The western red-billed hornbill (Tockus kempi) is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from Senegal and Gambia to southern Mauritania and western Mali. There are five species of red-billed hornbills generally recognized now, but all five were once considered conspecific. Some authorities still categorize the group as Tockus erythrorhynchus with the remaining four as its subspecies.
It mainly grows in the seasonally dry tropical biomes. It is a native species to various countries in Africa and Arabia; and an invasive species in parts of the Americas.
The mourning collared dove or African mourning dove (Streptopelia decipiens) is a dove which is a widespread resident breeding bird in Africa south of the Sahara. Despite its name, it is not related to the North American mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). This species is common or abundant near water. They often mingle peacefully with other doves.
The mourning collared dove is a largish, stocky pigeon, up to 31 cm in length. Its back, wings and tail are pale brown. The head is grey and the underparts are pink, shading to pale grey on the belly. There is a black hind neck patch edged with white. The legs and a patch of bare skin around the eye are red.
When flying, it shows blackish flight feathers and extensive white in the tail, the latter being a distinction from the similar but larger red-eyed dove. The call is a fast krrrrrrrr, oo-OO, oo.
Sexes are similar, but immatures are duller than adults, and have scalloping on the body feathers.
The nest is fairly rigid, thick-walled and cup-shaped. It is usually situated inside the leafy foliage of a small tree or shrub. Two or three eggs are a typical clutch. Like other bulbuls, it is parasitised by the Jacobin cuckoo.
Common bulbuls consume a wide range of fruits and berries, and also eat flowers, nectar, seeds, and insects; sometimes they break into termite mounds.
Although they are monogamous during breeding, sometimes as many as a hundred common bulbuls will flock together. When foraging they might set out in pairs or as a small family, but also join forces with larger groups.
Common bulbuls have a wide repertoire of calls, from shrill alarms to staccato warnings to soft welcome chattering. Individual males can have several distinctive “phrases” that are shared by as many as two dozen males nearby.
Bold, active, and gregarious, common bulbuls have adapted to sharing their habitats with humans and like to sit atop a bush or other perch, calling away.
The olive-naped weaver (Ploceus brachypterus) is a bird species in the family Ploceidae. It is found in West Africa from Senegal and Gambia to Cameroon.
The olive-naped weaver was formally described and illustrated in 1837 by the English naturalist William John Swainson. He did not specify the origin of his specimens but they probably came from Senegal. He placed the species in the genus Ploceus and coined the binomial name Ploceus brachypterus. The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek brakhupteros meaning "short-winged".
The olive-naped weaver was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the black-necked weaver (Ploceus nigricollis). The two species differ in plumage and in the colour of the iris, but a molecular study published in 2019 found that they are genetically very similar.
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The village indigobird (Vidua chalybeata), also known as the steelblue widowfinch or (in U.S. aviculture) the Combassou finch, is a small songbird belonging to the family Viduidae. It is distinguishable from other indigobird species by bill and leg colours, the colour tinge of the male's breeding plumage, song, and to lesser extent, the nestling's plumage and mouth pattern. The bill colour can be red or white depending on the population, and there is some regional variation in the colour tone of the male's plumage.
It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. This indigobird is found in many open habitats including open woodland, scrub and cultivation, but, as its name implies, it is most readily seen near villages.
It is a brood parasite which lays its eggs in the nests of red-billed firefinches. Unlike the common cuckoo, it does not destroy the host's egg. Typically, 2-4 eggs are added to those already present. The eggs of both the host and the firefinch are white, although the indigobird's are slightly larger. The nestling indigobirds mimic the unique gape pattern of the fledglings of the host species.
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The vinaceous dove (Streptopelia vinacea) is a bird species in the pigeon family Columbidae that widely resident across the Sahel and Sudan (region).
The vinaceous dove is a small, stocky pigeon, typically 25cm in length. Its back, wings, and tail are pale brown. When flying, it shows a blackish underwing. The head and the underparts are pale pinkish-grey, and it has a black hind-neck patch edged with white. The legs are red, with white in the tail. Sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller than adults. The call is a fast coo-cu-cu-coo.
The vinaceous dove is a common bird that is found in central and western African countries such as Senegal, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Nigeria.
This species is abundant in scrub and savannah. It builds a stick nest in a tree, often an acacia, and lays two white eggs. Its flight is quick, with the regular beats and an occasional sharp flick of the wings is characteristic of pigeons in general. Vinaceous doves eat grass seeds, grains, and other vegetation. They are quite terrestrial, and usually forage on the ground. Unlike several other species in this genus, they are very gregarious and often feed in large group, frequently with other doves.
The Yellow-billed Kite is found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, in nearly all types of habitats including forests, wetlands, savannas, and to a lesser extent, arid environments.
The yellow-billed kite is the Afrotropic counterpart of the black kite, of which it is most often considered a subspecies. However, DNA studies suggest that the yellow-billed kite differs significantly from black kites in the Eurasian clade, and should be considered as a separate, allopatric species.
Speckled Pigeon is endemic to Africa.
Adult has blue-grey upperparts, and maroon mantle with light purplish reflections. On the wings, inner wing-coverts and tertials are maroon, slightly marked with grey. Outer wing-coverts are grey. We can see large part of wings boldly tipped with numerous white triangles, becoming narrow white fringe on outer greater coverts. Flight feathers are dull grey-brown.
Back to rump is pale grey, ending into darker grey uppertail coverts. All feathers show pale grey tips. Tail Is dark grey with broad black terminal band.
Speckled Pigeon feeds mainly on seeds and cultivated grains.
