Common Birds in East Africa : Safari in East Africa with East Africa Safaris Tours will allow you to discover new landscapes, go on exciting excursions up mountains and across savannahs, provide you with the vacation you deserve, and open your eyes to some truly amazing birds! Here are a few of the bird species you can expect to observe during your safari.
1:Common Ostrich
The Common Ostrich is the largest bird in the world, they are widespread throughout Africa. It is found in East Africa , South, North Africa countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. It is mainly found on the grasslands and the savannah regions because of their size. They are Common in the regions such as Serengeti National park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The Ostrich is the fastest birds on two legs ,it is too large to be able to fly but it can run with a speed of 40 miles an hour and it can cover up to 17 feet in one stride.
They have strong legs that they used as defensive weapons ,the legs are so strong that it has the ability to kill a lion. The Ostrich lays giant eggs that are compared to two dozen hens eggs in size and they are the biggest of any existing bird. The Ostrich can be spotted alone but they like walking as a pair and during their breeding season ,they gather in groups containing one male in charge and a maximum of seven females.
2:Flamingos
These pink birds are found in designated area and their breeding site is near salty lakes. Their breeding habitats in each Africa include Lake Natron in Tanzania, Lake Nakuru, Lake Bogoria and Lake Elementaita in Kenya. Two of the six Flamingos species are found in Africa.
The Flamingos feed by scraping up muck from the lakebed and filter out minute crustaceans and plankton with their unique bills. The flamingos are pink because the little shellfish they eat are pink.
The flamingos migrate at night, preferring to fly with a cloudless sky and a favourable tailwinds.
3.Saddle-Billed stork , Common Birds in East Africa
Saddle-Billed stork is nearly five feet tall bird, it is taller than the gigantic marabou stork. It has a colourful beak ,brilliant red stripes and a bright yellow frontal shield. It also have a peculiar red and yellow spot on its breast. This region of exposed skin is called the brood patch ,it has a lot of blood capillaries which are used during mating season to enable the body heat to pass between the mother and the egg with ease.
Saddle-Billed stork live alone or in pair, these is the contrasting from the marabou stork which live in established colonies. The birds are found all over the Sub-saharan Africa and Kenya ,Uganda and Tanzania in East Africa.
4.Grey – Crowned Crane.
It is also know as the Crested crane, the bird grows to a height of three feet and the wingspan of about seven feet. The bird has a vivid red neck pouch ,blue eyes ,gold feather and a white face, making it one of the clearest and easy to identify bird in Africa.
It is one of the two type of cranes that can roost in trees. Grey Crowned Cranes practise a complex courtship dance that include bouncing, expanding their wings ,hopping and bowing. They not only perform these during the mating season but they can perform it at any point in the year.
The bird is found in several places in Kenya , Tanzania and in Uganda it is the national bird and it is depicted in the centre of the Nation’s flag. Grey Crowned Cranes are now at a risk of extinction because of degradation and harassment by farmers who see them as a nuisance.
5.Helmeted Guinea fowl.
It is the best known bird among the guinea fowl bird family. Helmeted Guinea fowl is a large bird of about 53 to 58 cm ,it has a round body and small head and weighs about 1.3kg. It has its body plumage made of grey-black Speckled with white feathers. Just like any other Guinea fowl species, they have featherless head which is decorated with a dull yellow or reddish bony knob, a bare skin with blue, red or black hues.
They are found in warm and dry open habitat with shrubs and trees such as savannah or farmland.
6.Secretary Bird
Secretary Bird is a large terrestrial bird of prey. It is native to Africa, it likes open grasslands and savannah of the Sub-saharan region. It has a large bird with eagle like body on crane like lead, legs this physical appearance gives the bird a height of 1.3 m . The birds sexes look alike in appearance.
They can breed at anytime of the year, buy they tend to enjoy breeding late in the dry season. They built their nest on top of a thorny tree and a clutch of one to three eggs is laid . The Secretary Bird hunt on the ground by stomping on its prey to kill them. Its diet is made up of insects and small vertebrates.
The Secretary Bird is also one of the birds in which it population is greatly declining. It has therefore be classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In kenya the secretary bird can be found in Amboseli National park and Tsavo East National Park and in Tanzania it can be found in karani Tamba and most parts of Tanzania savannah. The Secretary Bird appears on the coats of arms of Sudan and South Africa.
7.Kori Bustard, Common Birds in East Africa
Kori Bustard is the largest flying Bird which is native to Africa. It is a ground dwelling Bird and an omnivore. Male kori Bustard can be twice as heavy as the female and it is in fact considered to be the heaviest living animal capable of flying. The bird nests on a shallow hallow on the earth surface near to the obstructive objects such as trees.
Kori Bustard is made of coloured feathers mostly being grey and brown which have been finely patterned with black and white colouring The area around the neck is made up of black and greyish-buff colour. It has a blackish coloration on the crest on its head. It also have a white stripe above the eye, chin, throat and the neck are whitish with thin fine black barring. The kori Bustard has a pale yellow eye and legs. The legs have a tree forward facing toes, the females have visibly thinner legs and slimmer neck. It has a length of 105 to 135cm and a wingspan of 230 to 275cm. The kori Bustard is common in Tanzania at Kitulo National park, Serengeti National park and Ngorongoro National park. In kenya they are found all over except the coastal region, it holds the largest population of kori Bustard than any other country.
8.African Fish Eagle, Common Birds in East Africa
African fish eagle is the large species of Sub-saharan Africa and anywhere with large mass of water and abundant food supply. It is common around the fresh water lakes, rivers ,lagoons and reservoirs. It is a large bird with the female weighing 3.2 to 3.6 kg and it is larger than male which weighs 2.0 to 2.5 kg. The males have wingspan of around 2.0m while the females have wingspan of 2.4 m. The body length is 63 to 75cm. The Adult African fish Eagle has a distinctive appearance with a mostly brown body , a white head and powerful wings. It has a snow white head, breast and tail with an exception of the yellow featherless face. The eyes are dark brown in colour with hook shaped yellow beak with a black tip. It is the National bird of Zimbabwe and appear on the Zimbabwean flag. It also features in the coats of arms of Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and South Sudan and on the Zambian flag.
