Tag: Kenya birding
Wattled Plover (Vanellus senegallus)
A large and very distinctive Plover. Both the male and female have long yellow facial wattles as well as smaller red ones on the forehead. As with all the lapwings of the genus Vanellus, the Wattled Plover has a white wing stripe (visible in flight) and a white base to its tail. These birds are fairly common in the Maasai Mara and can also be found around Lake Victoria. Although they are residents of swamps, streams and lakes they are only occasionally seen near the Rift Valley Lakes
Photo@Yan Van Dainne
Goliath Heron
The Goliath heron is Africa largest heron, standing 53-to-55 inches tall, with a wingspan of six-to-seven feet. Male and female look similar, with an overall covering of slate gray and chestnut feathers. The head and its bushy crest, face, back and sides of the neck are chestnut. The chin, throat, foreneck and upper breast are white, with black streaks across the foreneck and upper breast. The lower breast and belly are buff with black streaks. The upper mandible is black and the lores and orbital areas are yellow with a greenish tinge. The eyes are yellow and legs and feet are black. Juveniles look similar to the adults, but are paler.
The Goliath heron is territorial, usually living alone near water. A diurnal and often rather inactive feeder, the heron hunts by standing in the shallows, or on floating vegetation, intently watching the water at its feet. As prey appears, the heron rapidly spears it with open mandibles.
Goliath heron nests are found in trees overhanging water, on the ground and in low bushes. Both sexes build the stick and reed platform nest, which measures three-to-four feet across. Both parents incubate two-to-four pale blue eggs for 29 days. The chicks are covered with long white down.
Photo@Yan Van Dainne
African Paradise-Flycatcher is a beautiful bird with very long tail which allows sometimes detecting the bird among the foliage.
Plumage is very variable, from rufous to white, with five colours recognized.
Adult male (of all types) has rufous upperparts, upperwing and tail, with variable amount of black and white and greyish underparts.
Head is glossy blue-black with a crest. Central tail feathers are very elongated. In breeding plumage, the upper mandible and the eye-rings become electric-blue.
The male of nominate race has deep rufous upperparts. Wings show conspicuous white edgings.
Underparts are glossy blue-black on throat and breast. Belly is duller, mostly dark grey. Undertail coverts and tail are rufous.
Head is glossy blue-black with dark, thick crest on the crown.
Bill is cobalt-blue with black tip. Eyes are dark brown with thick bright cobalt-blue eye-ring. Legs and feet are bluish-black.
Photo@Michael Sammut
Gabar Goshawk is smaller than other Goshawks. We can observe two morphs, one grey and one almost black. This melanistic form represents about 6 to 25 % of population. The photo shown above is of a juvenile bird.
In typical grey morph, adult has plain grey upperparts and white rump. Tail is grey, barred with black.Underparts are plain grey on chest. Belly is white, barred with grey. Vent is white. Flight feathers are sooty-grey with very pale grey bars. Tail is white with broad dark grey bars.
Head is grey. Bill is black, with red cere and gape. Eyes are deep dark red. Long bare legs and stocky toes are bright red.
Gabar Goshawk lives in savannahs and semi-arid scrub with scattered trees. It avoids too dense forests and driest deserts. It is rather found in drier thorn savannah, and also along watercourses.In Kenya it is commonly seen in Lake Baringo and Bogoria, Tsavo West and East National and Samburu National Reserve.
Photo@Yan Van Dainne
Martial Eagle is the one of the huge eagle we have in Kenya.It is a large eagle, growing to a length of 76-83 cm with a wingspan of 190-260 cm. The adult’s plumage has dark brown upperparts, head and upper chest. The body underparts are white streaked with black. The underwing coverts are brown, with pale flight feathers, also streaked with black. The female is usually larger and more streaked than the male. The immature is paler above and has white underparts. It reaches adult plumage in its seventh year.
The Martial Eagle can be found throughout Kenya, wherever food is abundant and the environment favourable. It is never common, but greater population densities exist in Nairobi, Samburu and Maasai Mara National Parks, these birds are more abundant in protected areas than unprotected. It avoids dense forests but needs trees to nest in. The territory can vary greatly in size from more than 1000 Km² to areas where nests are less than 10 km distant. This disparity is due to differences in food supply.
Photo@Jurg Hosang
Hello birders!!Sorry, I was a way for some time birding with two birders from Indiana and New York state.For that reason, I did not post any bird of the week for the last two weeks!. I am back now with great pictures that I hope you will enjoy!!!for how beautiful are just birds!!.
The white-headed Buffalo Weaver is confine to Eastern Africa, and it is brown and white with red rump and vent. Both are stout-bodied, heavy-billed bird. In breeding season the male’s bill become whitish and swollen at the base. Buffalo weavers live in dry regions, where they forage omnivorously on the ground in small noisy flocks, often in the wake of buffalo heards.The nest, a heap of thorny twigs, contains components for two or more pairs;several nest may occupy the same tree.
It is common and widespread in dry part of the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya.
Photo@Joseph Aengwo
Southern Ground Hornbill is a large, turkey sized terrestrial bird, black-plumaged except for white primaries, conspicuous in flight. Adult bird has a bright red bare skin around eyes and on the neck, where usually somewhat inflated;eyes pale yellow; bill back, with small casque at the base above.
Pairs or small groups walk about in search for insects and small vertebrates.It will tend to take flight only when disturbed or alarmed.Widespread but partially distributed in open grassland and savanna around Nairobi National Park, Maasai Mara, Central Rift Valley a round Lake Nakuru and Naivasha and Kakamega forest, Mt.Elgon and Kapenguria.
Photo@Yan Van Danne
Northern Red-Bishop is have sexual dimorphism. Breeding Males has bright red back all the down to the tail, with wing panels being dark brown. The the front head to the face is black with a all black belly.
The male have eclipse plumage when not breeding in order to remain inconspicuous-at this time they resemble the drab female.This dimorphism is indicative of polygymous, colonial breeding species with intense reproductive competition-male taking a number of mates (up to eight) simultaneously or consecutively without offereing assistance in incubation or check-rearing.
He does however protect the territory vigorously from conspecific males. Males display to female with what is called the “bumble flight” where the back and head feathers are fluffed-giving them the appearance of a bumb-bee. Female feed the chicks by regurgitation.
Locally common in grassland, savanna and wetland in the Rift Valley around the Lakes of Baringo and Bogoria
Photo@Jurg Hosang
Red-and-Yellow Barbet like so all the other species of Barbet that I have come across are creatures of distinctive beauty. Barbet are closely related to tinkerbirds, woodpecckers, honeyguides and wrynecks. They are usually found alone or pairs.
This Barbet has a strong red billed, which is hooked and the face is generally red with bright white eared patches. The nominate race which is generally common is boldly white spotted above, with a black and white speckled band across the yellow breast, yellow-white tail spots, and boldly barred outer tail feathers; rump yellow, upper tail coverts red and yellow; and under tail coverts red and yellow tips.
Very social species and always prefer hanging around termite mounds where they both derive their food stuff and build their nest is circular holes.
Locally common and widespread in dry bush, savanna and woodland scrub of Kerio Valley, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria , Meru national park, Olorgesaillie and Magadi road.
Kenya Birding 