a small forest lake for a while and were excited to find Red-fronted Coua nearby. A single Madagascan Spinetail cruised overhead, while more Olive Bee-eaters were hawking insects here too. The little lake held Red-billed Teal, Meller’s Duck, Madagascan Grebe, Broad-billed Roller, and Madagascan Magpie-Robin, as well as a pair of breeding Madagascan Wagtails. On the track back toward Andasibe town we stopped to try for Madagascan Flufftail, which we heard calling but did not see. Madagascan Mannikin and Madagascan Cisticola did show nicely, though. Probably the best surprise of the day came after we got back to the lodge, where we found a single Madagascan Buttonquail feeding on the open sandy section alongside a path. What a striking bird, and amazing to see for an extended period of time!

The cracking Madagascan Buttonquail was happy to walk out in the open with a couple of onlookers.

 

Day 4, 20^th October 2019 – Analamazoatra Special Reserve and surroundings

Well, we had a remarkable morning in terms of finding birds nesting or breeding. We entered the special reserve at opening time, and within our first three hundred meters we had both Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher and Crossley’s Vanga on nests. What was really interesting is that these birds were breeding within twenty meters from each other. The Crossley’s Vanga was a pretty special sighting, both the male and the female birds coming back a couple of times with worms for the chick. A little further along we encountered a pair of White-throated Oxylabes building a nest about one meter off the ground. Madagascan Flufftail, like all flufftails, can be really tough; we heard a bird calling nearby and tried to get visuals in the undergrowth. Further on we encountered a few Common and Green Jeries as well as a breeding pair of Nelicourvi Weavers. The reserve holds some spectacular vegetation, and the hiking through the forest is beautiful. “Bird’s nest ferns” as well as different forms of Euphorbia are interesting to see up-close. We were shown where a Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko was roosting, and once again it took some of us a good few minutes to actually see it, even though it was at eye level and within one meter from us. Other species we encountered that morning included Tylas Vanga (also breeding), Hook-billed Vanga, Common Newtonia, and Malagasy Kingfisher.

A female Nelicourvi Weaver.

 

We headed back to the lodge, enjoyed a good meal, and were informed that the local guides had managed to find a Madagascan Owl. We went to find this bird in one of its usual day roosts. Later that afternoon we gave Madagascan Rail a try; we only caught glimpses but did not manage any really good visuals. We were, however, rewarded for our efforts as we found Madagascan Buzzard, one bird eating a prey item in a large tree and another seen in flight, calling. Western Barn Owl was also a nice find; a single bird appeared a good half hour before sunset, an unusual occurrence. Last but not least was an enjoyable sighting of Madagascan Nightjar that gave great fly-by views at almost exactly 6:30 p.m., the same time that it had started calling the night before.

 

Day 5, 21^st October 2019 – Travel day south to Antsirabe

We started our journey to Tana, where we stopped for lunch before heading south to Antsirabe. We stopped a few times between the rice fields, where a Striated Heron stop soon turned into a reptile stop, and we managed to see Lateral Water Snake and a beautiful male Carpet Chameleon. Some avian species we picked up en route were Malagasy Kestrel, Mascarene and Brown-throated Martins, Dimorphic Egret, and Black Heron. We arrived safely in Antsirabe late in the afternoon and used the opportunity to stock up on supplies and run a few errands before another fairly long day’s travel tomorrow.

A beautiful Carpet Chameleon that we found en route.

 

Day 6, 22^nd October 2019 – Antsirabe to Ranomafana

We started the day by checking the gardens for bird activity, but except for Malagasy Green Sunbird and a few Red Fodies we didn’t manage to find much exciting on the avian front. A large Oustalet’s Chameleon grabbed the spotlight, however – it was great to watch it move slowly up a small tree in the gardens. The many sights along the windy road to Ranomafana certainly kept us entertained. It was interesting to see the how the Malagasy people go about their day-to-day activities in the many small villages en route. Rice paddies dominate much of the landscape in the central regions, and getting an opportunity to see the incredibly labor-intensive work of planting and re-planting serves as quite an eye-opener. Our lunch spot produced Yellow-billed Kite, Malagasy Kingfisher, and a few Madagascan Snipes. Some car trouble later that afternoon delayed us slightly, but before long we arrived in Ranomafana, enjoyed a meal, and got set for a long day tomorrow in the magnificent Ranomafana forest.

