22-12-2023 CALYPSO BAR, GAMBIA - WESTERN REEF HERON (Egretta gularis)

The western reef heron (Egretta gularis) is a egret belonging to the family Ardeidae. The western reef heron is distributed in Africa, Red Sea region, Persian Gulf, Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka.

The western reef heron is a medium sized bird, measuring 55 to 65 cm in length and weighing 300 to 700 grams. The wingspan is 85 to 105 cm. These heron species have two color forms. There is an all-white morph and a dark grey morph. There may be partial coloration as well as intermediate shades of grey. The bill is large and yellow. The breeding heron birds may have reddish tinge on the legs and facial skin. Two long feathers on the sides of the nape are seen in breeding birds.

These heron species inhabit estuaries, mudflats, marshes, tidal flats, creeks, lagoons, rocky shores, sandy shores, reefs, mangroves, rocky cliffs and islets.

The western reef heron species feed on fish, crustaceans and molluscs. They also feed on invertebrates like insects, grubs and earthworms. They stalk the prey by standing still in shallow water. Sometimes they are seen stirring the water with foot to flush out the prey.

These heron species construct platform nests on reedbeds, mangrove trees and bushes. They breeding season in India is during monsoon. Both the partners take part in nest building. The usual clutch is three to four eggs. Both the parents incubate the eggs and raise the hatchlings. 

22-12-2023 CALYPSO BAR, GAMBIA - GREY HERON (Ardea cinerea)

Grey Herons are unmistakeable: tall, with long legs, a long beak and grey, black and white feathering. They can stand with their neck stretched out, looking for food, or hunched down with their neck bent over their chest.

The Grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a large long-legged wading bird of the heron native to Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It lives in wetland areas and feeds on various aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water.

The plumage of the Grey heron is largely ashy-grey above, and greyish-white below with some black on the flanks. Adults have a head and neck white with a broad black supercilium that terminates in the slender, dangling crest, and bluish-black streaks on the front of the neck. The scapular feathers are elongated and the feathers at the base of the neck are also somewhat elongated. Immature birds lack the dark stripe on the head and are generally duller in appearance than adults, with a grey head and neck, and a small, dark grey crest. The pinkish-yellow beak is long, straight, and powerful, and is brighter in color in breeding adults. The iris is yellow and the legs are brown and very long.

Grey herons have the ability to live in cities where habitats and nesting space are available. In the Netherlands, it has established itself over the past decades in great numbers in urban environments. In cities such as Amsterdam, they are ever present and well adapted to modern city life. They hunt as usual, but also visit street markets and snack bars. Some individuals make use of people feeding them at their homes or share the catch of recreational fishermen. Similar behaviour on a smaller scale has been reported in Ireland. Garden ponds stocked with ornamental fish are attractive to herons, and the easy prey may provide young birds with a learning opportunity on how to hunt.

Herons have been observed visiting water enclosures in zoos, such as spaces for penguins, otters, pelicans, and seals, and taking food meant for the animals on display.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - GRAYISH EAGLE OWL (Bubo cinerascens)

 The greyish eagle-owl or vermiculated eagle-owl (Bubo cinerascens) is a rather large owl of the northern part of sub-Saharan Africa. It was previously regarded as the northern subspecies of the spotted eagle-owl (Bubo africanus).

This species is about 43 cm (17 in) long and weighs about 500 g (18 oz).[3] Like the spotted eagle-owl, the greyish eagle-owl has mottled dark brown, buff, and white upperparts and finely barred (vermiculated) underparts giving a greyish-brown appearance. It differs from the spotted eagle-owl in having dark brown (not yellow) eyes and a brownish facial disk marked with a heavy brown circle around each eye. It also has morphological differences, such as being lighter though about the same length and having shorter tarsi.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - GAMBIAN SUN SQUIRREL

The Gambian sun squirrel (Heliosciurus gambianus) is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia. Its natural habitat is wooded savanna.

The Gambian sun squirrel has a head-and-body length of between 170 and 240 mm (6.7 and 9.4 in) and a tail of between 180 and 260 mm (7.1 and 10.2 in). The pelage is variably coloured but is usually greyish with a grizzled appearance. There is a paler grey ring around the eye, and the throat and underparts are also pale. The tail is boldly ringed in black and white, there being about fourteen rings.

