Bulletin 367 - Uganda #11 - Bee-eaters

After the week in the Capetown area, the guide Casper Badenhorst, and I flew to Uganda and met a local guide. We started at Entebbe Airport on the southeast corner of Uganda and made a diagonal trip to Murchison Falls NP in the northwest corner. From there, we proceeded south through a chain of nature preserves and parks to the southwest corner at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We finished along the southern border back to the airport.

Bee-eaters are some of the most brightly colored African birds.There are 25 species world wide and all but 5 can be found in Africa. They are easy to see and photograph as they sit in the open on a twig looking for a flying insect. The sexes are similar in all these species.

The 6" Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) has green back and wings, yellow throat and breast with a brown chest band

Little Bee-eater

The 8.5" Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater (Merops oreobates) is large and similar but with bright cinnamon underside.

Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater

Another similar species is the 7" Blue-breasted Bee-eater (Merops variegatus). It has a bluish breast stripe.

Blue-breasted Bee-eater

The 11" White-throated Bee-eater (Merops albicollis) has a black and white head pattern and very long tail streamers.

White-throated Bee-eater

The 8.5" Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) has a green body, blue belly and vent and yellow throat.

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

The 12" Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus) is a European species that winters in Africa. It is all green with blue on the face. It has a long tail as well.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

The spectacular 15" Northern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicus) has a red body and green head.

Northern Carmine Bee-eater

The 9" Red-throated Bee-eater (Merops bulocki) is another stunningly beautiful bird.

Red-throated Bee-eater

Finally the most amazing is the 8" Black Bee-eater (Merops gularis). It has a black back and wings, streaked turquoise breast and red throat. This is a bird of the central African forests and is found in Uganda along the border of the Congo

Black Bee-eater

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 11 of the 25 species of bee-eaters

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.

Bulletin 366 - Uganda #10 - Sunbirds, oxpecker

After the week in the Capetown area, the guide Casper Badenhorst, and I flew to Uganda and met a local guide. We started at Entebbe Airport on the southeast corner of Uganda and made a diagonal trip to Murchison Falls NP in the northwest corner. From there, we proceeded south through a chain of nature preserves and parks to the southwest corner at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We finished along the southern border back to the airport.

As I have spent more time in Asian and Africa, I appreciate the beauty of the sunbirds, as I am getting more species and better photos. These songbirds are tiny nectar feeders and many are brilliantly colorful. They are as delightful and occupy the same ecological niche as our hummingbirds.

So here are the 7 species I photographed in Uganda. I will start with the plainest and continue to the most beautiful to hold your attention - haha. All these were lifers.

The tiny 3.5" Little Green Sunbird (Anthreptes seimundi) is plain dull olive. The sexes are similar and it is only 1cm longer then the smallest sunbird.

Little Green Sunbird

The 9" male Bronzy Sunbird (Nectarina kilimensis) has a green head, bronze patches on neck and dark body. He has a long tail which accounts for most of his length.

Bronzy Sunbird - male

The female is only 5" and she is olive and yellow with a white eye stripe.

Bronzy Sunbird - female

The 5" male Blue-headed Sunbird (Cyanomitra alinae) has a blue head and chest with an ochre back and tail.

Blue-headed Sunbird

The 4.5" male Variable Sunbird (Cinnyris venustus) is green with a blue chest and yellow belly.

Variable Sunbird - male

Next is the 4.5" male  Red-chested Sunbird (Cinnyris erythrocerca). He has a green head, blue back and red chest.

Red-chested Sunbird - male

Next to last is the 6" male Beautiful Sunbird (Cinnyris pulchellus). I am not even going to try to describe his colors..just enjoy his beauty.

Beautiful Sunbird - male

And the last one must be the king of all sunbirds, as he is called the Regal Sunbird (Cinnyris regius). Again - just enjoy his beauty. He is 4.5" in length.

Regal Sunbird - male

There are 2 species of oxpeckers. I already saw 1 in my initial Africa trip. Here is the other, the 8.5" Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus). It is a brown bird with a yellow bill with a red tip. Here is a flock waiting for an animal to come by.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

And here is one on the head of a buffalo.

Yellow-billed Oxpecker

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 20 of the 145 species of sunbirds

I have photos of 2 of the 2 species of  oxpeckers

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.