Longclaws are birds of African plains. They are easy to pick up when you are at the right location and habitat. Rosy-breasted (shown above) and Yellow-throated Longclaw are found in mid-altitude elevations. They are easily seen in Masai Mara game reserve and central Kenya grassland .
Pangani Longlaw is found in low altitude elevations and you have a great chance of seeing them in Nairobi, Amboseli and the Tsavos national park. However, it is important to note that I have seen on several occasion the Rosy-breasted, Yellow-throated and Pangani Longclaw in Amboseli national park.
Lastly the endemic Sharpe’s Longclaw is restricted to the high altitudes grassland of Kinangop.
Bee-eaters are known chiefly for their graceful aerial pursuit of large insect. They birds that inhabit warm,sunny lowland grassland, dry woodland or forest edges. Bee-eaters are closely related to kingfishers and motmot.
Hans Aeschlimann
Kenya’s impressive bird life offers plenty to interest both ornithologists and people who simply want to enjoy the diversity and colours, and for this alone, White-fronted Bee-eater is up there! The colored plumage is just a sight to behold!. These birds are also photogenic and very active and engaging mostly in the early hours of the morning or late afternoon.
Bee-eaters are social birds, occurring in pairs, small groups, or large foraging and breeding colonies.They forage from high vintage points including tree-tops,roadside wire, and telegraph poles,where they intently watch the area around and above them and dash out on swooping,gliding flights to grab passing insects.
In savannas where there are few high perches,several species, especially Carmine Bee-eater, sit on the backs of Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) and occasionally antelopes or larger animals, which also undoubtedly assist with flushing insects.
The tall, pink flamingos are an instantly recognizable group of birds, which have been known from earliest times and often celebrated in popular stories. They belong to one of the bird families, dating back at least 30 millions years, when their range extended to North America and Australia.
Photo By Jan F.L Van Duinen
All species have a long, slender neck and tall, spindy legs, a fairly small body, and large, specially adopted, drooping bill. Their plumage varies between pale and deep rose-pink, with crimson and black wings.
Flamingos are extremely sociable and usually occur in large flocks. At times, they form the biggest concentration of non-passerine birds: on occasions, more than a million gather at feeding sites. The birds forage by wading knee-deep at the edges of alkaline or saline lakes and lagoons.
They turn their head upside down and sweep the bill through the water, sucking in mouthfuls. As they squeeze out excess water with their tongue, comb like structures called lamellae trap tiny particles of food.
Photo by Jan F.L Van Duinen
Flamingos breed in large colonies at the edge of lakes or on island. In East Africa, the only reliable breeding site is Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. The nest is circular mound of mud baked hard by the sun, into which the female lays on white egg. The chicks look like fluffy duck-lings on hatching, and are fed on a milky mash regurgitated by their parents.
After a few days, they join a large group of youngsters within the colony, but continue to be fed by their parents for about 10 weeks longer, until they can fly and become fully independent.
Kenya Birding 