Amboseli; classic wild Kenya #2: birds

In my last post I introduced (or perhaps reintroduced) you to one of Kenya's most famous national parks, though not an especially large one. It is best known for its elephants and glorious views (cloud permitting!) of Mount Kilimanjaro just across the border in Tanzania to the south. 

However of course the other wildlife is wonderful too, and we enjoyed many birds that we'd not encountered further south, as well of course of re-encountering old friends. High among the most welcome of these favourites were the superb Grey Crowned Cranes Balearica regulorum. (Not Grey-crowned by the way. The name refers to their grey body and they are named to distinguish them from Black Crowned Cranes B. pavonina, which are found a little further north and then west across the arid Sahel to the Atlantic.) We never tired of them.

They are smaller than other cranes, just over a metre high, but have a wonderful presence.
They also have shorter stout bills than do other cranes and are generalist feeders in dry grasslands
and wetlands, on insects, caterpillars, frogs, small reptiles and crabs.

Unlike northern crane species they are not migratory. Some African populations wander in response to
environmental conditions, but in East Africa they stay in place all year round.

Like other cranes they mate for life, or for at least as long as their breeding attempts are successful!
And as with other cranes, pair bonds are reinforced by elaborate and very beautiful ritualised dances.

The Amboseli wetlands support a good range of bird life, much of which is well-used to visitors and is not much disturbed by our attentions.

Both Greater and Lesser Flamingos are present in huge numbers on the flooded shallow pans.

Storks are another favourite group of mine, and the huge Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensisstands an imposing 1.5 metres high with a wingspan of well over 2.5 metres.
It is a close relation of our own Black-necked Stork, which extends north into Asia.
The yellow eyes make this one a female.

They are primarily fish-eaters (though they'll snap up anything else in reach),
taking substantially-sized prey.

Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis are common, as they are right across Africa and southern Asia,
perched by the water or hovering above it.

Long-toed Lapwings Vanellus crassirostris forage in water or wet grass, but primarily
on floating vegetation like jacanas, supported by long toes.

Squacco Herons Ardeola ralloides breed in southern Europe and the Middle East,
and winter in Africa where this streaky plumage replaces their lovely breeding garb
of buffy yellow and golden orange with striking blue bill and face.

In such a rich habitat birds of prey are common too.

Immature Black-chested Snake Eagle Circaetus pectoralis; this is a powerful hunter which
indeed specialises in eating snakes, especially venomous ones!

The widespread little Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus is found across much of Africa
and southern Asia; in Australia it is replaced by the very similar Black-shouldered Kite E. axillaris.It hovers over grasslands, terrorising the local rodents.

Eastern Chanting Goshawk Melierax poliopterus; one of three long-legged, broad-winged members
of the genus. They are named from their 'loud, melodious chanting', according to Cornell's
Birds of the World site. Lizards comprise most of their diet.

The Greater Kestrel Falco rupicoloides is indeed one the largest kestrels,
found in southern and eastern Africa.

And surely the Secretary Bird Sagittarius serpentarius is one of the most extraordinary birds of prey
(or raptors)  in the world. There are four families of raptors. One contains 255 species of eagles, hawks,
Old World vultures etc; another has seven New World vultures; one has two ospreys,
and the fourth comprises just the Secretary Bird. They mince-shuffle across
the plains of much of Africa like someone wearing slippers that are too big, but to their prey - including
such large and potentially dangerous animals as hares and mongooses - they must be formidable indeed.

At 1.3 metres high there are not many birds in Amboseli bigger than the Secretary Bird, but one familiar bird towers over everything else.

Common Ostriches Struthio camelus are the world's largest birds, along with the recently recognised
Somali Ostrich S. molybdophanes.  A male can be a startling 2.75 metres high and weigh over 150kg.
They are widespread in Amboseli, and many other African parks.

Other smaller ground-dwellers (which, unlike the Ostrich, can fly but spend much of their time foraging on the ground) are still largish birds and can occur anywhere in the drier parts of Amboseli. They belong to a range of families.