 

Day 7, 23^rd October 2019 – Birding Ranomafana National Park

Ranomafana literally means “hot water” in Malagasy, due to the hot springs that occur in the area. The springs aren’t the only thing that’s hot, though: We had some of our best birding and animal sightings over the next two days here. Our morning started with a slightly unexpected sighting of a small flock of Helmeted Guineafowl moving along the side of the road. We spent a full morning in Ranomafana National Park and were rewarded with some great birding. The entrance to the trailhead produced African Palm Swift as well as Malagasy Black Swift, Rand’s Warbler, Chabert Vanga, and Malagasy Green Sunbird. The forest seemed more active than usual, and we soon picked up a party including Red-tailed, White-headed, Tylas, and Blue Vangas. Madagascan Cuckooshrike as well as Common Newtonia also showed well. We found a Pitta-like Ground Roller and had some good visuals. Soon afterwards a single male Milne-Edwards’s Sifaka came by for a visit. A small group of tetrakas included Spectacled and Grey-crowned Tetrakas and a single Wedge-tailed Jery. After having heard Madagascan Cuckoo for a few days without visuals we finally were able to see it. The highlight of our morning, though, was surely the pair of Brown Mesites that we managed to track down; we had great visuals of an incredibly tough-to-see bird! This was one of those trips where we managed to find many species breeding; we picked up both Pollen’s Vanga and Rufous Vanga on nests – certainly great to see for many reasons. We also encountered a few other interesting creatures. A couple of reptiles kept us entertained; Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko as well as Brown Leaf Chameleon put on a nice display. A few Lowland Red Forest Rats (always said by rolling the “R’s” intensely) were also around skulking through the undergrowth.

In my opinion the Brown Mesite is one of the tougher birds to locate in Ranomafana National Park. We did well to locate a pair on call and then had good visuals of both birds.

 

We had lunch back at the lodge and made our way out again in the afternoon. Another Madagascan Owl was found at one of its roosting sites, perched very low down to the ground in comparison to our previous sighting. Our afternoon session was spent walking one of the trails to the north of the main road. A rather flat (in comparison) trail is known for the likes of Velvet Asity as well as the tricky Rufous-headed Ground Roller. We certainly hadn’t expected to pick up two of our main targets so quickly, but soon we had quick looks at Velvet Asity, and a Common Sunbird-Asity also put in a quick show before we were startled by the call of Rufous-headed Ground Roller calling very nearby. We turned our attention to this beauty, gave it a burst of playback, and were very soon looking at this stunning endemic that had come to inspect.

Certainly one of the more striking-looking vangas is Pollen’s Vanga.

 

Ranomafana Night Walk: Ranomafana is well known for night walks, and we had a productive evening: O’Shaughnessy’s and Blue-legged Chameleons were showing well, males and females of both species. The incredibly cute (and, inside joke – “so annoying”) Rufous Mouse Lemur was curious and came right near to where we were standing. Eventually we saw a Geoffroy’s Dwarf Lemur as well – a super evening!

 

Day 8, 24^th October 2019 – Ranomafana National Park

Our second full day at Ranomafana National Park was also a good one. We started on the northern trailhead, where we had found the Rufous-headed Ground Roller. Here we did well to find male and female Velvet Asities. Asities and Sunbird-Asities form a family of their own (Philepittidae) and are certainly some of the “odder” species to be found on the island. A small flock of Spectacled and Grey-crowned Tetrakas entertained us for a few minutes on the main trail. Brown Emutail was heard nearby, and so we did our best to get visuals of this mouse-like warbler. Our first bird was not very cooperative, but the second bird we found gave some nice visuals (with some effort). Red-fronted Coua was also hanging around here, and we had a nice look at it too. Thanks to our sharp-eyed local guide we also picked up a brilliant male O’Shaughnessy’s Chameleon in this area. A mammalian highlight of the morning was Ring-tailed Vontsira (Ring-tailed Mongoose) – a pair of these interesting mongoose-like animals rushed out on the path in front of us as we headed back to the vehicle.

