The Republic of Kenya covers an area 586,600 kilometers squared, lies astride the Equator on the eastern coast of Africa. It is bordered by Uganda to the west, Tanzania to the south, Ethiopia and Sudan to the north, and the Indian Ocean and Somalia to the east. Inland water bodies cover some 10,700 kilometres2, the large ones of these are Lake Victoria and Turkana. The coastline, about 550 kilometres long, faces the Indian Ocean.

Kenya has tremendous topographical diversity, including glaciated mountains with snow-capped peaks, the Rift Valley with its scarps and volcanoes, ancient granitic mountains, flat desert landscapes and coral reefs and islets. Coastal plains give way to an inland plateau that rises gradually to the central highlands, the result of relatively recent volcanic activity associated with the formation of the rift valley. To the west the land drops again to the Nyanza plateau that surrounds the Kenyan sector of Lake Victoria.

The coastline is broken and composed of beaches, coral cliffs and reefs, creeks and numerous offshore coral islands. Inland, a mainly level but narrow coastal plain lies on sedimentary rocks, with some igneous intrusions such as Dzombo and Mrima. Beyond low rolling hills lies the Nyika plateau, mainly on sedimentary rocks. This is largely a thorn-bush plain with seasonal drainage lines and a few isolated rocky hills. This landscape covers almost the entire north-eastern sector of the country, on a very gradually sloping plain.

The Great Rift Valley, with its associated escarpments and mountains, is a major feature. It runs the length of the country from Lake Turkana in the north to Lake Natronon the southern border with Tanzania. The central portion of the rift is raised, with the Aberdare mountains and Mount Kenya to the east and the Mau Escarpment and Cherangani Hills to the west. The northern and southernmost sectors of the rift are low-lying, arid and rugged, with spectacular volcanic landforms.

Kenya has one of the richest avifaunas in Africa, with around 1,090 bird species recorded. At least eight of these Mirafra williamsi, Macronyx sharpei, Turdoides hindei, Turdus helleri, Apalis fuscigularis, Cisticola restrictus, Zosterops silvanus and Ploceus golandi are national endemics. Around 170 of Kenya's bird species are Palearctic migrants, 11 of them with a local breeding population too, mainly from Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Siberia. Another 60 birds migrate regularly within the Afrotropics or from Madagascar. Some 335 of Kenya's bird species are found in forests, 230 are entirely forest dependent, and 110 are forest specialists, requiring undisturbed habitat.

Forty species of global conservation concern are known to occur in Kenya. Four of these are critically endangered, two endangered and 16 Vulnerable. One Cisticola restrictus is classed as Data Deficient. Macronyx sharpie is classified as Near Threatened. Kenya holds all the restricted-range species (nine and seven, respectively) in the Kenya mountains and the East African coastal forests Endemic Bird Areas. Kenya also includes smaller portions of three other EBAs. The Tanzania - Malawi Mountains, the Serengeti plains, Jubba and the and Shabeelle valleys. Secondary Areas include the Kakamega and Nandi forests, the North Kenyan short-grass plains and Mount Kulal.

The most significant biomes are the Somali - Masai Kenya has 94 of its 129 species, the East African Coast, the large Afrotropical Highlands and the small Lake Victoria Basin. The easternmost outliers of the Guinea - Congo Forests biome also occur in Kenya, along with a small portion of the Sudan - Guinea Savanna biome. Many sites in Kenya are important for congregatory birds. The coast, with its creeks, reefs and beaches, is a major flyway for migratory water birds from the Palearctic, as is the chain of lakes stretching along the rift valley from Turkana in the north to Magadi in the south. The rift's alkaline lakes also provide periodic feeding stations for enormous numbers of Phoenicopterus minor. Several small coral islands off the coast shelter important breeding colonies of Sterna dougallii and other seabirds.

Kenya has more than 50 National Parks, reserves and sanctuaries, both terrestrial and marine. These cover some 4.4 million hactares, roughly 7.5% of the country's land area. A large part of this area is accounted for by the two biggest National Parks, Tsavo East and Tsavo West. Kenya's National Parks and reserves are mainly in arid and semi-arid parts of the country, dominated by woodland, bushland and grassland habitats. Only about 6.2% of the country's approximately 1.24 million ha of indigenous forest (including mangroves) is protected in National Parks and reserves. Kenya also encourages private wildlife sanctuaries. The exact number of these is unclear, the IUCN protected areas database lists over 50, some of which seem likely to have no formal conservation management.

Nairobi National Park was the first National Park in Kenya, established in 1946. Today there are 22 terrestrial National Parks and four marine National Parks. The terrestrial parks cover an area of some 2.9 million hactares, about 4.9% of Kenya's land area. National Parks vary in size from just 192 ha (Saiwa swamp) to more than 1,170,000 ha ( Tsavo East National Park ). All are administered by the Kenya Wildlife Service. Kenya's 60 Important Bird Areas cover a total area of 5.7 million hactares (taking a notional area of 250,000 ha for the Dida Galgalu desert). This is about 10% of Kenya's land area.

However, the size of sites varies over seven orders of magnitude, from as small as 1 ha to more than 1 million ha. The median size is 18,300 ha, while the mean size is 95,200 ha—showing the disproportionate effect of a few very large sites. Only 35 IBAs are in protected areas, meaning that 25 have no official protection.

Bird watching in Kenya is good year-round. However, the best time for birding is from September to April when the country hosts several migratory birds from Europe and northern Africa. And at this time, a number of resident species are nesting and in breeding down. The dry season is always better for wildlife viewing safaris combined with bird watching