The Gambian sun squirrel occurs across tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and the Gambia, to Ethiopia and Kenya. A separate population is further south in Angola and Tanzania. It inhabits wooded savanna and other grassland with scattered trees, moving through the branches but sometimes descending to the ground. It also inhabits plantations and other cultivated areas.

The Gambian sun squirrel is a common grassland species with a wide range and a presumed large total population. The population trend has not been evaluated but no particular threats have been recognised; it is able to adapt to habitats modified by humans and is present in a number of protected areas. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". 

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - VILLAGE WEAVER (Ploceus cucullatus)

The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver (the latter leading to easy confusion with P. melanocephalus), is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Portugal and Venezuela as well as to the islands of Hispaniola, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Mauritius and Réunion.

This often abundant species occurs in a wide range of open or semiopen habitats, including woodlands and human habitation, and frequently forms large noisy colonies in towns, villages, and hotel grounds. This weaver builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and leaf strips with a downward-facing entrance, which is suspended from a branch in a tree. Two or three eggs are laid. Village weavers are colonial breeders, so many nests may hang from one tree.

Village weavers feed principally on seeds and grain, and can be a crop pest, but readily take insects, especially when feeding young, which partially redresses the damage to agriculture. The calls of this bird include harsh buzzes and chattering.

Village weavers forage and roost in large groups, often with other weaver species. In some areas, they move periodically along fixed routes. The birds look for food on the ground, but also look up to search vegetation and trees. Village weavers nest in colonies and are very active during the breeding season. Birds fly in and leave again constantly, making significant noise. Colonies can contain as many as 150 nests, but eight to a hundred nests in a single tree are usual.

A village weaver's nest is 14–17 cm (5.5–6.7 in) long and 11–13 cm (4.3–5.1 in) high. The entrance is mostly extended into a tube of 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) long. The male weaves the structure of the nest using long strips of leaf that he has torn from palms or large grass species such as Arundo donax. The nest is roofed, ovoid or kidney-shaped, internally consisting of a nesting chamber that is separated by a ground sill from an antechamber, that has the entrance of the entire nest at the bottom. On the inside, the ceiling is made of strips of grass or other leaves, which are simply inserted instead of woven in. The floor on the inside is lined by short, thatched strips of palm, grass blades or heads, and feathers. The nest requires about 300 long strips of leaf, which the male tears off and transports one by one. The male gathers building material throughout the building process, during which he works with his feet in exactly the same position, and maintaining the same orientation. He starts by creating the attachment by weaving around mostly two hanging branches just below a fork, a foot on both of them, which he includes in a ring he constructs by weaving in the plain of the branches at the edge of his reach. He than extends the high end of the ring in front of its head, gradually working towards his feet creating a half-globe that is the nesting chamber. The male continues by constructing the roof of the antechamber, working over his head. This is followed by lining the ceiling, and constructing the entrance tube, hanging upside-down, but still with his feet at the same spots. The weaving technique consists of seizing a strip of near the end and double the strip back on itself. Next he pokes the end with a vibrating movement in between his previous work until it sticks. He then release it, moves his head to the other side of the nest wall, seizes the strip again, and pokes it in somewhere. He keeps repeating this, regularly reversing the direction in which he weaves the strip, poking and pulling the strip through holes until the entire length is used. The female collects material, too, but she occupies herself only with the lining of the nesting cup.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - PYGMY SUNBIRD (FEMALE) (Hedydipna platura)

The pygmy sunbird (Hedydipna platura) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - AFRICAN THRUSH (Turdus pelios)

The African thrush or West African thrush (Turdus pelios) is a passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is common in well-wooded areas over much of the western part of sub-Saharan Africa, it was once considered to be conspecific with the olive thrush but that species has now been split further. Populations are resident (non-migratory).

