HORNBILL 2020 2

2020·6.4 MB·English

by  Bombay Natural History Society

DISCOVER THE LIVING WORLD APRIL-JUNE, 2020
CONTENTS
HORNBILL
APRIL-JUNE, 2020
With a true-to-life Nightlife in 4
Mumbai’s Forests
image quality. The forests seem empty if one
GOVERNING COUNCIL does not know where or how
PRESIDENT
Mr Randhir Sahgal to look. Raju Kasambe and
VICE PRESIDENTS
his team captured some well-
Ms Shloka Nath
Mr Praveensingh Pardeshi (IAS)
hidden forest life with camera
HONORARY SECRETARY
Mr Debi Goenka traps to prove that the forest
HONORARY TREASURER
Mr Kunjan Gandhi life of BNHS-CEC is healthy
DIRECTOR and flourishing.
Dr Deepak Apte
MEMBERS
Ms Sumaira Abdulali
Dr Anish Andheria
10
Dr Erach Bharucha
Dr Raghunandan Chundawat
Mr Isaac Kehimkar
Dr Ashok Kothari
Ms Usha Lachungpa
Mr Kulojyoti Lahkar
Mr Peter Lobo
Dr Asad R. Rahmani
The Enigmatic and
Mr Kishor Rithe
Mr Kumaran Sathasivam
Elusive Jerdon’s Courser
The Joint Secretary, Ministry of
Environment, Forest & Climate Change,
Govt of India The rare and critically endangered
The Addl IG Forests (WL), Ministry of
Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Jerdon’s Courser has eluded
Govt of India
The Director of Archaeology & Museums, Ranjit Manakadan for long, but
Govt of Maharashtra

EDITORS he hopes the wait for it will end
Deepak Apte
Vibhuti Dedhia some day soon.
Ranjit Manakadan
CONSULTANT EDITORS
Gayatri W. Ugra
Isaac Kehimkar
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Sonali V. Vadhavkar 16
LAYOUT
V. Gopi Naidu Kenya Calling
Sanchita S. Kadge
COVER : Hoolock Gibbon The infinite bounty of nature
by Dhritiman Mukherjee
 in Kenya is both well-known
Published and printed quarterly
by the Honorary Secretary for the and oft-visited. Katie Bagli
Bombay Natural History Society,
Printed at Akshata Arts Pvt. Ltd.,
NEW: ZEISS Victory SF 32 Lower Parel, Mumbai. too was spellbound by
Reg. No. RN 35749/79, ISSN 0441-2370.
 the country’s diversity and
For more information on the Society
Compromises cannot be made when it comes to bird and its activities, abundance of wildlife during
write to the Honorary Secretary,
identification - fine details have to be recognised within Bombay Natural History Society, a BNHS field trip.
Dr. Sálim Ali Chowk, S.B. Singh Road,
seconds for an accurate and reliable identification. Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, India.
Tel.: [phone]
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delivering the utmost resolution and colour fidelity. Views expressed by the contributors in the Hornbill Readers’ Space ........................................................................................................................................... 25
are not necessarily those of the BNHS. Unsolicited
This allows the user to master the most demanding of articles and photographs, and materials lost or Conservation Notes ................................................................................................................................. 26
damaged are not our responsibility and no claims
bird-watching scenarios, ensuring every precious will be entertained. News Briefs ................................................................................................................................................ 42
moment is captured with absolute clarity.
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Realigning Priorities!
Just as we desperately need a vaccine for COVID-19, we also urgently need a vaccine to The recent study by Trisos et al. (2020)1 suggests that if global warming is kept below 2 °C,
restrain human arrogance and greed! It is this arrogance that makes us believe that we control less than 2% of assemblages globally are projected to undergo abrupt exposure events of more
nature and the environment. We forget that we have little control over nature; in fact, we are than 20% of their constituent species; however, the risk accelerates with the magnitude of
always at her mercy. Be it the raging bush fires of Australia, or the wild fires in the USA, or warming, threatening 15% of assemblages at 4 °C, with similar levels of risk in protected and
recent forest fires in Uttarakhand, the increase in storm surges and their intensity (we have just unprotected areas. The study highlights the impending risk of sudden and severe biodiversity
witnessed the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal), the recent locust outbreak losses from climate change and provides a framework for predicting both when and where
across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra, or the unpredictably extended monsoon these events may occur. It is a very insightful read and I suggest all our young researchers
of 2019, and the latest enraging El Nino that is causing widespread coral bleaching in northern should wade through this excellent paper.
