Michael´s Fifth Year

[michael-ibk]

135/T91.) African Mourning aka Mourning Collared Dove (Streptopelia decipiens) / Brillentaube

 

Only one sighting in Ruaha. A classic African sound.

 

[michael-ibk]

136/T92.) Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) / Palmtaube

 

Regular but not very common in Ruaha.

 

 

Whew, surprised myself how many bl**** Pigeons I shot!

 

[Galana]

3 hours ago, michael-ibk said:

surprised myself how many bl**** Pigeons I shot!

Yes. They are often overlooked as they are so common they seem to get 'filtered out' of conscious recognition and you just don't 'see' them.

A nice bunch to enjoy..

[pedro maia]

Great collection of doves but the Sandgrouses get my vote on this batch.

Edited March 24, 2020 by pedro maia

[Dave Williams]

Stunning set of images Michael.... and don't knock the Pigeon. We might be using them to send messages again soon!!

Building a nice total there, keep them coming!

[Soukous]

On 3/24/2020 at 7:21 PM, michael-ibk said:

Whew, surprised myself how many bl**** Pigeons I shot!

 

our local gamekeeper said something similar, he won't run out of food. 

[Galana]

Just now, Soukous said:

he won't run out of food

But he may end up short of ammunition!

[Kitsafari]

my vote for the sandgrouses too. great batch of pigeons and doves. 

[michael-ibk]

137/T93.) Meyer´s Parrot (Poicephalus meyeri) / Goldbugpapagei

 

The classic African parrot. A couple of sightings in Ruaha (yes, splendid weather for that photo). I had hoped for Brown-Headed in Selous but no such luck.

 

[michael-ibk]

138/T94.) Yellow-Collared Lovebird (Agapronis personatus) / Schwarzköpfchen

 

My nemesis bird in Ruaha. They are very common there but very furtive - you just see them flying away in a straight line. Fortunately we finally found one quiet little skulker hiding high up in the canopy.

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

139/T95.) Purple-Crested Turaco (Tauraco porphyreolophus) / Glanzhaubenturako

 

Quite common in Ruaha, unsurprisingly found in the same fruiting trees as the Green Pigeons. They like similar food. Also saw a Livingstone´s trekking in Udzungwa but could not get a photo (neither of anything else, that was a tough birding day there!).

 

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

140/T96.) Bare-Faced Go-Away-Bird (Corythaixoides personata) / Braungesicht-Lärmvogel

 

A few in the Selous, more common in Ruaha.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

141/T97.) Levaillant´s Cuckoo (Oxylophus levaillantii) / Streifenkuckuck

 

Only one sighting in Ruaha. This one is parasiting on Babblers, mainly Arrow-Markeds.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

142/T98.) Jacobin aka Black-and-White Cuckoo (Oxylophus jacobinus) / Jakobinerkuckuck

 

Three or four of them in Ruaha. They prefer Bulbuls as brood hosts - can´t be too hard for them to find foster parents then.

 

[michael-ibk]

143/T99.) African Cuckoo (Cuculus gularis) / Afrikanerkuckuck

 

One very distant sighting in Ruaha, so a brutal crop here. We also heard Red-Chested all the time but never saw one - I hate that bird!

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

144/T100.) Diederik Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) / Goldkuckuck

 

Always a special bird to see and not one I´ve managed to photograph all that often before. But Southern Tanzania seems to be a hotspot for them, I´d guess we saw more than twenty all over the country.

 

[michael-ibk]

145/T101.) African Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) / Smaragdkuckuck

 

My best Cuckoo-ebc, total out of focus always does the trick. A short glimpse of this wonderful bird in Ruaha.

 

[michael-ibk]

146/T102.) Senegal Coucal (Centropus senegalensis) / Spornkuckuck

 

A few of them in Ruaha. A good opportunity to talk about "Birds of Eastern Africa", the staple Stevensson/Fanshawe birding book for the region. I´m sorry to say I have lost some respect for it. Normally when I see a bird and the map says, Hey, this one really should not be here it´s usually a different bird. So the maps are normally quite right. Not so in Southern Tanzania. A lot of the ranges given in the book are inaccurate, as was confirmed by some of the experts on the FB Birding Tanzania groups. The Senegal Coucal is a good example - according to the book it should not occur at all in Tanzania. But everyone told me it´s a regular in the Green Season in Ruaha.

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by michael-ibk

[Peter Connan]

Lovely! Been wishing to see an Emerald for several years!

Edited March 28, 2020 by Peter Connan

[michael-ibk]

147/T103.) Black Coucal (Centropus grillii) / Grillkuckuck

 

A lifer for me, a fleeting sighting in the open grasslands of Ruaha.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

148/T104.) White-Browed Coucal (Centropus superciliousus) / Weißbrauenkuckuck

 

Very common (most so in Ruaha), the default Coucal in the area.

 

[michael-ibk]

149/T105.) Verreaux´s Eagle-Owl (Bubo lacteus) / Milchuhu

 

One bird in Ruaha. Often a pretty relaxed bird but this one did not like to pose at all. We saw it three days in a row but it was always flying away when we approached its tree. Only on the last morning did it linger a bit.

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

150/T106.) African Scops Owl (Otus senegalensis) / Afrika-Zwergohreule

 

It´s been a while since I´ve seen one of these although they are heard regularly at night on safari. This one has made one of the small picnic stops along the Great Ruaha its home.

 

[michael-ibk]

151/T107.) Little Swift (Apuf affinis) / Haussegler

 

The bridge across the Great Ruaha was quite a productive place - I tried to click some "Eurasian Swifts" as I thought there but actually none of them were. This was probably the only one I had IDed correctly on the spot.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

152/T108.) White-Rumped Swift (Apus caffer) / Kaffernsegler

 

Same place. Very similar but note the forked tail. Lifer for me.

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by michael-ibk