The African Thrush has dark olive-grey upperparts. The underparts show a whitish evenly brown- streaked side throat, the breast is greyish brown and the flanks are pale buff-orange with this colour not extending on to the lower breast, the belly and vent are white. It has a yellow-orange bill. It weighs 46–78 g (1.6–2.8 oz) and measures 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 in) in length.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - BEAUTIFUL SUNBIRD (FEMALE) (Cinnyris pulchellus)

The beautiful sunbird (Cinnyris pulchella), formerly placed in the genus Nectarinia, is a sunbird. It is native to tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Guinea in the west to Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya in the east.

Beautiful sunbirds are tiny, only 10 cm (4 in) long, although the breeding male's long tail adds another 5 cm (2 in). They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both of which are adaptations to their nectar feeding. The male has a black head, bright metallic green upper parts, scarlet breast bordered with yellow and black belly. The central feathers of the teal are greatly elongated. The female is brown above with yellowish underparts.

 

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - OLIVE NAPED WEAVER (Ploceus brachypterus)

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.

A medium-sized, pale-eyed weaver in which males and females are distinctly different, but both are colorful. Note olive-green back and nape and slender black mask through the eye. Male has a black throat and cinnamon-brown blush around the face. Found in woodland, thick scrub, moist savanna, gallery forest, and forest clearings and edge. Usually alone or in pairs. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chet” notes and a sizzling, “radio static” song. Formerly treated as the same species as Black-naped Weaver, under the name “Black-necked Weaver.” 

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - RED CHEEKED CORDONBLEU (JUVENILE) (Uraeginthus bengalus)

The red-cheeked cordon-bleu or red-cheeked cordonbleu (Uraeginthus bengalus) is a small passerine bird in the family Estrildidae. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in drier regions of tropical Sub-Saharan Africa. Red-cheeked cordon-bleu has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 7,700,000 km2.

Like other members of its genus, the red-cheeked cordon-bleu is a very small finch, measuring only 12.5–13 cm (4.9–5.1 in) in length.[10] It weighs 9.9 g (0.35 oz) on average, with known extremes in wild populations ranging from 8.9–11 g (0.31–0.39 oz).[11] The adult male has uniformly brown upperparts, pale blue breast, flanks and tail and a yellow belly. There is a red patch on each cheek, but this can rarely appear orange or even yellow. Females are similar but duller, and lack the cheek spot. Immature birds are like the female, but with blue restricted to the face and throat. 

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - VARIABLE SUNBIRD (FEMALE) (Cinnyris venustus)

The variable sunbird or yellow-bellied sunbird (Cinnyris venustus), formerly Nectarinia venusta, is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

The variable sunbird is a fairly common resident breeder in equatorial Africa. Two eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. This species is found in open woodland and cultivation.

Variable sunbirds are small, only 10 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.

The adult male has a glossy green head, throat and nape, and a maroon breast band. In most subspecies, the belly of the male is yellow, but in a few it is orange or white. The female has grey-brown upperparts and yellowish underparts, and an obvious pale supercilium. The eclipse male is like the female, but shows some green, especially on the throat. The call is a clear tew-tew-tew-tew-tew.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - BEAUTIFUL SUNBIRD (MALE) (Cinnyris pulchellus)

Beautiful sunbirds are tiny, only 10 cm (4 in) long, although the breeding male's long tail adds another 5 cm (2 in). They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both of which are adaptations to their nectar feeding. The male has a black head, bright metallic green upper parts, scarlet breast bordered with yellow and black belly. The central feathers of the teal are greatly elongated. The female is brown above with yellowish underparts.

The beautiful sunbird occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. This species is found in a variety of open habitats with some trees, including savannah, riverside thickets, mangroves, beachsides and gardens.

The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time. The beautiful sunbird is a common breeder across sub-Saharan tropical Africa. One or two eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. It is a seasonal migrant within its range.

The beautiful sunbird has a wide range and a large total population. It is a common bird and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - SPLENDID SUNBIRD (MALE) (Cinnyris coccinigastrus)

The splendid sunbird (Cinnyris coccinigastrus) is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of very small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young.

Their flight is fast and direct on short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.

The splendid sunbird breeds in west and central tropical Africa. One or two eggs are laid in an oval suspended nest in a tree. It is a seasonal migrant within its range.

