GAME: name that bird!

[Jochen]

For East Africa, I'd recommend "Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania" by Dale Zimmerman, Donald Turner and David Pearson...

I also found this field guide very helpful during my last Kenyan safari...

 

I use it too! Together with that Mammals-guide by Estes.

 

Can anyone recommend a similar (and equally good) bird-book for Botswana?

 

Perhaps this one? http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Southern-Afric..._tit_10_rsrssi0

[Jochen]

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

 

Shouldn't be too difficult. I gave them the starting letters of every word.

[predator]

Tanya, fingers crossing helped....

 

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

 

Blacksmith Plover ?

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Brilliant photo of the heron and the hippo!!!

 

I also use the Zimmerman, Turner, Pearson book, BTW....

[Guest nyama]

Shouldn't be too difficult. I gave them the starting letters of every word.

I also gave a very direct hint to all owners of the Zimmerman/Turner/Pearson....

 

Can anyone recommend a similar (and equally good) bird-book for Botswana?

There is no specific serious bird field guide for Botswana - every field guide which covers southern Africa will do the job.

 

I already gave a very good recommendation above, Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Before that I used Sasol Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair/Hockey/Tarboton (that's the same book Jochen's Amazon link points to, but I generally prefer original editions from SA and also like to support African publishers). Other people prefer Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. I havn't seen the new Roberts Bird Guide so far; if it has the same quality as Roberts VII it should be a good field guide.

 

You can order these books at good online shops in South Africa, such as Kalahari.net or Netbooks. Netbooks is the bookshop of choice for all natural history things, but Kalahari.net has better shipping rates. Roberts Bird Guide must be directly ordered at Africa Geographic.

 

For all lovers of gadgets: PDA Solutions publishes an electronic version of the Sasol guide for Pocket PCs, Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa, which also gives you all the bird calls. I recommend to contact Netbooks for international orders of this item.

[Guest nyama]

Blacksmith Plover ?

No.

 

If you browse carefully through the last posts you'll find the solution.

[Nyamera]

African pied wagtail?

 

This is so frustrating. I don’t have Zimmerman and the guys and I couldn’t find the Rufous Bush Chat in my books.

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

This is so frustrating. I don’t have Zimmerman and the guys and I couldn’t find the Rufous Bush Chat in my books.

 

The Rufous Bush Chat is also called the Rufous Scrub Robin - maybe that is in your books?

[Guest nyama]

African pied wagtail?

Tatataataaaaa - and the winner is: Nyamera

 

 

(predator: African Pied Wagtail is "Plate 69 bird 5" in your bird guide.)

[Jochen]

There is no specific serious bird field guide for Botswana - every field guide which covers southern Africa will do the job.

 

I already gave a very good recommendation above, Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Before that I used Sasol Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair/Hockey/Tarboton (that's the same book Jochen's Amazon link points to, but I generally prefer original editions from SA and also like to support African publishers). Other people prefer Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. I havn't seen the new Roberts Bird Guide so far; if it has the same quality as Roberts VII it should be a good field guide.

 

You can order these books at good online shops in South Africa, such as Kalahari.net or Netbooks. Netbooks is the bookshop of choice for all natural history things, but Kalahari.net has better shipping rates. Roberts Bird Guide must be directly ordered at Africa Geographic.

 

For all lovers of gadgets: PDA Solutions publishes an electronic version of the Sasol guide for Pocket PCs, Sasol eBirds of Southern Africa, which also gives you all the bird calls. I recommend to contact Netbooks for international orders of this item.

 

Nyama, thanks 4 all that info!!!

[Nyamera]

I got it thanks to Jochen. It looked like a bigger bird, so it must have been a small hippo.

 

Tanya, I’ve got A Photographic Guide to East African Birds by Dave Richards and then there’re birds in Collins Field Guide to African Wildlife, but there’s no Scrub Robin. I should have got the Zimmerman book a long time ago. Without a book I recognise an ostrich and maybe a superb starling. I’m not shopping at the moment, but I feel so competitive that I’ll probably buy the Book anyway.

 

Now I know how to put pictures here. The problem is that I have only superb starlings. The Game Warden won’t be happy if I poach someone’s bird, but I’ve got a generous bird offer. Soon one of my own starlings will appear here.

[Nyamera]

[Guest nyama]

First try: Arrow-marked Babbler

[Guest John Milbank]

Nowadays my favourite bird field guide is "Birds of Africa south of the Sahara" by Sinclair/Ryan.

 

I've ordered it. Thanks nyama.

[Nyamera]

Nyama’s first try is right.

[Guest nyama]

To be honest, the bird looked familiar to me but I've never heard the name before. I went three times through all the plates of the field guide searching for a match, but I wasn't sure with this one.

 

Now, this one is a very shy species. And it seems to be a rare sighting because some of the more serious birders on this cruise were close to a heart attack when they saw this bird.

 

[predator]

African Finfoot ?

[Guest nyama]

African Finfoot ?

Correct, predator - it's your turn.

[predator]

OK I'm feeling kind so am including both birds in the photo (if I was feeling nasty I'd have just given you the front view).

 

So what's this bird....

 

[Jochen]

White headed buffalo weaver?

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Seems to me Jochen got it in one!

 

(Nice shot, by the way, predator...)

[Jochen]

Ok, another easy one...

 

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

I'm still not playing....but I DO know what this one is...have one outside my window right now, as luck would have it... lovely shot...

[Jochen]

Tanya,

 

Can I just say how incredibly jealous I am right now?

 

Don't you want to switch with me? You can have my job, my big paycheck, big car and big house with the fancy TV and all that other sh** we bought to fill our empty lives. You can have it all!

 

My kingdom for (a look at) that bird!

[Tanya_in_Kenya]

Tempting, but eeeerrrrr..... no thanks!