Tag: Birding Holiday in Kenya

Bird of the Week

Bronzy Sunbird (Nectarinia kilimensis)

Bronzy Sunbird (Nectarinia kilimensis)

Photo@Jurg Hosang

Bronzy Sunbird is the commonly seen sunbird in high altitude habitat.This species is sexually dimorphic. The adult male usually have brilliantly colored plumage of shinny green-yellowish breast and all over the entire head, while the belly and back being dark –black while the female has a yellowish belly contrasting with the dark-grey back and wings. The young are duller in coloration.
Sunbirds have long thin down-curved bills and brush tipped tubular tongues – both adaptations to their nectar feeding, although sometimes it take insects particularly during the breeding season to feed their young and to satisfy their own need for increased protein in their diet during this demanding time.
In Kenya, this sunbird is commonly recorded in Nairobi,Mt.Kenya region, Lake Nakuru and Naivasha, Eldoret and Mt.Elgon.

Bird of the Week

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)

Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)Photo@Tony Crocetta

Grey Crowned Crane has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red gular sac. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species. Both sexes dance, and immature birds join the adults. Dancing is an integral part of courtship, but also may be done at any time of the year.Its body plumage is mainly grey. The wings are also predominantly white, but contain feathers with a range of colours. The head has a crown of stiff golden feathers. The sides of the face are white, and there is a bright red inflatable throat pouch. The bill is relatively short and grey, and the legs are black. The have long legs for wading through the grasses. The feet are large, yet slender, adapted for balance rather than defense or grasping. The sexes are similar, although males tend to be slightly larger. Young birds are greyer than adults, with a feathered buff face.

In Kenya they are widespread in all wetlands and grassland field. They however, prefer breeding in Saiwa sawmp National Park in western Kenya and other high altitude wetland in Kenya.

Bird of the Week

Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta)

The Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta), about the size of a small egret, is entirely brown, with a robust crest which gives its head a hammer-like appearance. This pronounced head crest makes it unmistakable. The bill is long, laterally compressed, blade-like and tipped with a sharp hook. Its legs are strong and endowed with narrowly webbed toes.

This bird is related to the storks but is different enough to be placed in a separate family (Family Scopidae) of which it is the only member species.Perhaps what the hammerkop is knowned for is massive nest built mostly on a tall V-shaped branched acacia tree.Hammerkops feed mostly on frogs,fish and tadpoles, and they also take small crustaceans, grasshoppers, and aquatic insects. They often rest during the day and become active at twilight, when they are most often encountered, often alone. They range throughout Kenya.

Bird of the Week

Yellow-throated Longclaw (Macronyx croceus)

Yellow-throated Longclaw (Macronyx croceus)
Photo@Tony Crocetta

Yellow-throated Longclaw is a stocky grassland bird, that has a tendency of up and down when flushed out, exposing the conspicuous white edged tail.When perched the bird has a V-shaped black band white a bright yellow throat.The head and the upper part of the bird is all brown with little white on the upper neck.Young birds appear more buff yellow with band of indistict short streak on the breast.In Kenya it is widely distributed in areas like Aberdare park, Solio Ranch, Nairobi National park and Masai Mara national reserve.

Bird of the Week, Uncategorized

Golden-winged Sunbird (Nectarinia reichenowi)

Photo@Jacqui Harrington

Golden-winged Sunbird has a bright yellow tail and wings, the shoulders are dark gray, the dark gray extending to the nape and throat, while the head and downturned beak are lighter gray. The tail is long and ends in two long, very narrow parallel feathers.These birds are found in East Africa; Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.Golden-winged sunbirds live in grassland, bamboo thickets, and tropical mountain forest.

In Kenya this species if found in Lake Nakuru and Naivasha,Nyahururu,Mt.Kenya and Aberdare National Park.