Birding in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s best birding experiences

Uzbekistan is a birder’s paradise. Its unique territorial location in the middle of Central Asian lies along the routes of two large migratory paths: the Afro-Eurasian and Central Asian flyways. The result is a rich diversity of avian life, with some 465 bird species found in Uzbekistan. 

Luiza Mardonova from the State Ecology Committee and national Ramsar coordinator, and Maksim Mitropolskiy, one of Uzbekistan’s foremost ornithological guides, offer an introduction to sounding out and spotting the country’s many feathered creatures.

Birdwatching involves observing and studying birds with the naked eye, or with binoculars or a telescope. A camera with a long focal length is also often used. Taking photographs of birds is an aesthetic pleasure and also makes it more likely to identify the species that has been spotted. In addition to visual observation, the term birding encompasses the act of listening to birdsong, as many species can be most easily recognised by their sounds.

Uzbekistan diverse terrain and natural world combines the vast deserts of the west with high mountains in the east. The dry desert areas are home to a number of endemic Asian birds: the Pander's ground jay (Podoces panderi), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus) and the Bukhara tit (Parus bokharensis, also known as the Turkestan tit). All of these are interspersed with rivers and water features that attract huge numbers aquatic bird species.

Birding can be done all year round, but the optimal time is from the end of April through mid-June. This is the high season for international avian tourists looking for migratory species and comfortable weather. But for local birdwatchers, the winter period is also interesting, when birds from the north arrive in Uzbekistan in order to spend the winter.

Visitors interested in avian tourism often combine birding activities together with visits to Uzbekistan’s tremendous historical sights: the ancient cities of the Great Silk Road – Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Outside the cities, a typical birding tour usually takes in visits to a number of mountainous areas: Beldersay tract on the Chatkal ridge and Aman-Kutan tract on the Zeravshan ridge, or explorations of the Kyzylkum Desert, along the ancient road from Khiva to Bukhara. Evenings can be spent soaking up the atmosphere of Central Asia, tasting traditional Uzbek food and enjoying the country’s warm hospitality.

Up In The Mountains

The mountain ranges of the Western Tien Shan and Pamir-Alai attract their own set of species. Here, you may come across larger birds of prey; for example, the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis) and booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), as well as smaller species like the white-winged woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucopterus), Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), chestnut-breasted bunting (Emberiza stewarti), rufous-naped tit (Periparus rufonuchalis) and yellow-breasted tit (Parus flavipectus).

Crowned Pendulum

Not far from the Uzbek capital Tashkent, Beldersay tract is located in the spurs of the Chatkal ridge. Although altitudes here only reach 1800 to 2400m, it is a transition zone from walnut to juniper forest and is home to mountain bird species that, in other places such as the Himalaya, live much higher up. This makes spotting rarer mountain birds much more accessible, as they live at lower altitudes in Uzbekistan than in other parts of the world. Among these species are the mountain warbler (Sylvia althaea), rock bunting (Emberiza cia), blue whistling thrush (Myophonus caeruleus), brown dipper (Cinclus pallasii), white-crowned penduline tit (Remiz coronatus) and others.

Just outside the legendary city of Samarkand, the Aman-Kutan tract is located in the spurs of the Zeravshan ridge at an altitude of 1600-1800m. Here, in the zones of forests and low mountain meadows, you can find the paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi), the common greenfinch (Chloris chloris), the short-billed lark (Calandrella acutirostris), the black-faced shrike (Lanius minor), bilious bunting (Emberiza bruniceps) (Petronia petronia and the white-collar nightingale (Irania gutturalis) is the most interesting species to observe in Uzbekistan.

Bearded vulture

Out In The Desert

Although much of western Uzbekistan is desert, the most accessible and lively desert for birders is the south-central part of the Kyzylkum Desert, which stretches between the cities of Khiva and Bukhara. This area is home to the entire complex of desert fauna. Among the birds: the Pander's ground jay (Podoces panderi), Asian desert warbler (Sylvia nana), desert finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta), scrub warbler (Scotocerca inquieta), steppe grey shrike (Lanius pallidirostris), common owl (Athene noctua), black-bellied sandgrouse (Pterocles orientalis). Those who are very lucky indeed may even encounter the endemic MacQueen's bustard (Chlamydotis macqueenii).

Commom owl

During your avian spotting adventures, don’t forget to look out for other desert mammals. In this area you may see large gerbils, yellow and thin-toed ground squirrels and reptiles, the most interesting of which are the Lichtenstein's toadhead (Phrynocephalus interscapularis), the steppe agama (Trapelus sanguinolentus), and the grey desert monitor lizard (Varanus griseus).

On The Water

You’ll want to plan several days for visiting aquatic areas, several of which are within striking distance from Uzbekistan’s main cities. Near Tashkent, the Chirchik River and the Tuyabuguz Reservoir are full of birdlife, and not far from Samarkand are the Zeravshan River and the Chelek fish farm, located at the Akdarya Reservoir. Just outside of Bukhara are Tudakul Lake and the Amu-Bukhara canal, both prime birding locations.

Tern

These easy-to-reach locations offer a variety of species to look out for: cormorant (Microcarbo pygmaeus), little egret (Egretta garzetta), purple heron (Ardea purpurea), night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), gulls such as the laughing gull and slender-billed gull (Chroicocephalus genei), and terns including the Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) and little tern (Sternula albifrons). Among the reeds live the Turkestan warbler (Acrocephalus stentoreus), paddyfield warbler (Acrocephalus agricola), bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus) and others.

Ramsar Sites

Uzbekistan has several designated Ramsar sites, recognised for their birdlife. These are wetlands of international importance recognised by the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for containing representative, rare or unique wetland species. Uzbekistan has several reservoirs of international importance, including Dengizkul Lake in the far south, the Aydar-Arnasay lakes in Jizzakh and Navoi regions, and Tudakul and Kuyimazar reservoirs near Bukhara.

Kuyimazar reservoir

Lake Dengizkul is located 75km south-southwest of the city of Bukhara, near the border with Turkmenistan. It is of decisive importance for migratory and wintering waterfowl, as it is located on the migration route for birds from Western Siberia and Kazakhstan to their Indo-Pakistani wintering grounds.

The Aydar-Arnasay lake system is located in the eastern part of Uzbekistan, near the border of Kazakhstan and falls into two administrative territories: the Jizzakh and Navoi regions. Spanning 4,000 sq km, Aydar-Arnasay is the largest aquatic avian habitat in Uzbekistan, with the Ramsar site covering 5271 sq km within it

Being at the centre of the migratory waterfowl route, the lake system plays an important role as a place of mass wintering, as well as a migratory stop. Some 200 species of waterfowl are found here, and of these, more than 20 are included in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan – the national record of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.

Additionally, 12 of these species are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, meaning they are threatened.

The Tudakul and Kuimazar reservoirs are of international importance for the migration, wintering and breeding of waterfowl. The birds of this region are well studied. The territory of the two reservoirs is an important stopover for migratory birds on the Central Asian flyway. According to the bird census, over the past five years on average more than 40,000 individual birds wintered in these reservoirs. These bodies of water are inhabited by 229 bird species, which is 91% of the region's total bird species, 24 of which are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Connect with Uzbekistan’s birding community at https://uzbekistan.birds.watch, where community members post photos, videos, diaries and bird observations, as well as a complete list of bird species and short species descriptions.