São João dos Angolares, Lagoa Amélia (mountain forest); São Miguel, Xufexufe and Quija (lowland forest); between Diogo Nunes and Lagoa Azul (north coast savannahs), the town of Sao Tomé itself, but also on the island of Principe where parrots lives free in the jungle are all good birding area in Sao Tome and Principe islands.

The Sao Tomé Grosbeak (Neospiza concolor) of Sao Tomé was only seen twice: in 1888 and in 1991. It has been observed in the area around Xufe-Xufe in the lowland primary forest of the South-Western coast as well as shrike and short-tail. The access to this part of the island is, however, only possible by boat and includes a good part of hiking (with a guide !) and in order to have the time to do observation, it is necessary to camp. In the area around Quija, equally on the south-western coast, but requiring less trekking, all endemic species have been observed, except for Grosbeak, pigeons and Sao Tomé Scop's owl (Otus hartlaubi).  

The Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor), after 65 years of disappearing, has now been seen again, as well as Dwarf Olive Ibis, (Bostrychia bocagei) which has been spotted in the area of abandoned plantations between Umbugu and Martin Mendes rivers (about 1 hours walk from Roça de São João).
The Maroon pigeon or Sao Tomé Olive Pigeon (Columba thomensis) as well as the Sao Tomé Giant Sunbird (Dreptes thomensis) have been spotted in the ridges after Formoso Grande (on your way between Bombaim and Sao Joao). Far above the river Io Grande, on the same trail, Sao Tomé Short-tail (Amaurocichla bocagei), which is not found in the mountain forest, has been observed.

Most of the island's forest birds have been observed on the track to Lagoa Amélia, like Sao Tomé Giant Sunbird and Sao Tomé Olive Pigeon. On the way, at Esperança (secondary rain forest), the island's subspecies of White-eye (Zosterops ficedulinus) have been observed. In the area around Lagoa Amélia, Sao Tomé Scop's Owl has been spotted. As the area of the Obô has not yet been fully analyzed, it may be that the forests still hide other ornithological and botanical treasures that are still to be discovered.

The island's savanna birds, (especially the Red-necked Francolin (Francolinus afer afer), the Harlequin Quail (Coturnix delegorguei), the Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis), the Red-headed Lovebird (Agapornis pullarius), the African Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) and the Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus nigriceps) and Golden-backed Bishop (Euplectes aureus), the Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis) and the Yellow-fronted Canary (Serinus mozambicus) have been seen on the track between Diogo Nunes and Lagoa Azul on the northern coast of Sao Tomé.
From October to March this is also a good itinerary for sighting of Palaearctic and afro tropical migrants. This observation can also be done in the town of Sao Tomé itself and the surrounding areas, especially in the fields between the town and the airport. The most interesting in central African terms are the Golden-backed Bishop and the Blue Waxbill.   

Sao Tomé Olive Pigeon	Sao Tomé Giant Sunbird

 Do also see: ECOFACs Guide des oiseaux de São Tomé et de Príncipe by Patrice Christy and William Clarke where illustrations and text were extracted from.