Tag: Kenya Birding sites

Bird of the Week, Bird Photography, Bird watching

Orange-breasted Bushshrike (Telophorus sulfureopectus)

Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike,Malaconotus sulfomiopectus,Maanzoni.

Also know as Sulphur-breasted Bush shrike is an easy specie to pick in the field especially if you are birding the dry country side of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. It prefers the canopy of acacia tortilis, but its presence is always betrayed by its unmistakable  call.   This Bush shrike main diet is invertebrates.

Another interesting natural history fact about this specie is that it is monogamous, it will only seek a new breeding mate  in the event that his partner dies. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1-3. A real beauty in the field.

Bird of the Week

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse (Pterocles exustus)

I recently accompanied a French couple who were birding Kenya for 18 days to Samburu game reserve, it was pretty dry there when we visited but still the birding was stunning and we managed to pick up all the three species of Sandgrouse  which was on their target list. We had impressive looks of both Black-faced and Lichtenstain’s Sandgrouse, though Black-faced was rather common compared to the latter. But it was Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse which made our day. This was the most uncommon species among the tree and we had excellent photographic opportunities. DSCN0284

Photo@Joseph Aengwo