Velvet Asity put on a great show for us.

 

Later in the afternoon we headed to some marsh areas to give Grey Emutail, among other things, a try. The emutail played hard to get, but we had great visuals on our second attempt. We were incredibly surprised when we noticed another Western Barn Owl cruising during daylight hours over some of the indigenous woodland.

 

Day 9, 25^th October 2019 – Travel to Isalo National Park

We had an early breakfast and left Ranomafana behind after some great birding and wildlife sightings. Our first stop would be the Anja Reserve run by local communities in the area. Having as few as forty a few decades ago, Anja is now home to over four hundred Ring-tailed Lemurs. It was in fact National Lemur day today, and perhaps that brought us the luck we needed as we enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a few different groups of Ring-tailed Lemurs, three-week-old youngsters as well. We continued south toward Isalo National Park, picking up Madagascan Lark at a few roadside locations. We did enjoy watching flocks of Yellow-billed Kites feeding on grasshoppers that were escaping some grassland fires. Forest Rock Thrush of the bensoni subspecies was also found not long before we arrived at Isalo. The incredible sandstone rock formations behind the lodge make for a beautiful setting! Once again Madagascan Nightjar was very active at dusk in the hotel grounds.

 

Day 10, 26^th October 2019 – Isalo to Ifaty via Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park

A morning walk around the grounds of the lodge was beautiful. The riverine woodland, small agricultural fields, and some fantastic rocky landscapes produced a few nice bird species, which included Broad-billed Roller, Pied Crow, Olive Bee-eater, Namaqua Dove, Madagascan Cisticola, Malagasy Kestrel, and a pair of Madagascan Hoopoe. We made sure to arrive in Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park before things started to get too hot and spent a good three hours in the reserve. Appert’s Tetraka was one of our first targets, and we got great visuals of a pair moving low across the forest floor. Long-billed Bernieria and Common Newtonia were also in attendance. The bizarre Cuckoo Roller was literally all over, with birds displaying on the wing above the forest canopy all morning. We also had a few visuals of this species perched. It wasn’t long before we found both Coquerel’s and Giant Couas, both ground-dwelling coua species that we were able to follow until we managed to get good visuals through some dense foliage. We also went to see a White-browed Owl that the local guides had found for us, a fantastic way to end the morning. Madagascar is known for hosting six species of baobab trees, and today we saw our first species of the trip, Adansonia za, known as Bozy in Malagasy, one of two baobab species endemic to Madagascar.

Once you locate a Giant Coua it can be incredibly confiding.

 

From Zombitse-Vohibasia we continued south toward Toliara. En route we stopped for a couple of key species, but a few more common birds were encountered first, namely Madgascan Lark, Namaqua Dove, and Crested Drongo. After quite a search we did pick up both Verreaux’s Coua and a cooperative Red-shouldered Vanga! We knew that we would not have the chance to find these two species at the Spiny Forest near Ifaty. The day was coming to an end, so we checked in and enjoyed a fantastic meal and a couple of drinks.

 

Day 11, 27^th October 2019 – Birding the Spiny Forest

We were on the road by 4:50 a.m., and before sunrise we had begun our walk in one of Madagascar’s most extraordinary habitats, the Spiny Forest. The flora here is so different from other areas of Madagascar, certainly worth a walk just for the exciting plants. In terms of birds we had a great morning as well. Our first sightings were of two coua species, a Running Coua and the “green-capped” oliveiceps subspecies of Red-capped Coua. Common and Stripe-throated Jery were calling all over the place, while small flocks of Grey-headed Lovebirds came cruising by a few times. More common species here included Crested Drongo and Souimanga Sunbird. We were very fortunate to see Subdesert Mesite on a nest that the local guides had managed to stake out for us; we had great visuals of this member of one of Madagascar’s endemic families. Surely a candidate for “bird of the trip” (let alone bird of the morning) was the stunning Long-tailed Ground Roller which, even though it shows a bright azure-blue in its plumage, can blend in pretty well with its surroundings. A pair of Archbold’s Newtonias was the center of attention for a few minutes as they came into some small, scrubby bushes right between members of our group. Our next specials were a couple of very sought-after vangas. Lafresnaye’s Vanga called while we were still taking pictures of the Long-tailed Ground Roller – we turned our attention to it and were incredibly lucky to see it perched right on top of one of the larger surrounding Octopus Trees (Didierea madagascariensis) – a great sighting of a fairly tough-to-see bird. Next was Sickle-billed Vanga, but this species was certainly more difficult to find. Luckily its call carried quite a distance through the vegetation, and after a couple of kilometers of walking through its known haunts we found a pair and had great visuals of a male bird sitting up, calling rather loudly.