Splendid sunbirds are 15 cm long, and have medium-long thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding. The adult male is mainly glossy purple, with a dark green back and wing bar, and a crimson breast patch. The female is greenish-brown above and yellowish below.

This species is a common breeder in wet savannah and woodland with oil palms, Elaeis guineensis. The latter provide sap from the incisions made in the trunk to collect the liquid to make palm wine.

22-12-2023 FARASUTU FOREST, GAMBIA - WESTERN GREY PLANTAIN EATER (Crinifer piscatore)

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.

Western plantain-eater has a thick bright yellow bill, and shows a white wing bar in flight. The sexes are identical, but immatures have a black woolly head without silver streaking.

This bird is similar to the closely related eastern plantain-eater. The latter species has white tail bars, and lacks the chest bars and dark wing feather shafts of its western relative.

This species feeds on fruit, especially figs, seeds and other vegetable matter.

Western plantain-eater has a loud cow-cow-cow call, very familiar in west Africa.

22-12-2023 PIRANG PONDS, GAMBIA - AFRICAN RED RUMPED SWALLOW (Cecropis melanocrissus)

The African red-rumped swallow (Cecropis melanocrissus) is small passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It is found in northern areas of Africa south of the Sahara.

The African red-rumped swallow was formally described and illustrated in 1845 by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell based on a specimen collected in the Tembien region of northern Ethiopia. He coined the binomial name Cecropis melanocrissus where the specific epithet combines the Latin melas, melanos meaning "black" with Modern Latin crissum meaning "vent".

Four subspecies are recognised:

C. m. domicella (Heuglin, 1869) – west Africa from Senegambia to east Sudan

C. m. melanocrissus Rüppell, 1845 – Ethiopia and Eritrea

C. m. kumboensis (Bannerman, 1923) – Sierra Leone and west Cameroon

C. m. emini (Reichenow, 1892) – southeast Sudan, Uganda and Kenya to Malawi and north Zambia

The subspecies domicella was formerly treated as a separate species, the West African swallow. The subspecies melanocrissus, kumboensis and emini were formerly placed in the red-rumped swallow complex. The taxa were re-arranged based mainly on differences in morphology. As part of the rearrangement the red-rumped swallow complex was split into the European red-rumped swallow and the eastern red-rumped swallow.

22-12-2023 PIRANG PONDS, GAMBIA - BLACK WINGED STILT (Himantopus himantopus)

The black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus ) is a widely distributed very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family (Recurvirostridae). The scientific name H. himantopus was formerly applied to a single, almost cosmopolitan species. It is now normally applied to the form that is widespread in Eurosiberia and Africa and which was formerly regarded as the nominate subspecies of Himantopus himantopus sensu lato. The scientific name Himantopus comes from the Greek meaning "strap foot" or "thong foot". Most sources today accept 2–4 species. It is sometimes called pied stilt, but that name is now reserved for the Australian species, Himantopus leucocephalus.

Adults are 33–36 cm (13–14 in) long. They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females' backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.

Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.

 

22-12-2023 PIRANG PONDS, GAMBIA - WIRE TAILED SWALLOW (Hirundo smithii)

The wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It has two subspecies: H. s. smithii, which occurs throughout Africa, and H. s. filifera, which is found in southern and southeastern Asia. It is mainly resident, but populations in Pakistan and northern India migrate further south in winter. The genus name Hirundo is the Latin word for swallow. The species name smithii commemorates Christen Smith, a Norwegian botanist and geologist.

The wire-tailed swallow is a small swallow, measuring 18 cm (7.1 in) in length. It has bright blue upperparts, bright white underparts and a chestnut cap. Immature birds lack tail wires, and have dull brown (rather than chestnut) caps. The species is named for the very long filamentous outermost tail feathers, which trail behind like two wires. The sexes are similar in appearance, but the female has shorter "wires". Juveniles have a brown crown, back and tail. The Asian form, H. s. filifera, is larger and longer-tailed than the abundant African H. s. smithii.

