SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE, January 2025

Africa’s second smallest country, by both surface area (1,001 square kms) and population (250,000) is nestled in the crook of the Gulf of Guinea. The equator passes through one of its rocky islets at the southern tip of São Tomé. Together with two distant islands belonging to Equatorial Guinea (Annobón and Bioko), they form a line running north to Cameroon, remnants of volcanic activity almost 31 million years ago.  São Tomé, the larger and younger of the two inhabited islands, is 300 km west of Gabon. Its bedrock formed 16 million years ago. Príncipe, much smaller, the oldest, is 160 km northeast of São Tomé. These geological metrics have granted the islands a cornucopia of biodiversities, and the apt moniker “Africa’s Galapagos”.

The desire to visit this little-known far-flung nation grew as I discovered articles, mostly by birders, describing its intriguing wealth of endemic birds, secluded beaches, and thick tropical rainforests. There are also several endemic subspecies, some of which may be upgraded to full-species status in future, and some fascinating individual species: the largest sunbird and weaver, the smallest ibis, and the globe’s most range-restricted subspecies. Factor in the islands’ rich over 500-year-old history, delicious coffee and world-class chocolate, and it’s just a matter of time before this paradise starts seeing many more tourists.

The seafaring Portuguese discovered the islands around 1470 and settled there before 1500. It became a significant commercial centre for the Atlantic slave trade. Africans from Portuguese colonies – Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique – were brought in to work the fertile lands. The islands were at one stage Africa’s leading sugar exporter. Coffee and cocoa were introduced in the early 19^th century and a hundred years later they were the world’s largest cocoa producer. These crops continue to provide much of the country’s foreign revenue today.

São Tomé and Príncipe gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Birding the Chocolate Islands

The nation’s two main islands host 27 endemic birds: 17 on São Tomé, eight on Príncipe, and two which occur on both. The Island Bronze-naped Pigeon is near-endemic. It also occurs on Equatorial Guinea’s Annobón, 200 km away.

Most of the packaged bird tours and private excursions I looked at whilst planning our adventure, spanned about ten days. Late January would include a big birthday and a special anniversary, so we added a few days for downtime. They would also allow for unexpected rain, waterfalls and beaches, chocolate tasting, and second attempts on stubborn species. As it turned out, these all intertwined, and as we learned, no rain in the tropics is unexpected. There’s a good reason why the forests are so lush.

I’ve tabled the endemics below, summarising my attempts to find and photograph the nation’s enticing avifauna. The travel notes that follow provide some practical information that I hope will assist others planning a trip to this fascinating country.

Of the 27 endemics and the near-endemic pigeon, I was able to see 25. Additionally, I heard the Príncipe Scops Owl and the São Tomé Olive Pigeon. The only one that completely “got away” was the Príncipe White-eye, an increasingly difficult bird to find on the smaller island’s southern shores. Many interactions were once-off sightings; some of those birds could easily have eluded us. Somehow, it’s the possibility of not seeing something special that is part of the allure. Good luck out there!

30% of the island’s surface area is protected in mountainous primary forests rising to 2,024 metres above sea level at São Tomé Peak.

Most of the São Tomé specials were seen in Obô Natural Park of São Tomé at one or both of two locations: Monte Carmo, accessed from the southeast, and the northern section which is accessed from the botanical garden at Bom Sucesso. I’ve labelled these MC and BS below.

Príncipe’s endemics

Endemic to both São Tomé and Príncipe

Planning

The best birding periods coincide with the dry seasons, namely June to September, and December to February. It can still rain, as we discovered, but hiking will be more difficult in the wet seasons. The climate is hot and humid ranging from 27 °C at sea level to 20 °C at higher elevations, with little fluctuation from day to day. Our clothes and shoes were permanently wet and dank. Bring a spare set of hiking longs for the forest. Moisture and mosquitos are aplenty. You’ll need a good headtorch when looking for the owls.

We flew from Cape Town (our hometown) to São Tomé City – the capital – via Luanda on Angolan Airlines (TAAG). If you’re coming from Europe, Portugal’s TAP is the most frequent airline (about four flights per week). Príncipe is accessed via daily 30-minute domestic flights from São Tomé. We used STP Airlines. The schedules are susceptible to time changes (from minutes to days) and this should be factored into your planning, e.g. don’t plan your return home from the capital a few hours after your expected landing from Príncipe. We planned an extra two nights back in São Tomé to allow for this eventuality.

