(Africa Series)
I recently traveled to
Africa, with the intent of finding new birds to photograph. I found over fifty 'new' bird
species, but not just birds.
I went with my good friends Barbara and
Don Gilmore. Barb is a tour
organizer and owns Many Hats Travel. She led eighteen women and four men
through Sweetwater Tented Camp, Lake Nakuru National Park and the Maasai Mara
in Kenya’s Rift Valley. The experience was enlightening, eye opening and
exhausting all at the same time. There was little downtime, chiefly self-inflicted because you
don’t want to miss anything. Missing a game drive could mean not seeing an animal others saw. As our African
host, Atonio Marangabassa stated, "If you want a vacation, go to Hawaii…you’re
here to see animals!"
But Feather Tailed
Stories is not a travel blog…it’s about birds and I will keep it as such. Nevertheless, there were many
interesting animals stories in Africa and to NOT tell them would be unfortunate.
My focus here is still on birds, but for this series I will include four-legged
animals, too. I hope you agree with this major deviation, but I will start with
birds.
Lilac-breasted Rollers are common in Kenya and not hard to
find throughout East Africa. Conspicuously
colorful, the Lilac-breasted Roller holds little hope of going unnoticed.
Prominently perching in the open, his sightlines are long, both for finding
prey and avoiding being preyed upon. He is the National Bird of Kenya.
The only North American bird I’ve seen that approaches the spectacular
color palette of the Lilac-breasted Roller is the Painted Bunting. The Painted
Bunting (referenced below) lives in South Carolina. They mainly reside in the United
States’ southern tier.
Monogamous and highly territorial, rollers get their name
from their acrobatic courting displays of rocking and rolling,
culminating with actually mating in the air. This pair looks to be guarding something inside this tree.
They made several trips into the hole, entering briefly only to leave again
quickly.
Whether snatching an insect out of the air or pouncing on a grasshopper on the ground, Lilac-breasted Rollers have proven to be beautiful, although not necessarily delicate. They are hardy and capable of surviving in a sometimes harsh environment. They are listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN*
Sub-Saharan Africa is a tough place to live when I compare
it to rural Wisconsin. Kenya is on the equator and the heat can be brutal in
the Maassi Mara. We were there in November, though, and at higher elevations it was quite pleasant.
Countless thousands of animals make this place
home. A lot of what I encountered
there either had thorns to keep you away or could eat you. I avoided both.
Fires, started by lightening, can rage through the dry grasses of
the Mara, but the Lilac-breasted Roller has learned the leading edge of the
flames is a good place to find fleeing insects. That adaptation, maybe a few million years in the
making, points out there is a brain in that pretty green head, too. Males and females look alike.
Allan
Click on any picture to enlarge.
Credits:
Wildlife
of East Africa: Martin B. Withers, David Hosking
National
Audubon Society: Field Guide to African Wildlife, Knoff
Birds
of Kenya: Zimmerman, Turner, Pearson
* IUCN: International Union for the Conservation of Nature
