The United Republic of Tanzania lies between the latitudes of 01°00'S and 11°36'S and between the longitudes of 29°21'E and 40°29'E. It comprises mainland Tanganyika together with the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia and a number of smaller ones. It is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, by Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, by Zambia and Malawi to the south-west, by Mozambique to the south and, to the east, by the reef-fringed shores of the Indian Ocean.

The terrain ranges from sea-level to 5,895 meters on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. The bottom of Lake Tanganyika, at 697 meters below sea-level, is the lowest point in Africa. About 5% of the surface of Tanzania 54,390 kilometers is covered by water—swamps, rivers and lakes, including parts of Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. The Western or Albertine Rift Valley extends the length of Tanzania's western border, while the Eastern or Gregory Rift Valley penetrates deeply into the centre-north of the country and is characterized by internal drainage basins with a series of large alkaline lakes and dry, Acaciadominated woodland.

In the far north-west lies the extreme eastern edge of the Guinea, Congo rainforests running in a huge arc to the south-west of Mount Kilimanjaro, are a series of mountain ranges known collectively as the Eastern Arc mountains. The main drainage systems include Lake Victoria, which drains into the Mediterranean Sea, Lake Tanganyika, which drains into the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean drainage basin, the Lake Eyasi internal drainage system, the Lake Rukwa internal drainage system and Lake Nyasa, which drains into the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania spans a wide variety of habitats. These include closed forest, woodland, bushland and thicket, wooded and scrub grassland, swamp and marsh, steppe-grassland, montane grassland, Afromontane moorland and agricultural areas.

Tanzania's Important Bird Areas cover a total area of 167,314 kilometers or some 17.8% of Tanzania's land area. With a resident population in excess of 1,388 different bird species, and many more that come down and up here from Europe and Southern Africa, Tanzania is probably one of ultimate places for birders in africa. From the colossal Marshall eagle to the delicate sunbird, the elusive Shoebill to the omnipresent Marabou, there is certainly something to please any keen bird watcher. Part of the reason that Tanzania has such vast numbers and varying species is down to the wide array of differing topographies and microclimates that exist in the country. The shoebill exists in the central western wetland complex of the Moyowosi-Kigozi.

Birds found in Tanzania include;

Karamoja Apalis, Grey-crested Helmetshrikes, White-tailed Larks, endemic Grey-breasted Spurfowl, Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill and Fischer's Lovebirds, Hildebrandt's Francolin, Yellow-throated and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Montane Nightjar, Nyanza Swift, Cinnamonchested Bee-eater, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Von der Decken's Hornbill, Moustached Tinkerbird (heard only), Spot-flanked, Black-throated, Red-and-yellow, D'Arnaud's and 'Usambiro' Barbets, Eastern Grey Woodpecker, Greater Kestrel, Amur Falcon, Red-bellied Parrot, Eastern Black-headed Batis, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Long-tailed and Taita Fiscals, Red-throated Tit, Fischer's Sparrow-Lark, Pink-breasted and Foxy Larks, Dodson's Bulbul, Mountain and Grey-olive Greenbuls, Trilling and Hunter's Cisticolas, Bar-throated Apalis, 'Brown-tailed' Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-capped Warbler, Grey Wren-Warbler, Rufous Chatterer, Black-lored and Northern Pied Babblers, Banded Parisoma, 'Pale Scrub' Abyssinian and 'Mbulu' Montane White-eyes, Hildebrandt's Starling, Bare-eyed Thrush, Silverbird, Rüppell's Robin-Chat, 'Schalow's' Abyssinian Wheatear, Eastern Double-collared, 'Gorgeous' Beautiful and Tsavo Sunbirds, Kenya, Swahili and Chestnut Sparrows, Grey-capped Social Weaver, Speke's and Golden-backed Weavers, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Grey-headed Silverbill, Steel-blue and Straw-tailed Whydahs, Southern Citril, Reichenow's Seedeater and Southern Grosbeak-Canary.