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African Openbill Was the Most Abundant Bird in a Central Ugandan Forest Reserve Survey

African openbill standing at the edge of shallow wetland vegetation
Research · Ecology

A bird survey in Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve in central Uganda found African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) to be the most abundant species recorded across the study area. The species accounted for 7.2% of all recorded individuals and was also significantly associated with the combination of forest-edge and lakeshore-wetland habitats.

A point count is a survey in which observers remain at a fixed location for a set period and record birds seen or heard, allowing sites to be compared in a standardised way.

A transect is a predefined line or route used to survey an area systematically, with observations, signs or sampling points recorded along it.

Researchers surveyed the 80-hectare reserve on the shore of Lake Victoria between 21 April and 5 May 2025. They used 16 fixed point-count stations together with line transects crossing forest interior, forest edge and lakeshore-wetland habitat. In total, 66 bird species from 30 families were recorded.

African openbill had the highest relative dominance of any species in the survey, ahead of hamerkop at 5.0% and hadada ibis at 4.6%. The lakeshore and wetland zone accounted for 47% of all individual birds recorded, compared with 34% at the forest edge and 19% in the forest interior. It also had the highest species richness and diversity among the three habitats.

African openbill was one of only two species especially associated with the combined forest-edge and lakeshore-wetland habitats; the other was hadada ibis. Across the whole bird community, species composition differed significantly among the three habitat types, showing that the reserve’s forest interior, edge and wetland areas supported distinct assemblages of birds.

Sources and image credit

  1. Wayirawo, A. M. (2026). Community structure and composition of avian species in heterogeneous habitats of East Africa protected forest reserve, implications for planning sustainable bird tourism in Central Uganda. Discover Forests, 2, 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44415-026-00074-zPrimary open-access peer-reviewed study published 25 March 2026. Surveys in Kitubulu Central Forest Reserve recorded 66 bird species; African openbill was the most abundant species at 7.2% of individuals and a significant indicator of combined forest-edge and lakeshore-wetland habitat (IV = 0.85, p = 0.044).

Image: Derek Keats — wild African openbill photographed in Chobe National Park, Botswana, on 20 December 2016; representative species image, not a bird from the Uganda study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · CC BY 2.0 · Source

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