Beautiful Sunbird (Cinnyris pulchella)

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Tara

The Beautiful Sunbird (Cinnyris pulchella) (formerly placed in the genus Nectarinia), is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

The name and the description are the same. I managed to get a few good photos in Ndutu and Tarangire.

The much duller female

They have a large range stretching from the West Coast of Africa to Ethiopia in the east and as far south as Tanzania. Look for them in flowering plants in lodges, they seem to know a good free feed when they see one! The red dot shows Ndutu where I had my best sighting.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BEAUTIFUL SUNBIRDS

Wikipedia

Birdlife

HBW

VIDEOS

There are a few clips from the Gambia on IBC as well as this one from YouTube.

Tarangire To Ngorongoro – Getting There Was Half The Fun

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Tara

I could have called this the “scenic route” to Ngorongoro but in Africa just about everything is scenic! We got a somewhat late start but who wouldn’t when there are all these delightful little Yellow-collared Lovebirds and Red-billed Firefinches to watch! This is where I am different from normal birders or “twitchers”. I can happily sit and watch a couple of interesting species for hours rather than running around ticking boxes off a list.

The driver finally convinced me to go so we headed off back down the road towards Arusha past the Masai villages and farms.

It never ceases to amaze me how these ladies do this!

Then we turned off down the road to Ngorongoro & Serengeti which proved equally as scenic.

Along the way, there were lots of these little art stands.

I resisted the temptation to shop until we reached the village of Mto Wa Mbu.

This larger art market had much more variety so I just had to stop and shop. Prices were extremely negotiable and I found some nice bird paintings in the traditional Tingatinga style to bring home for us and for gifts.

We drove past the Lake Manyara NP, if we had had more time we could have stopped in but it was close to noon so not the best timing.

After passing more handicraft stalls, we came to the town of Karatu which is a dry dusty town that didn’t really interest us, though we did top up the fuel tank.

A few km further and we reached the gates of Ngorongoro Conservation Area………..

Yellow-collared Lovebird (Agapornis personatus)

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Tara

The yellow-collared lovebird (Agapornis personatus), also called masked lovebird or eye ring lovebird, is a monotypic species of bird of the lovebird genus in the parrot family Psittaculidae. They are native to northeast Tanzania and have been introduced to Burundi and Kenya.

I took these photos at Whistling Thorn Camp near Tarangire.

They are near endemic to Tanzania and are very easily seen at the northern end of Tarangire National Park. They frequent a well at Whistling Thorn Camp and were the first birds to welcome us in!

LEARN MORE ABOUT YELLOW COLLARED LOVEBIRDS

VIDEO

I had to search through a lot of captive bird videos to find some in the wild!

This is why they are called lovebirds!

Red-and-yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus)

Posted on May 8, 2015 by Tara

The red-and-yellow barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus) is a species of African barbet found in eastern Africa. Males have distinctive black (spotted white), red, and yellow plumage; females and juveniles are similar, but less brightly colored. The species lives in broken terrain and nests and roosts in burrows. Omnivorous, the species feeds on seeds, fruit, and invertebrates. Where not hunted, they are tame, but their feathers are used by certain tribes, such as the Maasai.

I took these photos in Tarangire NP, Tanzania. Despite his bright colours, notice how well he can hide himself in the bush when he wants to.

They have quite a large range but for the traveling birder I can highly recommend Tarangire NP, also going into Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania. This one was very close to the Tarangire Safari Lodge. You can see other location in the Xeno-canto and IBC websites listed below.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

There are some more videos on IBC which show locations you can try to see these birds.

Stunning close-up footage of the Barbet!

And here’s a charming concert presented by two Barbets in love!

Brown Parrot aka Meyer’s Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri)

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Tara

The Brown Parrot aka Meyer’s parrot (Poicephalus meyeri) is a small (about 21 cm, 90-130g), stocky African parrot. Meyer’s parrots display a dull brown head, back and tail, green or blue-green abdomen, blue rump and bright yellow markings on the carpal joint of the wings. Most subspecies have some yellow on the top of the head as well. Forshaw (1989) recognizes six subspecies of P. meyeri which vary in home range, size and in markings, including the extent of yellow markings on the head and wings and intensity of turquoise markings on the abdomen and rump. The name commemorates the German ornithologist Bernhard Meyer.

I had to work for these shots as the Meyer’s Parrots in Tarangire were pretty far away and experts at camouflage!

