Just outside of Arusha, Tanzania, this Tawny Eagle was lingering near the roadside. Roadkill is an easy way to get a meal and foraging along the roads is an efficient use of its time.
Tawny Eagle
Tanzanian Birds (Part One) /
Here is a Weaver Bird making a nest near Arusha, Tanzania. I might not identify (to species) some of the birds in these posts. This is because I haven't looked them up yet... feel free to take it on as an ID quiz and post your answers in the comments. These images are from a series of trips I took to Tanzania over the past few years. I grew up in Dar es Salaam.
A Superb Starling keeps cool in the afternoon heat.
A Swallow resting near a hotel pool in the Serengeti.
The same Swallow with nesting material.
A Tawny Eagle perched on a ribcage snatched from a nearby lion kill.
A Von der Decken's Hornbill brings a large grasshopper to waiting chicks.
This adorable bird is called a Thick-knee. There are several types of Thick Knee and this is one of them. And yes... its knees are thick.
These are White-faced Whistling Ducks at a hippo pool in Mikumi National Park.
At the eastern gate to the Serengeti there is a tree. It is the only tree for miles. I once found it full of birds that looked a bit like doves from a distance. Upon closer inspection it turned out they were all small falcons - kestrels. This was the lone White-eyed Kestrel in the bunch.
Sometimes you look out of your car window and find an African Wattled Plover keeping pace. More tomorrow...