Indian Ocean including reefs of Lakshadweep, Gulf of Kachchh, and Gulf of Mannar, I can Our current model of development will only increase our conflict with the people and
cite several more examples of Mother Nature’s fury. Nothing is going right in 2020. Humans wildlife that are still surviving, occupying the last remaining patches of wilderness. It will also
are the most dispensable entity in nature – can humans survive without nature? The tragedy is increase the exposure of humans to zoonotic diseases. COVID-19 is certainly not going to be
that the so-called literate are the least bothered about climate change or about nature, unless it the last zoonotic disease impacting us; this experience shows us that there are super-monsters
starts pinching them in their comfort zone. On the other hand, those whom we call illiterate in the making. We cannot continue to behave recklessly, contaminate the air, soil, water, and
are actually more mindful than the ‘literates’. They are the accommodative fighting voices for food resources, and compromise our immunity with our habits. Imagine what it would be like
nature, but unfortunately they suffer most from environmental degradation. What an irony! if the melting of the deep permafrost releases zoonotic diseases of the dinosaur era? How
The last few months saw some extremely controversial projects getting various clearances, dreadful life may be then for the coming generations. For sure, it is time we put our collective
such as Dibang-Etalin and Dihang-Patkai. I believe some wilderness areas are beyond wisdom together and realign our priorities to a changed reality and a changed world!!
economic considerations – only their intrinsic values should be considered. If we do not
fight to save such areas, then we as a race have nothing left to fight for. And the greatest Deepak Apte
irony is that we are trying to establish ‘ecological values’ on goods through the so-called
‘environmental economics’! I have always had a cautious approach towards environmental
economics. For me, it is like putting a price tag on an invaluable asset, as if it is a traded
commodity. This is the very same economic logic that is used to facilitate clearance of
developmental projects by paying a monetary premium. The NPV (net present value),
as per prevailing guidelines, of one hectare of forest in Dibang-Etalin, is estimated to be
Rs 10.43 lakhs, which in my view is rubbing salt to the wound!
Post COVID-19 (whenever that may be) provides us with an opportunity to look at
investments differently. We must think about how we can decongest cities, improve rural
organic agriculture, decontaminate soil, air, and water, think of ways to make best use of
technologies, to reduce travel and save precious fuel, to reduce our ecological footprint, invest
in systematic habitat restoration, improve health and education sectors, and curb wildlife trade.
Investing towards a rural, small scale agrarian economy and moving away from an industrial
1Trisos, C.H., C. Merow & A.L. PigoT (2020): The projected timing of abrupt ecological disruption from climate
economy is not a bad idea. change. Nature 580: 496–501. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2189-9
FEATURES
Nightlife in Mumbai’s Forests
Text: Raju Kasambe
Camera trap photographs: Priyadarshini Supekar, Raju Kasambe, and Dilip Giri
Camera trap photographs of Indian Chevrotain courtesy: Nikit Surve
A peaceful and gentle, but highly alert, herd of Spotted Deer visited the waterhole during the daytime
W
e were disturbed to read claims in the 33-acre forested area of the BNHS Nature
the newspapers that there was no Reserve, where our Conservation Education
wildlife in Aarey Milk Colony in Centre is located.