São Tomé’s roads vary from good (the minority) to terrible (potholes, gravel, 4×4). The Suzuki Jimny is the most popular car hired, especially by those wanting to access Monte Carmo and Bom Sucesso. We managed without a 4×4, with high clearance, but I would choose a 4×4 next time. We used São Férias / Your Car whose employees met us at the airport on arrival and departure for the handover. The tank may not be full and you’ll need to return it at the same level. Fill up in town as there aren’t many fuel stations once you leave the city. It is harder and unnecessary to hire a vehicle in Príncipe. The roads are worse, and the island is much smaller. We used guides with vehicles, and paid for transfers, when required.

Portuguese is spoken throughout the country. Some guides and hotel staff can converse in French and English, but generally, especially in rural areas, Portuguese is all they speak. We downloaded the language on Google Translate for offline usage. It proved immensely useful.

You’ll need a guide for the rarer endemics. Read on for their contact details.

A local sim is very useful. We used CST. Office staff in the city loaded the card and data.

Local currency is the dobra (25 STD to €1 @ January 2025). Note that: few places outside the city take credit cards; there are no ATMs outside the city; and the ATMs don’t dispense large amounts (1,500 STD (€60) per day). Fortunately, Euros (cash) are accepted everywhere.

Our first week in São Tomé

We collected our vehicle from an agent at the airport and drove the few kilometres into the city for a local sim, some dobra, fuel, and groceries for our planned two nights of camping on Monte Carmo in the southeastern part of Obô Natural Park. Early roadside birds included Western Cattle Egret, Pin-tailed Whydah, Common Waxbill, and Laughing Dove, as we headed south on deteriorating roads.

Roça de São João Angolares is a beautifully restored rural eco-tourism venture with five-star cuisine 30 minutes from the Agripalma oil palm plantations, where you’ll enter the park. It’s the perfect place to start your Santoméan adventure: the endemic flycatcher, weaver, prinia, thrush and Newton’s Sunbird all made their debut in that first hour of our arrival, wandering through the hotel’s extensive gardens.

But the island’s rarest birds, the São Tomé Ibis, São Tomé Fiscal, São Tomé Shorttail and São Tomé Grosbeak, require a visit to the high forest on Monte Carmo. These are the “Monte Carmo Specials”. I’d recommend a night or two of camping in the forest to maximise your chances of seeing them. We brought an extra bag for our tent, sleeping bags and mattresses. The ibis, grosbeak and fiscal are all listed as Critically Endangered, with between 50 and 250 birds remaining; the shorttail is listed as Vulnerable.

The grosbeak and shorttail are probably the toughest to find. The fiscal is equally scarce, but territorial, so it’s easier to find if you know where to look. You should stumble into an ibis or two on the trails or perched near a nest. The São Tomé Scops Owl might also need a night up there. I’m not sure we would have seen all five if we’d stayed in the village.

We met a Swedish mother and son, avid birders, who’d been staying at the roça and who were accessing the forest daily, as part of their three-week quest to see all the endemics. The shorttail was their last outstanding bird and this was their fourth day and final attempt. We soon learned that we were going to be led by the same guide, Mitu, for the day.

Mitu lives on the plantation and will meet you on the road early in the morning. 05:00 in our case. We drove another 15 minutes and then hiked to the forest’s edge. It was still dark, and much darker in the woods, so we waited for first light.

We saw our first São Tomé Green Pigeon, tucked under the forest’s thick canopy. But the morning was aimed at targeting the shorttail, since the couple’s previously visited locations hadn’t been successful. We scrambled down a steep muddy slope to a rocky stream where Mitu had recently seen one. We saw it briefly, hopping down the stream’s boulders and out of sight. This enigmatic species is, surprisingly, in the wagtail family. There’s barely a tail to wag.

Something rustled in the leaves nearby and soon we were a few meters away from the island’s only lethal creature, the endemic São Tomé island forest cobra, an impressive reptile on any scale. We took our consolation pictures and gave her a wide berth.