The six subspecies are:

P. m. meyeri (Cretzschmar, 1827) — s Chad to w Ethiopia
P. m. saturatus (Sharpe, 1901) — Uganda and w Kenya to w Tanzania
P. m. matschiei (Neumann, 1898) — c Tanzania, se Congo, Zambia and n Malawi
P. m. reichenowi (Neumann, 1898) — c Angola to s Congo
P. m. damarensis (Neumann, 1898) — n Namibia, s Angola and nw Botswana
P. m. transvaalensis (Neumann, 1899) — Botswana, Zimbabwe and n South Africa

Meyer’s Parrots have a huge range so you have a good chance to see them on most African birding safaris. Check above as to the subspecies you are likely to see. Tarangire NP in Tanzania is a relatively easy place to see them (red dot) but you also could try Serengeti, Masai Mara, some parks in Uganda, Zambia, Zimabawe, Chobe in Botswana, Etosha in Namibia. The Xeno-Canto & IBC websites below have actual locations where other people saw them and took sound clips.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MEYER’S PARROTS

VIDEO

Well YT has hundreds of captive Meyer’s Parrot videos but this one at last shows their natural sound. There are more videos on IBC which I can’t embed here that have actual wild birds.

Tarangire National Park Part 2 – Afternoon Safari

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Tara

This time I was on a mission – to find and photograph Meyer’s Parrots! Since we now had a good lead on on where to find them we went off in that direction. But getting there is always half the fun when you can also see a Red & Yellow Barbet along the way! He tried to hide but our guide spotted him.

Rednecked Spurfowl

White-browed Scrub Robin

We drove past a sausage tree grove and I saw some movement in the bushes across the stream. I took aim and this is what I got. See if you can find the hidden birds!

After cropping the above photos, NOW can you see them? Meyer’s Parrots! And a little friend in a couple photos, maybe a Bulbul of some sort?

Success! Having seen and photographed all 3 of my target birds, the 3 parrot species, I could now sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

Magpie shrike

Dark-backed Forest Weaver

Giraffes

Nubian Woodpecker

Mousebird

Very cool how these elephants were standing on their hind legs to reach the tree!

Rabbit

Superb Starling glowing in the sun.

The end of the day and a beautiful sunset over Tarangire National Park.

Taking A Break At Tarangire Safari Lodge

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Tara

After lunch, we pushed on but it was obvious the birds were taking a break so when we passed a sign leading to Tarangire Safari Lodge, I decided it was time for us to take a break too!

The travel blogger in me was keen to check out the accommodation as well. Of course I couldn’t enter a bungalow but the grounds and facilities were excellent! They even had wifi at the restaurant so I could check my emails while resting and sipping cold drinks. The lucky guests had a pool to cool off in. It was really hot that day!

I really loved the poster they had to show what birds frequent the area!

Our driver had gone off to where the other drivers & guides hang out for a nap and promised to pick us up at 4pm. Ina & I headed to the restaurant to chill out and have some ice-cold drinks.

The view from the restaurant is amazing!

While we were sitting and relaxing, we could see some Beautiful Sunbirds.

There was also a cute little Speckled Mousebird.

Female Beautiful Sunbird

Refreshed and rejuvenated, we were ready to make our final afternoon safari in Tarangire. I had been talking to some other people who had seen Meyer’s Parrots that morning and I got their guide to tell our guide where to find them. So off we went!

Blue-capped Cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Tara

The delicately coloured Blue-capped Cordon-bleu or Blue-Capped cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus) is native to Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Tanzania in East Africa.

I saw them in Tarangire (red dot) in Tanzania where they were foraging with a mixed flock. Check the Xeno-canto website below to see other people’s sightings of this elegant little bird.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS BIRD

VIDEO

There are some wild bird videos on IBC which also give more reliable locations to see Cordonbleus.

This one from YT shows a captive Cordonbleu demonstrating foraging methods of his wild cousins.

Red-bellied Parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris)

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Tara

The red-bellied parrot (Poicephalus rufiventris) is a small African parrot about 23 cm (9 in) long of the Poicephalus genus. Some guidebooks call this the “African Orange-bellied Parrot” so be sure you check the scientific name. It is a mostly greenish and grey parrot. Males have a bright orange belly and females have a greenish belly.

I saw them in two different locations at Tarangire, one in the small Serengeti plain and one near the campground. Here’s a close-up of the male & female respectively, then some photos showing their environment.

They have a decent sized range in East Africa but the easiest places to find them would be Tarangire NP, Arusha NP and possibly Amboseli in Kenya. The red dot is Tarangire NP location.

LEARN MORE ABOUT RED-BELLIED PARROTS

VIDEO

It was a challenge to find a video of these birds in the wild but here’s one.

Visiting Tarangire National Park – Part 1

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Tara

Many visitors to Tanzania bypass Tarangire National Park in favour of the more dramatic Ngorongoro Crater and the iconic Serengeti. But for the birder, Tarangire is a must! Since there are so many photos, this part will take us up to lunch time, the 2nd part will cover the afternoon and early evening. I have identified what I can, still missing a few so will get back to them – or help me out in the comments!

This is the entrance gate nearest to Whistling Thorn Camp.

Mind the rules!

Fees are paid on a 24 hour basis so you want to spend the full day in the park to maximize your wildlife sightings. If you are staying at a lodge inside the park, you will pay the fee for each 24 hour period you are there. These fees were valid from July 2013 – June 2015. Keep an eye on the website to see the new prices taking effect after July 2015.