Day 1: The tour starts this morning at Lusaka International Airport (LUN). From there, we take a domestic flight towards Solwezi and then drive towards our accommodation for the night. Afternoon birding around the lodge, searching for Dusky Indigobird, Black-faced Canary, Bocage’s Akalat, Grey-olive Greenbul, Green-backed Honeybird, and Black-backed Barbet, among others. Night at Mutanda Nature Lodge.

Day 2: Morning birding around the lodge, then drive westwards to Mwinilunga (6 hours), making a few stops to try for the rare near-endemic Bamboo Warbler at some suitable riverine thickets. This is an intriguing species, the only resident Locustella in Sub-Saharan Africa! Keeping an eye out for Red-throated Cliff Swallow on the way, we should arrive this afternoon in time for a first session of birding around our lovely accommodation at Nyachisala Bush Camp.

Days 3-4: Two full days birding in this truly wild area of the country (nestled between Angola and the Congo), in search of near-endemic Grimwood’s Longclaw, Bannerman’s Sunbird, and Spotted Thrush-Babbler. Other specialties of the area include Black-rumped Buttonquail, Angolan Lark, Short-tailed Pipit, Rosy-throated Longclaw, Fülleborn’s Longclaw, Dambo Cisticola, Hartlaub’s Marsh Widowbird (in beautiful breeding plumage!), Sooty Chat, Spot-breasted Ibis, Shining-blue Kingfisher, White-bellied Kingfisher, Compact Weaver, African Spotted Creeper, Black-collared Bulbul, Grey-winged Robin-Chat, Laura’s Woodland Warbler, Bates’s Sunbird, Western Miombo Sunbird, and the attractive Locust Finch. We also have an excellent chance to see Vermiculated Fishing Owl, recently discovered to be in this area with stakeouts now well-known by our local guides. Nights at Nyachisala Bush Camp.

Day 5: We'll return to Mwinilunga today where we will stay for one night. Birding in the miombo and cryptosepalum forests south of town gives us our best chances for Margaret's Batis and Bar-winged Weaver, along with Black-fronted Bushshrike, Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher, and a few other more widespread species.

Day 6: After a few hours of final birding in the morning, we will drive back east (6 hours). There will be a second chance this afternoon to search for Bamboo Warbler, if needed. Night at Chimfunshi. 

Day 7: Morning birding in the area near our accommodation should produce some highly sought-after miombo birds like Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Weaver, Böhm's Flycatcher, Black-necked Eremomela, and Yellow-bellied Hyliota. We will then drive to Fringilla Lodge (7h) for an overnight stay, making targeted stops along the way for Böhm's Bee-eater and Bushveld Pipit.

Day 8: We will be focused on finding our first true Zambian endemic this morning: the fig-loving Chaplin’s Barbet. This is also a good area for the scarce Souza's Shrike and lovely Arnot's Chat. Once done, we'll take another long drive to Choma (6h). There is a lot of ground to cover in Zambia! Spotlighting tonight will give us a real chance at seeing Aardvark, along with Marsh Owl. Night at Nkanga Conservation Area. 

Day 9: We have another chance for Chaplin's Barbet this morning, but this area also holds some excellent miombo woodland where we can find specialties like Miombo Pied Barbet, Racket-tailed Roller, Shelley's Sunbird, African Spotted Creeper, Miombo Tit, Southern Hyliota, Stierling's Wren-Warbler, Red-capped Crombec, Wood Pipit, and Cabanis's Bunting. We should also be able to see “Miombo” Blue-eared Starling, while more widespread species might include Three-banded Courser, Bennett’s Woodpecker, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Green-capped Eremomela, Purple-banded Sunbird, and Red-throated Twinspot. Night at Nkanga Conservation Area. 

Day 10: Today, we will drive to Bilili Hotsprings for the Zambian endemic Black-cheeked Lovebird. We will spend most of the day birding in this area, where we can find a nice range of open woodland species, including Dickinson’s Kestrel, Southern Ground Hornbill, Meyer’s Parrot, Burnt-necked Eremomela, Magpie Shrike, African Cuckoo, and a small chance of the unpredictable Dusky Lark. Afterwards, we'll continue onwards to Livingstone for overnight. 

Day 11: A morning river cruise on the Zambezi could produce Slaty Egret, African Finfoot, Rock Pratincole, Schalow’s Turaco, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Swamp Boubou, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, Collared Palm Thrush, and the eastern form of Meves’s Starling. There is a reasonable chance for the retiring Rufous-bellied Heron, but it is not guaranteed. Afterwards, we will visit the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Victoria Falls. A magnificent and scenic location, despite reduced water at this time of year! We may see Brown Firefinch and Copper Sunbird here, then it's back in the vehicles for one last long drive. Our destination is Gwabi River Lodge (8h) where we will spend the final nights of the tour. 

Day 12-13-14: Three full days targeting the stunning African Pitta in the Lower Zambezi Valley. It might take some effort, but we expect to have great sightings of this exciting species in full display, performing little bounces off his chosen perch! Other birds here may include Purple-crested Turaco, African Broadbill, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, Red-capped Robin-Chat, Eastern Nicator, and more.

Day 15:  We will have a final full morning of birding in the area before we transfer back to Lusaka International Airport (3 hours), where the tour ends this evening.

NOTE: We can arrange a day of miombo birding on the outskirts of Lusaka for anyone who wishes to arrive a day early or depart a day late. Specialties here we will likely not see on this tour (but all seen regularly in Angola and Malawi) include Pale-billed Hornbill, Rufous-bellied Tit, and Miombo Rock Thrush.