It was just past 7 a.m. and the very content Swedes were happy to just tag along while Mitu led us onward and upward in search of the other sought-after specials. Giant Sunbirds whizzed through the mid canopy. These are the world’s largest sunbird (if you exclude Asia’s Spectacled Spiderhunter) but size wasn’t an impediment. We had another two or three sightings of these spectacular almost-black birds but would have to wait to visit the northern edge of the park to get a reasonable photo.

By 9 a.m. we’d been introduced to the Príncipe Seedeater (São Tomé form), the São Tomé Oriole, and the Island Bronze-naped Pigeon (fleetingly). We continued up the trail, past our campsite, to Mitu’s last São Tomé Fiscal location and were treated to a few minutes’ close encounter with this most-stunning yellow-bellied forest shrike. Third-time lucky. It was the first species finally willing to be photographed. That’s forest birding for you.

Returning to camp, we had our first sighting of the São Tomé Ibis, smallest of the world’s 29 extant ibises, and we were incredibly fortunate to be visited, albeit briefly, by a single São Tomé Grosbeak, back at camp. Some estimates put their numbers below 50. They were considered extinct until their rediscovery in 1991.

The on-and-off morning drizzle had increased to a steady downpour by the afternoon. We escaped to our tent for a nap, emerging later for a quick pasta, happy in the rain.

We heard the São Tomé Scops Owls at night but couldn’t find them during lulls. The showers continued determinedly the next morning, so we decided to pack our soggy gear and head off the mountain. Fortunately, Mitu spotted a grumpy-looking scops owl sheltering from the rain. With added bounce in our steps we headed to the vehicle, and some respite from the weather.

I’d forgotten to look for or ask Mitu about the Giant Weaver. The Agripalma was cited as the best place to see it. I hoped it would present further north.

Mitu can be contacted via WhatsApp on +239 994 2746 but you’ll need to translate your texts to Portuguese first. It helped to keep things brief – he only answers one query at a time. He’s a fine gentleman who knows the local birds well, and he’ll take good care of you when you overnight at the rustic encampment in the forest. There is drinking water nearby, so there’s no need to carry more than you’ll want in those first few hours.

With an unplanned night in hand, Google suggested Praia Inhame Eco Lodge, near the island’s southern tip, and a stone’s throw from the equator. It’s on this road that you get to view the impressive Pico Cão Grande, a 370 m needle-like volcanic plug that has shrugged off many a hard climber’s efforts. That evening and the next morning, walking around the lodge, I added São Tomé Spinetail and endemic subspecies of Lemon Dove and African Emerald Cuckoo. African Palm and Little Swift, Reed Cormorant, White-tailed Tropicbird, Yellow-fronted Canary, Striated Heron and Eurasian Whimbrel were seen on a few occasions. We returned north the next day, stopping at the longest bridge – apparently good for the spinetail – to photograph an obliging Malachite Kingfisher, another local subspecies.

Next up was the northern section of the park, accessed from the Bom Sucesso Botanical Garden, at an altitude of 1,100 m. En route is Monte Café – a hillside village of plantation houses, with a small museum, tours of the coffee production process, and a restaurant with the finest Arabica. I collected my second guide, Gegé, in Monte Café, and we spent the next two days exploring the park and the plantations on the outskirts.

We had better views of the green pigeon and the Giant Sunbird, and we got to see a few distant São Tomé White-eyes. The charming little Black-capped Speirops (white-eye family) were more common here but the bronze-naped pigeons maintained their distance. São Tomé Olive Pigeons were absent. I’d only heard them in Monte Carmo.

I was able to finally get a picture of the São Tomé Weaver. They are interesting, in that they feed like treecreepers, clambering up tree trunks. Príncipe Seedeaters are good there and there is a very obliging Newton’s Sunbird in the garden. Accessing Obô Natural Park from Bom Sucesso is an important addition to a birding tour of the island and I would recommend at least one or two days exploring this area: the forests and the plantations.

Other species captured here included Southern Masked Weaver, Intermediate Egret and an endemic subspecies of the Chestnut-winged Starling. But no Giant Weavers.