This bird is found in open country near water and human habitation. Wire-tailed swallows are fast flyers and they generally feed on insects, especially flies, while airborne. They are typically seen low over water, with which they are more closely associated than most swallows.

The neat half-bowl nests are lined with mud collected in the swallows' beaks. They are placed on vertical surfaces near water under cliff ledges or nowadays more commonly on man-made structures such as buildings and bridges. The clutch is three to four eggs in Africa, up to five in Asia (Turner and Rose). These birds are solitary and territorial nesters, unlike many swallows, which tend to be colonial.

The wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii ) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It has two subspecies: H. s. smithii, which occurs throughout Africa, and H. s. filifera, which is found in southern and southeastern Asia. It is mainly resident, but populations in Pakistan and northern India migrate further south in winter. The genus name Hirundo is the Latin word for swallow. The species name smithii commemorates Christen Smith, a Norwegian botanist and geologist.

22-12-2023 PIRANG PONDS, GAMBIA - WESTERN REEF HERON (Egretta gularis)

Gangly heron with significant variation in plumage. Distinct dark morph is slate-gray with a white throat, while the palest morph is white with a yellow bill and lores. Pale gray intermediate morphs can also be found. Little Egret can look similar, but it has a darker bill than the white morph of the Western Reef-Heron. Primarily a coastal inhabitant, foraging on shorelines and in estuaries, but can also be found at some inland water bodies.

The western reef heron (Egretta gularis ), also called the western reef egret, is a medium-sized heron found in southern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia. It has a mainly coastal distribution and occurs in several plumage forms: a slaty-grey plumage in which it can only be confused with the rather uncommon dark morph of the Little egret (Egretta garzetta ); a white form which can look very similar to the little egret although the bill tends to be paler and larger and the black form with white throat E. g. gularis of West Africa. There are also differences in size, structure and foraging behaviour. There have been suggestions that the species hybridizes with the Little Egret, and based on this, some authors treat schistacea and gularis as subspecies of Egretta garzetta. Works that consider the Western Reef Heron as a valid species include the nominate gularis and schistacea as subspecies.

The western reef heron's breeding habitat is coastal wetlands. In the Red Sea region the breeding season is from June to August. The nominate subspecies breeds in West Africa from late April to September. In India the breeding season is during the monsoon rains from April to August and end of May in the former breeding colony at Chilaw in Sri Lanka. Most of the breeding colonies in Gujarat in western India were on mangroves. They nest in colonies usually of their own species but sometimes with other egrets and smaller herons, usually on platforms of sticks placed in trees or shrubs. The male fetches sticks of the nest while the female places them to form the platform. The nest height varies from about 5 to 15 meters, but very low nesting (as low as 0.6 meters) has been observed in mangrove trees in salt pans. The usual clutch is three to four eggs which are light blue as in the little egret. Incubation begins when the first egg is laid resulting in chicks with size disparities. Both parents take turns to incubate and the eggs hatch after about 23 to 24 days. The chicks are white with grey dapples. Young birds sometimes die after falling off from the nest platform. Adults will shade the chicks during the hotter parts of the day. Predators of eggs include rats and young chicks may be taken by cats and crows. Adults usually guard the nest when eggs or young chicks are present. Adults feed the young by regurgitating semi-digested food at the nest. This diet includes mainly small fishes of the families Clupeidae, Gobiidae and Engraulidae. The young birds leave the nest after about a month.

It occurs mainly on the coasts in tropical west Africa, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf (Iran) extending east to India. It also occurs in the Lakshadweep Islands and Sri Lanka where breeding was once recorded at Chilaw. The nominate subspecies breeds in west Africa from Mauritania to Gabon. Birds may also be found off the mainland such as in the Canary Islands. Small numbers breed in Spain. Subspecies schistacea is found from the Red Sea coast east round the Indian coast. Breeding colonies are known from the east coast of India around Pulicat Lake. They occasionally occur further inland.

22-12-2023 PIRANG PONDS, GAMBIA - LONG TAILED CORMORANT (Microcarbo africanus)

The reed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus), also known as the long-tailed cormorant, is a bird in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. It breeds in much of Africa south of the Sahara, and Madagascar. It is resident but undertakes some seasonal movements.

