Bataleur and Tawny... err Steppe Eagle

If you see an eagle like this in Northern Tanzania and call it a Tawny Eagle you'll be right most of the time. They do have a cousin from the north called a Steppe Eagle which has an amazing gape. The mouth extends nearly level with the back of the eye. So now that I take a closer look at this image I think it is a Steppe... but I'm open to advice on the matter.

They certainly are impressive. This one was keeping company with a juvenile bird of another species...

a young Bataleur, a strangely shaped yet supremely talented thermal rider.

They have hardly a tail to speak of but don't seem hampered in the least. Great birds.

Tanzanian Birds (part four)

A female Sunbird finds sun-warmed flowers near a reptile park in Arusha.

A Babbler forages for insects in the trees.

I said to the guide... "I'd love to see a Bataleur." He said "Maybe later today." Then I looked up from the hippo pool and saw a bird circling down towards us and there it was. Such cool stumpy-tailed birds. Unmistakeable.

No idea what this is... but it's a looker.

The bird baths at Ol Mesera tented camp get an amazing diversity of birds. 25 species over breakfast.

Black Kites are generalists everywhere except the picnic area at Ngorongoro, where they specialize in stealing sandwiches out of your hands. (CLICK HERE to see them in action)

Swooping in to check if anyone is being careless with their lunch.

Black-bellied Bustards strut their stuff on the plains. That's it for the Tanzanian Birds series. Let me know if you want to see a series with other Tanzanian animals.