Home ≫ World Birding ≫ Africa ≫ Togo

Togolese Republic

Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus ©Steve Arlow Website
Birding Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a narrow country in West Africa bordering Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. The country extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. The official language is French; however, there are many other languages spoken in Togo as well. Togo has a population of more than 6,100,000 people, which is dependent mainly on agriculture. The weather is mild and makes for good growing seasons. Togo is a sub-tropical, sub-Saharan nation. Togo gained its independence from France in 1960. In 1967 Gnassingbé Eyadéma, the former leader of the country, led a successful military coup, after which he became President. Eyadéma was the longest serving leader in African history (after being president for 38 years) at the time of his death in 2005. In 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbé was elected president – not everyone is convinced of the validity of the election result.

Togo borders the Bight of Benin in the south; Ghana lies to the west; Benin to the east; and to the north Togo is bound by Burkina Faso. In the north the land is characterized by a gently rolling savanna in contrast to the center of the country, which is characterized by hills. The south of Togo is characterized by a plateau which reaches to a coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes. The land size is 21,925 square miles (56,785 km²), with an average population density of 253 people per square mile (98/km²). In 1914 it changed name from Togoland to Togo.Climate The climate is generally tropical with average temperatures ranging from 27°C on the coast to about 30°C in the northernmost regions, with a dry climate and characteristics of a tropical savanna. To the south there are two seasons of rain (the first between April and July and the second between October and November), even though the average rainfall is not very high (about 1,000 mm in mountainous areas, the most rainy).

Contributors
Number of Species

  • Number of bird species: 670

    (As at September 2018)
Checklist

  • iGoTerra Checklist

    iGoTerra Checklist
    Fatbirder Associate iGoTerra offers the most comprehensive and up to date birds lists on the web
Useful Reading

  • Birds of Western Africa

    By Nik Borrow & Ron Demey | Christopher Helm | 2014 | Edition 2 | Paperback | 592 pages, 266 plates with colour illustrations; colour distribution maps | ISBN: 9781472905680 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • Birds of Western and Central Africa

    By Ber van Perlo | Princeton University Press | 2003 | Paperback | 384 pages, 109 plates with colour illustrations; colour & b/w illustrations, 1500+ b/w distribution maps, colour maps | ISBN: 9780691007144 Buy this book from NHBS.com

  • The Birds of Togo

    (An Annotated Check-List) | By Robert A Cheke & J Frank Walsh | British Ornithologists' Union | 1996 | Hardback | 212 pages, 53 colour plates, tabs, maps | ISBN: 9780907446187 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Organisations

  • African Bird Club

    Website
    Togo has a bird list of 625 species but there has been little ornithological activity in the last fifteen years. In the 1980s tourism was encouraged and excellent hotel facilities were available at Lom

  • West African Ornithological Society

    Website
    The West African Ornithological Society grew out of the Nigerian Ornithologists
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • IBAs

    WebsiteSatellite View
    A number of species have been recorded only in the forested areas in the mountains of the southern part of the Atacora chain that cuts across the country from the south-west to the north-east or in the gallery forests along the country

  • NP Fazao Malfakassa

    InformationSatellite View
    Fazao Malfakassa National Park is the largest of three national parks in Togo. The total number of known bird species is 244, as of 2008, but there are likely many more.

  • NP Fosse aux Lions

    InformationSatellite View
    Fosse aux Lions National Park (French: Parc National Fosse aux Lions) is a national park in the Savanes Region of Northern Togo. The park is approximately 16.5 square kilometres (6.4 sq mi) in size, and was first established as a reserved forest in 1954

  • NP Oti-Kéran

    InformationSatellite View
    The Parc National de la Keran is a site for the protection and conservation of fauna and wildlife habitats. About 214 species of birds have been recorded.

  • NR Abdoulaye

    InformationSatellite View
    The Abdoulaye Faunal Reserve is a protected area located in Togo. It was established in 1951. The fauna reserve covers 300 km2 (120 sq mi).

Fatbirder - linking birders worldwide...

Skip to content