The Rainbow Agama or Red-headed Rock Agama is one of the most colorful reptiles. The species is distributed over most of Sub-Sahara Africa. Males are territorial and defend a relatively small patch of rock aggressively against any intruder. The conservation status of Agama agama, which is also often for sale and kept in private terrariums, is not yet defined by IUCN.
The yellow-billed kite (Milvus aegyptius ) is the Afrotropic counterpart of the black kite (Milvus migrans ), of which it is most often considered a subspecies. However, recent DNA studies suggest that the yellow-billed kite differs significantly from black kites in the Eurasian clade, and should be considered as a separate, allopatric species.
There are two subspecies: M. a. parasitus, found throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa (including Madagascar), except for the Congo Basin (with intra-African migrations) and M. a. aegyptius of Egypt, south-west Arabia and the Horn of Africa (which disperses south during the non-breeding season).
The splendid starling (Lamprotornis splendidus), also known as the splendid glossy-starling, is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae.
It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia — and is introduced in Belgium.
The laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. This small long-tailed dove is found in dry scrub and semi-desert habitats where pairs can often be seen feeding on the ground. It is closely related to the spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis) which is distinguished by a white and black chequered necklace. Other names include laughing turtle dove, palm dove and Senegal dove while in Asia the name little brown dove is often used.
The western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), also known as the gray plantain-eater or western gray plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds restricted to Africa.
This species is a resident breeder in open woodland habitats in tropical west Africa. It lays two or three eggs in a tree platform nest.
These are common, noisy and conspicuous birds, despite lacking the brilliant colours of relatives such as the violet turaco. They are 50 cm long, including a long tail. Their plumage is mainly gray above spotted with brown. The head, erectile crest, neck and breast are brown streaked with silver. The underparts are whitish, heavily streaked with brown.
The western red-billed hornbill (Tockus kempi) is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found from Senegal and Gambia to southern Mauritania and western Mali. There are five species of red-billed hornbills generally recognized now, but all five were once considered conspecific. Some authorities still categorize the group as Tockus erythrorhynchus with the remaining four as its subspecies.
Western red-billed hornbills are small hornbills in the genus Tockus. They have curved red beaks which are more orange on the lower beak and more bright red on the upper beak, with both ending with a dark orange colour. Their heads are greyish white and have black feathers along the back of their heads and neck. They have white plumage on their faces and large dark grey eye rings. Their sclera is dark brown and their pupils are black. Their wings are like all red-billed hornbills, with large and small circles of white feathers surrounded by black feathers on the exterior and white on the upper half of the interior and black on the lower half of the interior. They have long tail feathers that are black on the exterior and a greyish white on the interior.
The broad-billed roller (Eurystomus glaucurus) is a member of the roller family of birds which breeds across tropical Africa and Madagascar in all but the driest regions. It is a wet season breeder, which migrates from the northern and southern areas of its range towards the moister equatorial belt in the dry season.
The broad-billed roller is 29–30 cm in length. It has a warm back and head, lilac foreneck and breast, with the rest of the plumage mainly brown. The broad bill is bright yellow. Sexes are similar, but the juvenile is a drabber version of the adult, with a pale breast. The broad-billed roller is striking in its strong direct flight, with the brilliant blues of the wings and tail contrasting with the brown back. The call of the broad-billed roller is a snarling k-k-k-k-k-r-r-r-r-r sound.
This is a species of open woodland with some tall trees, preferably near water. These rollers often perch prominently on trees, posts or overhead wires, like giant shrikes.
They are inactive for most of the day, apart from chasing intruders, but in late afternoon they hunt for the swarming ants and termites on which they feed, sometimes in groups of 100 or more rollers. They drink like swallows, dipping their bills into water in flight.
The Broad-billed Roller is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Eurystomus glaucurus will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Broad-billed Roller is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4
The preferred habitats for Broad-billed Roller are: forests and heavily treed regions
You will normally see the Broad-billed Roller by itself rather than in the company of birds of the same species.
The hooded vulture, Necrosyrtes monachus, is one of the smallest of the Old World vultures. The species gets its common name from the cream-colored hood, formed from a patch of downy feathers, along the back of its neck to the crown of its head.
The small vulture is scruffy-looking and has a rather short, rounded tail. The male and female vultures appear similar, while females have longer eyelashes than males. Juveniles are similar in appearance to adults, only darker and plainer in color with a purple sheen.
The vulture’s face is usually pinkish-white in color, though it can flush red when agitated. It has dark brown plumage with a feathered nape and hind-neck. The hooded vulture’s long thin black bill leads into its bare face, crown, and foreneck.
Soaring above savannah and human settlements, the hooded vulture typically scavenges on carcasses from wildlife or domesticated animals. They also feed on grasshoppers, grubs, and locusts and congregate during the seasonal emergence of insects.
The hooded vulture feeds at low tide on mussels, lobsters, mollusks, and dead fish along the coast. When limited food is available, the species can go without food for several days by not excreting and in turn slowing down its metabolism.
There is almost no variation recorded across its vast worldwide range. There are exceptions in a few places such as east Africa where additional forms are present and appear to be controlled by Mendelian genetics - why the effect is localised is not clear.
Mediterranean coasts from Spain, where it is most frequent, to Greece, but absent from large parts of the cost. North Africa in Morocco to Tunisia where it can be found well inland. Seemingly greatly reduced in the Canary Islands now. Flies at all times of the year, with a period of relative inactivity in winter.
A powerful species, roaming widely. Frequents hot dry places.