A distant Sickle-billed Vanga was a real treat!

 

After we left the wonderful Spiny Forest behind, Madagascan Plover was next on our agenda. A known site produced one in a rather short time. The large Humblot’s Heron was a little more challenging; we searched the mangroves that can be visible from the main road to Ifaty and found one wading pretty deep in the ocean. That was the end of a seriously productive morning; it was time for brunch and a good rest until later that afternoon, when we would “mop-up” a few things we may have missed. One of the very few species we had missed was Thamnornis, and we thought that it was going to be “the one that got away” until our local site guide exclaimed: “Thamnornis!” with some gusto. We had superb close-up looks. Madagascan Sparrowhawk showed briefly too. We took some time to observe the incredible flora in the forest, getting pictures of the various plants and baobabs too. We stayed in the Spiny Forest as the sun set and got our torches and night gear ready to see what nocturnal life we could find.

Spiny Forest night walk: It had been so hot today, and it didn’t cool down much after sunset. Nevertheless we stayed out and were rewarded with a couple of lemurs. First was the tiny Grey Mouse Lemur, of which we ended up seeing another later on in the evening too. Our second lemur was White-footed Sportive Lemur. Last but certainly not least was a magical sighting of a Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec – I had previously only seen it in the small ball that they roll themselves into as a defense, but this one walked around a bit, allowing us to see it really nicely.

The cute Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec.

 

Day 12, 28^th October 2019 – Boat trip to Nose Ve 

One of the more adventurous day trips on the tour is the day to the beaches of Anakao and then to the island of Nose Ve for Red-tailed Tropicbird. We started the day with an early breakfast and then made our way to the boat dock and began our journey south. We encountered a number of Greater Crested Terns flitting around between the many colorful local fishing vessels that were out on the water. It was a good morning to be on the ocean; the wind hadn’t picked up yet, and the water was beautiful. Flying fish sightings were also fun. We arrived safely in Anakao and took a walk to look for Littoral Rock Thrush. For a while we were wondering if someone super-glued the rock thrush to the top of a small tree behind a lodge as we sat watching it for some time before it moved off. Here we also encountered Sakalava Weaver, Red Fody, and many Subdesert Brush Warblers.

After some good Madagascan coffee we jumped back into the boat and headed for Nose Ve. We stopped on the northern side of the island and took a walk south, during which we picked up Grey Heron, Greater Crested Tern, Dimorphic Egret, and soon Red-tailed Tropicbird. These tropicbirds breed on this island and are a real treat to see. They were soon considered second-best, though, as a frigatebird was spotted in the distance! Any frigatebird here is a pretty decent sighting, and eventually we got close-up looks at a female Great Frigatebird! Well done, Eric! This was almost the last bit of wildlife viewing we had for the day, because the wind came up and we started our travels back to the lodge in Toliara.

Certainly the surprise of the trip, a female Great Frigatebird was cruising around Nose Ve.

