Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary

Yabello is birdwatching country rather than big-game country, and its reputation rests on two species with extremely small ranges: the Ethiopian bush-crow, a grey and white crow-like bird confined to a patch of acacia savanna a few dozen kilometres across around Yabelo and Mega, and the white-tailed swallow, similarly restricted. Both are thought to be limited by a narrow climatic envelope, which makes them vulnerable, and both are readily seen along the roads within the sanctuary. Beyond them the area holds Somali ostrich, gerenuk, Grant's gazelle, greater kudu and a long dryland bird list. The Borana pastoral landscape, with its deep hand-dug singing wells where herders pass water up in chains, is part of the same region.

What you actually see

• Ethiopian bush-crow - a bird found in this small area alone.
• White-tailed swallow - the other range-restricted endemic.
• Dryland mammals - gerenuk, ostrich, gazelle and kudu.
• Borana pastoral country - acacia savanna worked by herders.

When to go

October to March for the roads and comfortable conditions. Birds are active early. The area is hot and dry, and the short rains and long rains both make the tracks difficult.

Honest expectations

This is a sanctuary in name more than in management: settlement and grazing occur throughout and there is little infrastructure. Most birding is done from roadsides. A specialist guide makes the difference between seeing the endemics and missing them. Yabelo town has limited accommodation.

Nearby

El Sod crater lies south; the Kenyan border is beyond it.