Mumbai, and that it was an “empty” forest. The surveys revealed the presence of at
Aarey is an extension of Sanjay Gandhi least 120 species of butterflies and an equal
National Park (SGNP), a beautiful forest that number of bird species in the BNHS reserve.
has existed from ages past situated in the midst As for mammals, the regularly sighted species
of the ever expanding sprawl of metropolitan in the BNHS reserve were Five-striped Palm
Mumbai. The Aarey Milk Colony forest patch Squirrel Funambulus pennantii, Spotted Deer
is contiguous with Film City and the BNHS or Cheetal Axis axis, Barking Deer or Indian
Nature Reserve, and there are no physical Muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, Bonnet Macaque
barriers to impede wildlife movements between Macaca radiata, and Rhesus Macaque Macaca
them. Following the newspaper reports, we felt mulatta, these feeding around the CEC building
that there was a need to provide photographic and some coming to drink at the waterhole
evidence of the wildlife known from this area, that BNHS had created for wildlife. At times,
and the possibility of adding to the faunal the Southern Plains Grey Langur Semnopithecus
checklist. Accordingly, in January 2017, we dussumieri was sighted in the trees, feeding on
started a survey to document the wildlife in leaves and fruits. The langurs seldom visited
A male Leopard that started visiting the waterhole in the summer of 2019 HORNBILL April–June 2020 5
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Two Asian Palm Civets occasionally visited the Indian Spotted Chevrotain (Indian Mouse Deer),
waterhole at night is another nocturnal visitor
Bonnet Macaque, endemic to the Indian peninsula, are seen in fair numbers in the CEC land
Small Indian Civet was camera-trapped only in the Wild Boar tend to be aggressive,
second year of camera-trapping pushing and squealing at the waterhole
the waterhole. The occasional alarm calls of are now a favoured tool for wildlife experts,
the langurs indicated the presence of a large as the cameras can capture images and videos
predator, which we never spotted. of any moving object passing in front of
With time, we realized that just recording them. This technique is especially helpful in
the fauna that we could sight in the forest collecting valuable information on shy and
during the surveys was not enough, as it elusive nocturnal animals, sometimes revealing
became apparent that numerous species of the presence of species that one least expects
wildlife were eluding us both during the day in a region. BNHS had first used this technique
and night. To overcome this, we decided to in its Jerdon’s Courser project with tremendous
deploy camera traps to capture the elusive success, and more recently, in the ongoing
species in the reserve. We started by installing eMammal Citizen Science project which has
Barking Deer cautiously approaches the waterhole in singletons two camera traps at waterholes. Camera traps had excellent findings too.
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Rhesus Macaque, the macaque of the northern Indian plains
Sambar, which are nocturnal or crepuscular, sometimes visit the waterhole during the daytime
education officers Priyadarshini Supekar and when seen through the eye of the camera,
Eesha Shevade had sighted in the evening! the story is different. Many of the 14 species
We were aware of the presence of a of mammals that our cameras captured are
leopard on the BNHS reserve, and the camera- nocturnal, and we hardly ever sighted them
trap images confirmed this. A shy male otherwise. With their powerful vision, hearing,
Leopard Panthera pardus with time seemed and sense of smell, they detect human presence
to have lost its camera-shyness, and to our and avoid us. The wildlife of SGNP, and BNHS
anthropomorphizing eyes, it even appeared Nature Reserve and Aarey Milk Colony, do not
to be posing at times. What was surprising recognize boundaries. For them the forest is
Southern Plains Grey Langur is native to western, central, and south-western India for us was that six different leopards would one, and they venture into human occupied
visit the waterhole, including a female with a areas only due to sheer necessity. It is us humans
Our camera traps in the BNHS reserve Among the nocturnal visitors, we camera subadult. All the leopards were very alert; they who are constantly pushing the boundaries and
continue to surprise us with clear and interesting -trapped the shy Asian Palm Civet Paradoxurus had earlier eluded the BNHS staff who spent encroaching upon their habitats.
images all through the day and night, some of hermaphroditus and the alert Jungle Cat Felis chaus hours waiting in a hide just for a glimpse of
which are given below. coming for a drink, and a Ruddy Mongoose these evasive carnivores. The leopards would
A sounder of Wild Pig Sus scrofa were regular Herpestes smithii emerging from its secret home, visit the waterhole only after the observers had
visitors to the waterhole. The video recordings the water pipes. In March-April 2019, our camera moved away from the hide – but the cameras
showed the thirsty pigs shoving and pushing traps captured the nocturnal Small Indian Civet work night and day!
one another to get a good drink. Might is right, Viverricula indica. On May 17, 2019, Nikit Surve The camera traps occasionally revealed
says the law of the jungle! The Sambar Rusa (who is conducting research on leopards in leopard movements; stray dogs, an important
Raju Kasambe is Assistant Director,
unicolor mostly visited the waterhole in the night, Sanjay Gandhi National Park using camera food for leopards in this area; and even tribal
Education and manages the Conservation
but occasionally came in during the day for a trapping) camera-trapped an Indian Spotted women collecting firewood.