 

Days 13-14, 29^th– 30^th October 2019 – Birding around Toliara and return to Antananarivo

A small wetland site called Belalanda to the north of Toliara is good for shorebirds and other waterfowl; we spent the morning here before heading back for brunch. Upon arrival a small flock of about a dozen Lesser Flamingos were nice to see as well as many Kittlitz’s Plovers. Other shorebirds here included Curlew Sandpiper, Common Ringed Plover, Common Sandpiper, and Whimbrel. One of our main target birds here was Baillon’s Crake, which we managed to hear calling in the reedbeds and with a bit of work managed to see in open sections between the reeds. Black-winged Stilt and Little Grebe were both very active and rather noisy too. A single Malagasy Kingfisher was around, and both Madagascan Cisticola and Red Fody were visible on the surrounding scrubby bushes. Some ducks, including White-faced Whistling Duck and Red-billed Teal, were seen before we headed back after an enjoyable morning.

This pretty much marked the end of our tour, because some flight issues (which Air Madagascar is well-known for) meant that we had to head back earlier than planned. A rest day in Antananarivo was welcomed by the group before many of them continued on to other tours in Southern Africa.

It is almost impossible to decide on the five best birds of this tour of Madagascar, but here are the 10 “most popular” birds and mammals of the tour as voted for by local guides, the participants, and me as the tour leader (in no particular order):

1. Diademed Sifaka
2. Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher
3. Brown Mesite
4. Rufous-headed Ground Roller
5. Ring-tailed Lemur
6. Giant Coua
7. Long-tailed Ground Roller
8. Sickle-billed Vanga
9. Great Frigatebird
10. Baillon’s Crake

 

Please see the downloadable PDF above with the full species lists included. This is a sample trip report. Please email us ([email protected]) for more trip reports from this destination.

Preparing for Madagascar: what to expect

 (in spring/early summer, i.e. the September-December period)

 

Despite the fact that Madagascar is only 400 kilometers (250 miles) from the African mainland, it is absolutely nothing like Africa. Some of its birds have more affinity to Asia than to Africa, but the most striking thing about Madagascar is how different its bird, animal, and plant life is from ANYWHERE else in the world. With five endemic bird families, and about half the bird species endemic, and with every single native mammal species being endemic (!), including endemic families such as lemurs and the hedgehog-like tenrecs, Madagascar is the ideal place to see unique wildlife!

It’s a fabulous wildlife country, but there are also a few items that you need to mentally prepare for, so that you can gain maximum enjoyment from your trip. Here are some points to help you prepare for your tour:

 

1) Madagascar is about quality and not about quantity. Some birders are disappointed by the small numbers of individuals and species seen – it’s one of the countries with the fewest number of species relative to its size, but birders need to realize that the relatively few birds that one does see are incredibly special. Don’t expect lots of species or big numbers of any one species. Also, much of the country is covered in rice paddies, and most of the natural habitat has been destroyed, so be prepared to drive through a lot of relatively sterile (from a wildlife point of view) monoculture. In no ways does this make Madagascar any less amazing. It has all the endemic bird, mammal, and plant families and contains some of the planet’s most unique wildlife!

2) If Africa is the third world, then Madagascar is the fourth world. You’ll see extreme poverty.

3) Please visit your doctor or a travel clinic before your trip to get precautions against possible “hotely belly”, as this is horribly common in Madagascar, even when eating at good restaurants, staying at comfortable accommodations and even when being careful about drinking only bottled water and avoiding unpeeled/uncooked vegetables/salads. Imodium, Valoid, and an antibiotic such as Cipro in bad cases should be carried (but please consult your doctor for proper advice before the trip). Please visit your travel clinic or doctor for antimalarial medications and possible vaccinations, and please also take a close look at the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control) for comprehensive health information about Madagascar. Some people also opt for leech socks, since leeches do occur in Madagascar, although we don’t usually encounter many of them.

4) It’s good to have an idea of what the climate in Madagascar is like. Rain is possible but usually not a big problem in the “dry” season when we run our tours. It can be very hot and humid, but it can also be surprisingly cold in the highlands, where we spend a fair amount of time. So bring layers expecting cold to very hot weather and possibly rain. The desert areas such as Ifaty can be extremely hot and dry, and in fact we are sometimes forced to cram birding activity into the first hour or so of daylight because of the sweltering heat there in Ifaty.