Unfortunately, rain cut both days short again. If you have spare time in the area, consult your map and take the nearby fork and scenic road to the impressive Saint Nicholas Waterfall.

Gegé lives in Monte Café and can be contacted via WhatsApp on +239 985 1288. He speaks some English and is more engaging. He kindly assisted me with some of my planning.

We booked four nights at Eden Valley Ecolodge, half an hour from Monte Café, which, in turn, was another half an hour from Bom Sucesso. It is a lovely mountain retreat, with wholesome breakfasts and dinners, and the nearby gardens and plantations enabled me to brush up on my images of the paradise flycatcher, prinia, and spinetail.

One afternoon, exploring the lodge’s surrounds, I happened upon a small flock of Giant Weavers. It took me a moment to register, because there weren’t any obvious males. An unexpected encounter that made my day. I’d almost accepted defeat on that species.

With a day in hand, we drove to the island’s northern coast, near Morro Peixe. A gravel road winds down to the beach and little trails lead off from the road. The landscape is different here: hilly woodland savannah cascading down to the coast. The area hosts various grassland species. Golden-backed and Black-winged Red Bishop, White-winged Widowbird, Blue Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin and Yellow-billed Kites were common.

We treated ourselves to a night at Omali Hotel before our early flight the next day to Príncipe. It is one of the island’s plusher hotels, on the edge of the city, close to the airport. I’d read that there was good birding in the gardens and neighbouring wetlands. The gardens didn’t add to my list or gallery but a drive around the big block to the area behind the hotel took me to grassy fields and half-finished houses where birds had taken up residence. There were similar grassland species here but with the unexpected addition of a nesting Red-headed Quelea and some lovely low-looping African Palm Swifts before a palm-forest background. And unlike Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands, the Black-winged Red Bishops were approachable here.

Príncipe

Landing on this smaller island felt wilder and more remote. You approach from the south, flying in over Obô Natural Park of Príncipe (40% of the island). Cliff-faced massifs and rock towers rise from the jungle. One can only imagine what flitters and grows in those inaccessible interiors.

All but three of Príncipe’s endemics can be seen without a guide. For the white-eye and the thrush one needs to visit a remote beach in the south, accessible only by boat, and to see the scops owl, one must hike into the park, from the north, after dark.

My research for a local guide pointed to Yodiney Santos. We connected and agreed to spend a day boating south for the white-eye and thrush, and a night hiking into the park for the owl.

With an afternoon in hand, before these planned excursions, we decided to walk to O Qué Pipi Waterfall from our accommodation outside the main town of Santo Antonio, and bird along the way. It was a magnificent introduction to the island’s birds. We saw Príncipe Speirops, Príncipe Sunbird, Príncipe Weaver and Dohrn’s Warbler, as well as the endemic subspecies of Lemon Dove, African Green Pigeon, Malachite and Blue-breasted Kingfisher. It’s a good distance to the waterfall – the country’s highest – with a cool pool for dipping in, below. It was almost 20 km by the time we got back. En route we had memorable encounters with the beautifully patchworked Splendid Starling and the raucous Grey Parrot.

Yodiney, who relies on others, had to move both excursions. His guides “weren’t available”, “other tourists’ plans had changed”, “can we do it tomorrow?”. We were flexible, and we’d come a long way.

Our day on the little speedboat south was the highlight of our two-weeks. It’s a bumpy two hours to the location, a bouldery beach in a bay where a couple of fishing families live a simple life. En route and around the southernmost peninsula, rock towers rise from the mountainous forest and pierce the clouds. I was spellbound. So much of it was untouched.

We hiked along the beach, seeing both grey and white morph Western Reef Herons and the Príncipe form of the Príncipe Seedeater, which is harder to find elsewhere on the island. We soon clambered up and away from the beach along an increasingly soggy path, wishing for a sign of the Endangered Príncipe White-eye and the Critically Endangered Príncipe Thrush. It was almost two hours later when our guides stopped us and pointed to the ground nearby. A chocolate-brown mottle-bellied thrush was nonchalantly scratching for worms as if we weren’t there. I had to retreat to fit him in my widest frame. He charmed and circumnavigated us for a few minutes before flying off into the forest. These were only recognised as a separate species in 2010. We never did see or hear the white-eyes. You win some and you lose some.

