Africa: Karongwe/Birds

Brown Snake Eagle

I mentioned before that this was not a bird-watching trip and that I tried very hard not to slow down the momentum of our drives to photograph birds. But, we saw many and the guides often pointed them out and stopped for us to get a good look (and a picture).

Even though this was near the end of our animal adventures, we saw a lot of new species – in addition to some repeats from Kruger and Johannesburg.

We saw some exciting raptors including another soaring Bateleur (I don’t think these guys ever sit) …

The name Bateleur comes from the old French word meaning juggler or puppet 

Not one ...

A very impressive bird

... but two Brown Snake Eagles ...

And, a great poser

This was quite a treat; they are beautiful birds. Slightly smaller than a Bald Eagle, the eat mainly snakes, including a number of venomous ones.

And, during our night drive, we saw a Pearl Spotted Owlet. This tiny owl (it is called an “owlet,” but it is an owl) has a feather pattern on the back of its head that looks like eyes. 

Looking our way? Nope!

In fact, I thought it was facing me until it turned its head and we saw its real eyes. Amazing!

Looking our way now! Photo: Caty Stevens

We would have never seen it if it hadn’t flown across the road. These pictures were taken by flashlight.

We saw an African Dusky Flycatcher hiding in the branches …

An unassuming bird

A flock of Black-bellied Starlings …

What looks like white is just reflection on their shiny feathers

And, two brightly colored Brown-hooded Kingfishers …

Why does the name focuses on brown instead of the orange bill or blue feathers?

While we were photographing the African Buffalo, I turned around and saw this magnificent bird, the Burchell's Coucal. A species of cuckoo, it is named after the British naturalist William John Burchell, who also has a Zebra named after him. 

Maybe better than a Buffalo

The Burchell’s Coucal is large – about 16 inches tall and – look closely – it has bright red eyes. It is predatory, stalking through thick bush and eating insects, snails, frogs, toads, reptiles and birds up to the size of a laughing dove.

Beautiful feather pattern

We saw a Red-Crested Korhaan in the tall grass. 

I wasn't able to get much of a picture, but quite frankly, the bird was so hard to see in the dappled sunlight, I am shocked that the picture came out this well. It has very pretty upper markings that camouflage it well and it is jet black on the bottom (you can see that a little here). I don't see a red crest at all.

The Red-Crested Korhaan is also known as a “Suicide Bird “ because the male tries to impress the female by flying up into the air and then dropping to the ground like a stone before opening his wings at the last minute. 

I wish we could have seen it doing more than hiding in the bushes. 

I found a YouTube video of its mating dance -- click here to see it (warning -- graphic content).

Turns out the Red-Crested Korhaan is a member of the Bustard family. I wanted to see a Bustard!

We saw a Southern White-crowned Shrike …

See the telltale hook on the bill?

… and a White-crested Helmetshrike ...

The yellow eye-rings are tiny feathers

We saw lots of flying long-tailed Mousebirds – mainly Red-faced – but I got a picture of only one – a White-backed Mousebird – look at that tail …

Long, long tail

Here’s one that I wish I had asked the driver to be a bit more patient for -- a Purple-crested Turaco. We saw it fly briefly and then it just hopped around deep within a bush. Maybe if I had waited it out …

It took lots of PhotoShop to see this

Or, maybe not .. Caty and I tried and tried and tried to get good pictures of a couple of brightly colored Sunbirds outside our tent cabin at Chisomo. This is the best I could do – a male Scarlet-chested Sunbird …

It took lots of time to get this

... and a female Collared Sunbird ...

Hiding, always hiding!

Plus, we saw some birds we had seen in Kruger or Johannesburg, including Forked-Tailed Drongos ...

Pretty red eyes

Red-billed Oxpeckers – those birds that hitch rides on Rhinos, Hippos, Elephants and antelope hoping to catch a blood snack …

A striking blood sucker

A Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill …

That's what I'm talkin' about

An African Pied Wagtail that looked much lighter than ones I had seen before …

It turned out to be a juvenile

Some Grey Go-Away-Birds that were very happy to perform for us …

Also known as a Grey Lourie, Grey Loerie or Kwêvoël

The beautiful Southern Masked Weaver …

A pretty bird

An African Hoopoe, which I hadn’t been able to photograph before – and barely got this time. A very similar bird is common across Europe. Maybe I’ll see one on my next trip!

Not a good shot

The Green Wood-Hoopoe was equally difficult to photograph. 

Why are these pretty birds so difficult?

A number of Dark-capped Bulbuls …

A striking yellow vent

Laughing Doves …

Showing off by puffing up his throat

... a Red-eyed Dove ...

You can't really see the red eyes

... and Cape Glossy Starlings ...

A gorgeous (and common) bird

We didn’t see a Hamerkop this time, but we did see a huge Hamerkop nest. Unlike a big raptor’s nest, this one is closed on the top and entered through a hole on the side.

Giant nest

Although we didn’t see a lot of bugs, I did see two different Damsel/Dragonflies …

Left, Blue Dasher; Right, Kirby’s Dropwing Dragonfly

So, not too bad for a non-bird-watching trip.

Trip date: August 25-September 9, 2017