Spotted Thick-knee Burhinus capensis, a beautifully camouflaged nocturnal bird which 'hides in plain sight'
during the day. Thick-knees are also known as dikkops in Africa (especially South Africa), but European, Indian
and Australian species are called stone-curlews; it may not be strictly accurate, but I find it more euphonious!

Male White-bellied Bustard Eupodotis senegalensis, a small, widespread and very attractive bustard.

Yellow-necked Spurfowl Pternistis leucoscepus. Spurfowls (or francolins) are members of the
big, widespread and old pheasant/quail/grouse/fowl family, but restricted to Africa.
This one is only found in north-east Africa.

I'm a big fan of the wonderful sandgrouse - not real grouse but a family of 16 species in mostly semi-arid open country in Africa and Asia. They are ground-dwellers but also powerful flyers, regularly covering 100 or more kilometres a day to drink. They arrive at water in big flocks as protection again waiting predators. Most famously the adults have hugely absorbent breast feathers with which they transport water to distant chicks on the hot plains.

Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus. Male on the left.
This species is restricted to Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia and Ethiopia.

Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus has a much larger distribution,
living right across Africa in a strip south of the Sahara, and east to India.
The male is facing us.

Finally a selection of smaller 'bush birds' having nothing much in common besides living in Amboseli and giving us much pleasure. I'll start with two species of mousebirds, a family (and in fact an entire Order, the only bird Order found only in Africa) of six species of oddly rodent-like birds as they clamber and scurry through foliage in family groups. I find them most engaging.

Blue-naped Mousebirds Urocolius macrourus really do have very blue napes.
They also are found across the dry Sahel, the arid woodland south of the Sahara

White-headed Mousebirds Colius leucocephalus on the other hand are pretty much restricted
to southern Somalia and adjacent Kenya. Surprisingly little is known about them, though they
doesn't appear to be threatened for now.

The Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala, like most kingfishers, is a woodland insect hunter.
This lovely little bird is found across much of Africa, where it spends much of its time like this -
sitting patiently and waiting for a meal to make a move.

Little Bee-eaters Merops pusillus are probably the smallest of the world's 27 bee-eaters.
This was one of a pair in the late afternoon sun using termite mounds as lookout posts
from which to intercept flying insects; they didn't miss much.

Mourning Collared Doves Streptopelia decipiens are familiar throughout much of Africa - but that's
no reason to ignore them. Its call, a thoughtful phoo-phooo, and muscial rattles, is a very
familiar in bushland and towns.

Red-and-Yellow Barbet Trachyphonus erythrocephalus, another north-east African special.
They eat everything from fruits to seeds to insects to small birds, and scavenge
without shame around human habitation. They nest in burrows in termite mounds.
As I've said before, one day I'll write a post on the four families of barbets (two
from Latin America, one each from Africa and Asia). Remind me...

Fischer's Starling Lamprotornis fischeri is a real study in grey. Not common even in its limited range,
it is found only in eastern Kenya and adjacent southern Somalia, and just sneaks across the border
into Ethiopia and Tanazania. This bird, typically, is foraging on the ground for insects.

In Australia we have just one pipit, and to be honest it's not very striking. The longclaws of Africa
however are very striking indeed, a genus of six species confined to (mostly tropical) Africa.
These Rosy-throated Longclaws Macronyx ameliae were singing enthusiastically and well;
they were a fair way off, so you might want to click on the picture to enlarge it and appreciate them properly.

No problem with seeing this Pangani Longclaw Macronyx aurantiigula however, as it posed on a rock by the track.
It has a similar north-eastern distribution to some other Amboseli birds, found only in south-eastern Kenya,
adjacent Tanzania and smaller parts of Somalia.

As I write this, the prospects of ever getting to travel to other parts of the Southern Hemisphere (or anywhere else of course) seem very remote indeed. We can only wait, stay safe, and hope for the best. Meantime maybe some vicarious travelling to wonderful destinations like Amboseli are better than nothing. I hope you think so.

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