There are three subspecies of the Príncipe Seedeater. The third occurs on Ilhéu Caroço (also known as Boné de Jókei or the Jockey’s Cap Island), an impressive, vegetated granite dome less than a square kilometre, three kilometres off the southern peninsula we’d rounded. It is the world’s most range-restricted subspecies, only occurring on this idyllic islet. I’d photographed the other two, so I was keen on the hattrick. We crossed the channel and found a little flock up on a small sea cliff. Choppy waters and sharp rocks made disembarking tricky, but I was eventually able to get off and scramble up to find them perched in a tree. Like the thrush, they were inquisitive and approached me for a closer look. A few precious minutes with another LBJ. What more could I ask for?

As we boated the return journey to Santo Antonio, dusk’s changing hues colouring the sky, another lifer, an exquisite Brown Booby, took to the wing and glided past us. It was a phenomenal day immersed in Africa’s raw beauty.

The Príncipe Scops Owl was only formally described as a separate species in 2022. There is a grey and a rufous morph and they have a distinctive call – faster than other scops owls, with a shorter, more frequent “tuu”. Yodi picked me up and we drove to the edge of the forest as darkness descended. The rasping chatter of a silhouetted Velvet-mantled Drongo greeted us. It was a brisk and steep 1.5-hour hike to his “secret location” where we stopped for water and sweet pineapple and then waited for the owl’s call. We heard at least two but couldn’t locate then, calling it a night after a couple of hours trying. Back at midnight.

We’d budgeted four nights on Príncipe and there were still a few birds and images I was hoping to get. A flock of Príncipe Starlings paused briefly in a coastal forest. They are similar to the Splendid Starlings but have bronzy charcoal underparts where the Splendid’s is purple.

The endemic Dohrn’s Warbler (previously Thrush-babbler) was giving me the run around. Pairs are common in almost all habitats. I’d seen at least one every day but, like so many warblers, they hadn’t given me a chance to capture them. They clamber and poke around the understory like greenbuls. We learned, the night before our return to São Tomé, that the plane’s departure would be postponed by a few hours. It was my last chance with this Sylvia warbler, and I paced the hotel’s garden edge at sunrise, where I’d seen one before, until I finally got my shot. Then breathed a big sigh of relief.

Back in São Tomé

We planned two nights back on the main island just in case the weather or plane prevented a timeous return, before our final departure. We booked these nights at Mucumbli Lodge just south of the town of Neves, an hour’s drive from the airport.

I was hoping for another chance at the São Tomé Olive Pigeon and a picture of the Island Bronze-naped Pigeon. The latter had been visible but distant. The former, absent.

It was immediately obvious that the lodge is a birder’s paradise, with gardens, forest and a cocoa plantation all within its boundary. It is perched high, with a view of the ocean from the restaurant deck, dead trees perfectly situated for sought-after birds to pose. It was the perfect ending to our African island getaway.

There were bronze-naped pigeons posing everywhere. A pair chased each other through the restaurant! Each morning an impossibly-plumaged African Emerald Cuckoo would call for a few minutes until his partner joined him. Many other species congregated on the tree. The lodge is not far from Morro Peixe, where there’s good grassland birding. There is also a very basic but famous crab restaurant in Neves – Petisqueira Santola – well worth the visit if you enjoy crab.

The mostly quiet, inconspicuous olive pigeons prefer primary forest above 1300 m. Google confirmed that the northernmost individuals could be found near Chamiço, a high mountain village on the edge of Obô Natural Park. This time we had a 4×4 Jimny and climbed the pass as high as we could, stopping frequently on the scenic narrow track through the forest. We heard but could not locate at least two olive pigeons. About three kilometres from Chamiço the steep slippery grassed-over clay prevented further progress. Worth the effort, I thought. There were pigeons, doves, orioles, weavers and others aplenty.

And then it was time to leave. We stocked up on chocolate on our way to the airport and bid farewell to this quaint unpretentious African paradise that had granted us a much-treasured, fun-filled adventure. Obrigado São Tomé e Príncipe.