We’re back with wildlife photos, and think of this site if you have some good ones. Today’s contributor is Ralph Burgess, with a second installment of bird photos taken in Kruger National Park from September to December of last year 2019 (the first batch of that series was here). The IDs are his:
African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer):
Fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilia):
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta):
Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris):
African hoopoe (Upupa africana):
Kori bustard (Ardeotis kori):
Two photos of the lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudatus):
Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus):
Magpie shrike (Urolestes melanoleucus):
Those are beautiful birds. I bet it was an absolutely meditative experience getting their pictures.
The Ardeotis kori’s common name sounds a bit like some kind of Cockney insult.
Excellent!
Very nice! The helmeted guinea fowl would be an inspiration for reconstructing dinosaurs.
Nice pictures!
Spectacular birds! It’s fascinating to see birds from another continent. Quite different in unexpected ways. Evolution throws up a continuous array of fancy styles for us to enjoy – thank the gods 😎
Wonderful photographs of wacky birds—the Fork-tailed drongo looks like a Jim Henson animatronic!
Superb pics of great looking birds. Thanks.
The Drongo is a juvenile, that’s why it has the fluffy feathers. The adult is all black, dull to look at but really interesting behavior. It’s always talking, and it’s an exceptional mimic – it uses the alarm calls of other animals to steal their food. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that it will even mimic antelope alarm calls to make them move and disturb insects as they run.
This is a fantastic set- Beautiful…even the guinea fowl 😊
Are bustards scavengers like buzzards/vultures? Neat looking bird.
The Kori Bustard is better described as an omnivorous forager than a scavenger, I think. They are the heaviest flying bird in Africa (or tied for heaviest), it’s a big energy expenditure to fly, I have only ever seen them foraging on the ground.
The Black-Bellied Korhaan/Bustard in the last set of pics is a relative – Korhaan and Bustard seem to be alternative names. And there will be some pictures of the Red-Crested Korhaan coming in a later set.
Thanks for the information Ralph. Looking forward to your next set of photos.
Great set including a lot of birds on my bucket list. The Fork-tailed Drongo was interesting because we have a Fish-tailed Drongo in Australia/New Guinea