5) There are some reasonably strenuous walks in Madagascar, so please bring hiking boots as well as comfortable shoes to change into during the evenings if your boots get wet or you get blisters. There might be opportunities for swimming and snorkeling (especially when it is too hot for birding). Sun protection such as sunblock, sunglasses, etc., is advised.

6) On days in which we’re doing forest birding please kindly be considerate of the other tour participants, since it can get frustrating when only the front people see the birds. Please do not be offended when the tour leaders enforce the “rules for group tours”, such as not spending all your time at the front with the tour leader on the trails but staying only five minutes at the front before dropping to the back again to give everyone a fair chance. The tour leaders work hard to get everyone onto every bird species, and with patience everyone should see everything. The practice of rotating seats on the vehicle(s) is also something that the tour leaders will oversee.

7) Accommodation is in general fair and quite comfortable but not luxurious. Generally there is warm to hot water for baths or showers and there is electricity for charging camera gear. But not everything works 100 percent of the time here in the “fourth world”, so expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised if it’s better than expected. Sometimes there is power for charging only in the lodge restaurants and not in the rooms, or only when the generator is on. Electrical sockets are the same as in Europe (except the UK) – 2-prong and 220 Volts ITA Type C (please note that a lot of South African equipment can be plugged directly into these – it’s the same socket as the common 2-prong adapters South Africans use in their homes).

8) Air Madagascar has the monopoly as far as domestic flights within the country go (and, since it’s a massive island with bad roads, one has to fly between some of the sites). Air Madagascar flights are, unfortunately, completely unreliable, and scheduled flight times can change on the day of the flight until even one hour before the scheduled departure. On our usual two-week circuit (“The Best of Madagascar”) we only have one flight at the end of the trip, back to Tana (the commonly-used abbreviation for the capital Antananarivo), but on comprehensive trips (when you do all the extensions/pre-trips shown on our website, basically) we can have six to eight local flights, and one has to be philosophical about the fact that, because of Air Madagascar, the itinerary is never set in stone and changes invariably happen!

9) We often do night walks in Madagascar to see nocturnal lemurs, reptiles, and birds – so bring a flashlight/torch/headlamp!

10) As of January 2018 visitors to Madagascar have been using the e-visa system, either getting an e-visa in advance online or on arrival in Tana. Please carefully check the latest visa requirements for your nationality, though. Madagascar does give free visas to certain nationalities from time to time (e.g. for South Africans); otherwise they usually cost around 30-60 euros. Visas are payable in major currencies or the local currency (ariary, MGA) and usually also by card if the system is working. But even if you arrange your visa in advance expect some chaos when you arrive in Tana.

11) You may wish to draw local currency (ariary) for tips, souvenirs, etc. at the airport ATM just after arrival, and you can also speak to your guide when your money starts running short, so you can stop in the next few days when you drive through the next town with an ATM. You can also change most major currencies, but in general euros will give you the best rate in Madagascar. When you do change money ask for more small bills that you think you will need; these will come in handy for tips. (You can also use one-euro coins and one-dollar bills for tips if you have these.)

12) In Madagascar it’s a legal requirement to employ park guides, a local guide and driver. These highly competent people are, of course, extremely useful, e.g. the park guides keep track almost daily of the whereabouts of some of the more difficult species, thus minimizing the chance we’ll dip on anything important. But some people are thus understandably surprised that these trips seem a bit “over-staffed” (including also our full-time international tour leader) with so many people to potentially tip. Tipping is not compulsory, but most trip participants do like to tip staff who have worked hard to provide them with a great experience on their tour – our tipping guidelines and advice are shown here.

 

Please don’t let any of these concerns dissuade you from visiting Madagascar; it’s an essential destination for any serious world birder and a “must-visit” place for those wanting to see the world’s most bizarre wildlife.

 

Useful books for Madagascar:

Bird guide – please see our recommended field guides to the seven continents and islands web resource.

Mammal guide – Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide by Nick Garbutt.

We suggest you look for plant, chameleon (Madagascar has over half the world’s chameleons!), and other guides, too! Wildlife of Madagascar (Wildlife Explorer Guides) is a guide to all of Madagascan wildlife, including birds and even some plants, with excellent text and pictures.

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