Birds

The mammals of Tanzania are most widely known; Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Zebra and Giraffe are among the better known. And this contrasts with the lack of indigenous mammals in New Zealand - save for a small bat.
Surely nobody could go to Africa and not be inspired at the wildlife there.
Most, however don't quite realise that these are vast numbers of beautiful birds - even some ugly ones. Most people if asked to name an African bird, the answer would be, 'Ostrich'.


One of the ugly ones is the Hammerkop, a water bird, or one that lives near  near water.


The Hornbill is another - there are many species of these, but the big ones often visited us at Makumira. One time around 200 came at once - sounded like a helicopter! I think this is a rare event as usually they are in pairs.





A running bird of the plains, the Secretary Bird can run fast and has a variable diet.










There are many species of Woodpecker in Tanzania, unsurprisingly they like to live in wooded areas. The thump, thump of there pecking is very audible.






The Wagtail was an often visitor to our house at Makumira - of course its tail bobbed up and down [constantly]. Saw some in England recently.




The Superb Starling is a colourful contrast to our own Starling, which is an import from Britain.






The pesky Mouse Bird may not be a 'beauty' but it is distinctive and it robs  fruit, even digging holes in  papaya.




The first is the pigeon - there are a number of species and some may be doves, but the sound of them is Africa to me. They are everywhere and are locally called Njiwa, and are eaten if they can be caught.




The Bullbul is the robber of fruit, but spreads seeds. Maybe not as attractive as other birds but never the less is an interesting one.










For colour nothing can beat the Lilac Breasted Roller. A shy bird and often seen in the treetops. Usually out in the bush. It fies quite high and it is difficult to fully see the beauty of it.







There are several species of Bee Eaters but all are colourful and interesting. We saw many in the Ngarenanyuki area.



The Crowned Crane is a large, beautiful bird - National bird of Uganda I think.
Very striking. Loti caught some chick once - ouch!






The Weaver bird is not so much seen but the nest areas are very distinctive.






I have only scratched the surface here and may add to it later - as well as some animals we have seen. I hope it adds to the interest.