GAME: name that bird!

[Jochen]

Damn, this IS a difficult one.

 

Red-winged warbler? But that's not on your list... You got red-fronted on there, but that one doesn't have the "zorro" look.

 

OK.. stupid me... RUFOUS BUSH CHAT!

 

Of course! Like the white-browed scrub robin, but without speckles on the chest!

 

Please tell me I'm right!

[Riz Jiwa]

Tanya..

I was waiting to see who else could..

but, please confirm..?

 

Rufous Bush Chat or Rufous Scrub Robin (Cercotrichas galactotes familiaris)

Palearctic migrant - Dry bush/scrub - Nov to April

 

Merci.

[Riz Jiwa]

Oh! Good job Jochen!

Blame it onmy connection!

Hahah!

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Lots of applause for Jochen! And for Riz! :D

 

Rufous Bush Chat is the right answer....cercotrichas galactotes familiaris.

 

Your turn, Jochen: throw us your worst! Or was it Riz who got in there first? There are a few repeat posts here so I don't know whose turn it is......

[Riz Jiwa]

going by the time of posting.. Jochen's up!

.. and i still havent figured out how to get pics on here...

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Riz - you need to host your pictures on another website (at least this is what I do) and then hotlink across (when you write a new post, you'll see a little icon at the top of the text box, with a little screen/picture in it - click on this and then enter the URL of the image which you want to include...I might not be explaining this very well - please can someone more techy than me help with a clearer explanation!

 

(Riz, if it makes it easier, you can always email me your photo, I will host it for you and email you the URL so you can use it to attach the picture in your own post.)

 

Or I suppose you could always add a picture as an attachment to your post instead?

[predator]

The easy way is to click on the "my albums" link just below the top banner, and create an album then add images to it. Once you've added an image then it gives you the URL to insert if you want to include an image in your posts.

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

I tried this but when I tried to link to my post, I kept getting a message that dynamic images are not allowed in posts (and I don't think it was alluding to the style of my photography!)...or was I doing something wrong?

[predator]

I tried this but when I tried to link to my post, I kept getting a message that dynamic images are not allowed in posts (and I don't think it was alluding to the style of my photography!)...or was I doing something wrong?

 

Must have been I'm afraid - this is one of your images that you put in an album.

 

If you go to your album and select an image, then highlight the contents of the box labelled "Image Link:". Copy it (CTRL-C) then come to the forum and make a post. Click the image buttong and then paste (CTRL-V) into the address box that pops up, and hey presto one of your photos is in the post.

 

[Guest nyama]

I tried this but when I tried to link to my post, I kept getting a message that dynamic images are not allowed in posts (and I don't think it was alluding to the style of my photography!)...or was I doing something wrong?

Apparently something went wrong. If you're on a picture page in your album, use the Image Link from the Hotlinking & BBCode section, and everything should be fine.

 

I use several Safaritalk galleries for the pictures I posted here (I just made one of them public last night - look for "Nyama's Safari Potpourri"). One advantage of using Safaritalk's galleries for posting pictures is that you avoid dead links in case the foreign website is down or the pictures on the foreign website have been renamed or re-organized.

 

There are some helpful posts on how to publish your pictures: How do you get your pics into a report?, Creating your gallery album and uploading images and Posting images in the text.

 

PS: predator already posted the answer while I was still editing.

[Jochen]

Rufous Bush Chat is the right answer....cercotrichas galactotes familiaris.

 

(makes small happy dance) All right!

 

OK...

 

Another one...

 

 

May look a bit easy but to be totally honest; I'm not 100% sure what it is ...the blue forehead does not match the description in the book...

[Guest nyama]

If it's dry country it could be an Hunter's Sunbird.

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Thanks for the image linking tips, Nyama and Predator...I'm going to try it again now...

 

I think Nyama is right and it's a Hunters Sunbird (I think the "blue" in your photo Jochen might just be iridescence in the sun?)...here's another picture of one (fingers crossed!)

 

[Guest nyama]

Tanya, fingers crossing helped....

 

This should be an easy one (the bird, not the mammal):

 

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

I'm not playing this time around (too busy trying to identify the mammal in the photo ) - great shot though - amazing how you got the **** [bird] so perfectly poised...

[Jochen]

Hunter's sunbird is indeed what I think it is too. But indeed the throat & forehead should be ...green. Really weird.

 

We'll blame my lousy lens shall we?

 

On to Nyama's bird then... but I'll let somebody else figure out it is an A...... P... W......

[Guest nyama]

Btw, this is a great thread!

 

I wouldn't call myself a birder though I make a lot of bird photos during safaris... I always forget the names that the guides are telling me. This thread isn't only entertaining but also very informative. So I guess next time on safari I will be better prepared.

[Guest John Milbank]

Btw, this is a great thread!

 

Have to agree. Just wish I had a decent African bird field guide like my Australian ones. I've a couple of small ones for Botswana and Zambia, but...

[predator]

Just wish I had a decent African bird field guide like my Australian ones. I've a couple of small ones for Botswana and Zambia, but...

 

For East Africa, I'd recommend "Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania" by Dale Zimmerman, Donald Turner and David Pearson. On my Kenyan trip this was the book of choice of several serious birders, including our tour leader who worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). After a week of the trip I ended up buying a copy myself.

[Guest nyama]

John, my next bird is certainly in your small field guides.

 

 

OFF TOPIC

 

Jochen, I just followed that link on the other forum to your picture of GW. I wished you had included some kind of warning into that post - I nearly wet my pants...

(though the picture reminds me a little bit on King Bob)

[Guest nyama]

For East Africa, I'd recommend "Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania" by Dale Zimmerman, Donald Turner and David Pearson. On my Kenyan trip this was the book of choice of several serious birders, including our tour leader who worked for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). After a week of the trip I ended up buying a copy myself.

I also found this field guide very helpful during my last Kenyan safari. My guide had it too, and during game drives all he had to do was saying "Plate 69 bird 5". However what I don't like with the Zimmerman/Turner/Pearson is that illustration and text for a specific bird are in different sections of the book.

 

Nowadays my favourite bird field guide is "Birds of Africa south of the Sahara" by Sinclair/Ryan. It covers all countries in Central/East/West/Southern Africa (especially important for travellers to Zambia, John) and has illustrations and texts on opposite pages.

[Guest nyama]

While Tanya is still busy to identify the mammal on the last picture (), and I'm still waiting that some non-birders find the answer (Nyamera, Hari, atravelynn and all you others, where are you? ), here is another easy bird which should also be listed in John's small field guides. However, there's an additional question...

 

a. What's the name of the bird?

b. The river is several metres deep here - how does this bird manage standing on the "surface"?

 

[Guest John Milbank]

Grey heron?

 

Standing on a hippo?

[Guest nyama]

John, you've just won a beer (which I will pay if we ever meet on safari...) - both answers are correct!

 

Here's the second picture of this series...

 

 

Now I'm still waiting for an answer to the other question...

[Jochen]

OFF TOPIC

 

Jochen, I just followed that link on the other forum to your picture of GW. I wished you had included some kind of warning into that post - I nearly wet my pants...

 

 

I just couldn't resist. "What celebs have you met...?" Such snobbery. Sigh...