Striped Kingfisher is one of the most brilliantly coloured bird, even though it the smallest and least colourful of the non-aquatic Kingfishers. It has strident voice and dramatic courtship display. This species has some blue plumage on scapulars, brown head with streaky lining. The breast is white with some little strikes black upper and red lower mandible. This species is adapted to wooded habitat of dry country side.
Photo@Jurg Hosang
White-bellied Go-away Bird is one of the two dry land Turacos that we have in Kenya, the other is Bare-faced Go-away Bird.It South Africa they are referred to as Lorries . These birds are non-migratory. They are weak flyers and, therefore, only fly short distances in a dipping motion. They can climb trees and vines and run almost like squirrels over tree limbs. They are often seen single, pairs or small groups. The bird got its name because of its call that sound like “Go Away”. In Kenya this species is commonly found in arid and semi-arid areas and sometimes bushland grassland habitat. White-bellied and Bare-faced Go-Away bird don’t overlap in their distribution in our region.
Photo@Raymond Galea
Yellow-throated Sandgrouse is a sexual diamorphic species The female and male both have a buff-yellow chin and throat. The male is olive-brown and unspotted with a black collar on its foreneck. Upper wing-coverts are tipped with a light cinnamon and flight feathers are blackish brown. highs and belly are a dark chestnut. Females are mottled with fine black bars on their chestnut belly.These monogamous birds are also solitary nesters. They lay two to three eggs during the winter. The female incubates the eggs during the day and the male incubates them at night, for a total of 26 days. The female and male both care for the chicks when they hatch.They are seed and grains eaters.The bird appearing above was photographed inside Ngorongoro Crater.The yellow-throated sandgrouse is the largest of the five Kenyan Sandgrouses.In Kenya it is best seen in areas found in Southern part of the Country around Amboseli, Masai Mara and Tsavo west national park.
Kenya Birding 