On The Road – Albatrossity – Lake Manyara National Park

There are 20 or 30 plover species in east Africa, and they are found in wet areas as well as dry. Many of these are in the Vanellinae subfamily, aka the lapwings (the collective name for a flock of lapwings is a “deceit”) . The origin of this term is old English lappewinke, which literally means “leaper-winker”, and is thought to be derived from the irregular twinkling pattern of the wings of the Northern Lapwing (the only lapwing found in northern Europe) in flight. We saw several species of lapwings on this day, and this one was among the most common. It is the Blacksmith Lapwing (Vanellus armatus, aka Blacksmith Plover), named for its “tink-tink-tink” alarm call, which does indeed sound like a hammer hitting a metallic object. Click here for larger image.

Lapwing #2 is another one we commonly saw, the Spur-winged Lapwing (Vanellus spinosus, aka Spur-winged Plover). You can’t see the eponymous spurs on the wings in this picture, they are actually rather puny compared to some of the other lapwings. Here’s a shot from another photographer that shows them pretty well. Click here for larger image.

Lapwing #3 is the Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris). Although the field guides all claim that this bird is “widely distributed and common”, I think that this is the only day we saw this species on this trip. Click here for larger image.

Speaking of long toes, check out this African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus). All eight members of the family Jacanidae have these long toes, and they allow the birds to amble through marshy ground or even atop lily pads with ease; the common names for these birds include “Jesus Bird” and “Lily Trotter”. Pronunciation of Jacana is one of those things that birders like to argue about, but most folks pronounce the c as “s”, like in the word façade. Click here for larger image.

Our final shorebird for today is a cutie, the Kittlitz’s Plover (Charadrius pecuarius). This is a bird I didn’t think we would see as I was preparing for the trip, as it was described in the field guide as only “locally common”. So I was thrilled to see it and get some pictures! Now I just need to get up to Beringia and see Kittlitz’s other species, the Kittlitz’s Murrelet. Click here for larger image.

And this is a bird that I really didn’t expect to see. In fact, one of our guides had never seen this species before, and he was thrilled when I pointed it out at a great distance across the marsh. Black Heron (Egretta ardesiaca, aka Black Egret) is non-migratory and “generally scarce”, according to the field guides. I wish we had been able to get closer to them, but as you can see the marshy ground (coupled with a rainy day) rendered that wish a bit imprudent! Click here for larger image.

This is a much more common, and much less melanized, heron, the Little Egret (Egretta garzetta). This bird, found in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa, is VERY similar to our familiar small white egret in North America, the Snowy Egret (Egretta thula). When Little Egrets stray across the Atlantic, they are probably often overlooked, in fact. They have established breeding populations in Barbados and Antigua, however, so we all may have to learn the subtle features that distinguish between these two species. Click here for larger image.

You’ve probably had enough of wetland birds by now, so here is a montane species that I also was not expecting to see, the Mountain Wagtail (Motacilla clara). There are 13 species in the family Motacillidae, all found in the Old World only. This one is only found in Africa, and likes fast-moving streams. Click here for larger image.

Most hornbills hang out in trees or shrubs most of the time, but this Southern Ground Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) was true to its name, and was wandering about in this brushy area. That red throat pouch is inflatable, and this is a pretty impressive bird, all in all. Check out the eyelashes on the bird in this video. Click here for larger image.

The park also had some creative signage, and indeed lots of baboons. Click here for larger image.