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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: Birds

There are some more recent pictures of birds from our trip to Kenya and South Africa in the Special Assignment: Around The World In 40 Days.

Giant flocks of flamingos migrate to southern African. You'll see them hanging out in the marshes near Cape Town. They are pink because of their diet, and young are born like ugly gray fuzzy featherless turkeys.

Ostriches can run quite fast, and like to hiss. They have a wicked back claw that can eviscerate a predator. You'll often see farms of ostriches, as the steaks make good eating. You can often buy ostrich biltong (dried meat snack) from the locals.

The spoonbill has a very unique beak that looks like a wooden spoon. You'll see the spoonbill at waterholes. Both sexes share incubation and feeding the young.

One easy way to find a kill site is to follow the vultures. You'll see them circling a kill site, and hanging out in the trees, waiting for the opportunity to partake in a meal themselves.

The Ground Hornbill looks like a large black and red turkey. They are endangered.

There are a variety of colorful birds in Africa. The bee-eaters are very pretty, feasting on dragonflies and often living near water.

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Also on Perlgurl.Org:
The Reluctant Bird Buff (Avian Admirer?)
Birds As Carriers: From Avian Flu to Toxic Poop

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:45 PM