This is a small cormorant, 50–55 cm (20–22 in) in overall length with a wingspan of 80–90 cm (31–35 in).[7] It is mainly black, glossed green, in the breeding season. The wing coverts are silvery. It has a longish tail, a short head crest and a red or yellow face patch. The bill is yellow.

The sexes are similar, but non-breeding adults and juveniles are browner, with a white belly. Some southern races retain the crest all year round.

This is a common and widespread species, and is not considered to be threatened. It breeds on freshwater wetlands or quiet coasts.

The reed cormorant can dive to considerable depths, but usually feeds in shallow water. It frequently brings prey to the surface. It takes a wide variety of fish. It prefers small slow-moving fish, and those with long and tapering shapes, such as mormyrids, catfishes, and cichlids. It will less frequently eat soles (which can be important in its diet locally), frogs, aquatic invertebrates, and small birds.

Two to four eggs are laid in a nest in a tree or on the ground, normally hidden from view by long grass.

22-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - COMMON BULBUL (Pycnonotus barbatus)

The common bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus ) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in north-eastern, northern, western and central Africa.

The bill is fairly short and thin, with a slightly downcurving upper mandible. The bill, legs, and feet are black and the eye is dark brown with a dark eye-ring, which is not readily visible. It is about 18 cm in length, with a long tail. It has a dark brown head and upperparts. Sexes are similar in plumage.

It is a common resident breeder in much of Africa, and it has recently been found breeding in southern Spain at Tarifa. It is found in woodland, coastal bush, forest edges, riverine bush, montane scrub, and in mixed farming habitats. It is also found in exotic thickets, gardens, and parks.

22-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - BROWN BABBLER

The brown babbler inhabits the broad band of the Sahel between the Sahara Desert and the tropical forests of Western Africa, from southern Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia to southern Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya. The species lives in open savanna, wooded grasslands, riparian habitat in drier areas, degraded cultivation, farmlands, parks and gardens. The species is common across its range and readily lives in human modified habitat and is not considered threatened with extinction.

The species is mostly sedentary (non-migratory), but is thought to make some seasonal movements based upon local conditions related to the rainy seasons. In central Burkina Faso it is observed more frequently during the rainy season, and it has also been observed to be erratically absent or present in the Kampala region of Uganda.

The brown babbler inhabits the broad band of the Sahel between the Sahara Desert and the tropical forests of Western Africa, from southern Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia to southern Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya. The species lives in open savanna, wooded grasslands, riparian habitat in drier areas, degraded cultivation, farmlands, parks and gardens. The species is common across its range and readily lives in human modified habitat and is not considered threatened with extinction.

The species is mostly sedentary (non-migratory), but is thought to make some seasonal movements based upon local conditions related to the rainy seasons. In central Burkina Faso it is observed more frequently during the rainy season, and it has also been observed to be erratically absent or present in the Kampala region of Uganda.

22-12-2023 NGALA LODGE, GAMBIA - WESTERN GREY PLANTAIN EATER (Crinifer piscatore)

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.

Western plantain-eater has a thick bright yellow bill, and shows a white wing bar in flight. The sexes are identical, but immatures have a black woolly head without silver streaking.

This bird is similar to the closely related eastern plantain-eater. The latter species has white tail bars, and lacks the chest bars and dark wing feather shafts of its western relative.

This species feeds on fruit, especially figs, seeds and other vegetable matter.

Western plantain-eater has a loud cow-cow-cow call, very familiar in west Africa.

The western plantain-eater was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1770 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Senegal. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Falco piscator in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The western plantain-eater is now placed in the genus Crinifer that was erected by the Polish zoologist Feliks Paweł Jarocki in 1821. The generic name combines the Latin crinis meaning "hair" and -fer meaning "bearing". The specific name piscator is Latin for "fisherman.

The American ornithologist James L. Peters rejected the identification of Daubenton's plate with the western plantain-eater and instead used the specific epithet africanus that had been proposed by John Latham in 1790: "To recognize Daubenton's plate as representing Phasianus africanus Latham requires more imagination than I am capable of using." The plate may instead depict the African fish eagle.