The Rufiji River delta is one of East Africa's most beautiful and ecologically significant areas, though it's also every bit as hot, swampy and mosquito-infested as you might imagine. The delta contains seasonally flooded woods alive with the sound of frogs, birds and cicadas, along with East Africa's largest mangrove forest, covering some 5300 square kilometres. This acts as a gigantic sump, supplying the fragile reefs offshore with nutrients whilst protecting them against siltation. The delta and its floodplain support a population of over 150,000 people, the majority subsisting on cultivation, fishing and mangrove-pole extraction. During the long rains, the river can increase in width by up to fifteen kilometres: the silt carried by the floods fertilizes the land on either side of the river and feeds innumerable small lakes and pools in which a number of unique fish species have been found, while the waters around the mangroves themselves are an important breeding ground for prawns and shrimps. Commonly seen birds include the plain-backed sunbird, longbills, lovebirds and the majestic African fish eagle. Rarer species include the African pitta, found north of the river, and Livingstone's flycatcher, to the south.