Education Centre (CEC), Mumbai. His main
sip. The macaques, Spotted Deer, and Barking Chevrotain (or Mouse Deer) Tragulus (Moschiola) The forests of Mumbai may look ‘empty’
interests are birds, butterflies, and
Deer were recorded only during the day. meminna just outside the CEC gate, that BNHS and devoid of wildlife to the human eye, but
environmental education.
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The Enigmatic
L. S
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and Elusive L / C
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The BNHS sound box that reproduces the call of Jerdon's Courser
Jerdon’s Courser
After these, there was a “presumably Ghats (1929–31) and Hyderabad State (1931–
authentic” (quoting Sálim Ali in the Oct.–Dec. 32) surveys, and through two specific surveys by
1977 issue of Hornbill) report in 1900 by Howard BNHS in 1975 and 1976 in collaboration with
Campbell, near Anantapur in the Pennar Valley. the Smithsonian Institution and WWF-India,
Text: Ranjit Manakadan Commenting on the same record, E.C. Stuart but these surveys relied more on mist-netting
Baker wrote in THe fAunA of briTisH indiA: (hoping the birds would fly into the nets) and
birds, Vol. Vi (1929) “Campbell saw it twice, in there were not much focused searches on the
pairs, running about in dry bush-jungle ... “On species, especially during the first two surveys.
both occasions, it ran away with great rapidity The Jerdon’s Courser was almost written off
Jerdon’s Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus has been and not take to wing” … “Blanford’s birds from the Indian bird checklist on the assumption
both an enigmatic and elusive species for Indian obtained in March and May were not breeding that it was extinct after the failure of all the
ornithologists. It was first recorded for science by but Howard’s male, the only one he managed search efforts – till its spectacular rediscovery in
T.C. Jerdon during 1841–1842 in “hilly country above to get, had very enlarged testes. This was in 1986 by a (then) young BNHS scientist, Bharat
the Eastern Ghats, off Nellore and in Cuddapah” in June, so presumably the birds breed about Bhushan from Cuddapah (now Kadapa) district
Andhra Pradesh. Jerdon’s notes on the species in his then.” Apart from these three early records, of Andhra Pradesh.
birds of indiA (1877) are “found in small parties” and an egg that was lying unnamed in a museum The rediscovery of Jerdon’s Courser created
“not very noisy, but occasionally uttering a plaintive in Scotland – reportedly collected in 1917 from a sensation in ornithological circles, and it
cry”. An earlier report of the species was published by the Kolar Gold Fields area of Karnataka – was would be interesting to analyse why Bhushan
W.T. Blanford in 1867 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society identified as of the species in 2014. There is was successful while the others failed. As he had
of Bengal (38: 190) mentioning the sighting of birds “18 also an unsubstantiated report of a clutch of told me (we were colleagues in the Endangered
miles east of Sironcha”. Later, writing in Volume IV two eggs collected (location undisclosed) in a Species Project), to start with, he meticulously
of the fAunA of briTisH indiA (1898), he again refers newspaper, The Asian, in 1895. read and scrutinized all the records of the
to the sighting of three birds near Sironcha in May Other than these records, the species species. He did a lot of reading “between the
1867, and the sighting of two pairs in March 1871 near remained elusive, and was considered among lines” to pin down the location and habitat in
Bhadrachalam, of which he managed to shoot a male the four ‘mystery’ Indian birds, along with the which the birds were collected, as these were
each. Some of Blanford’s comments on the species are Pink-headed Duck Rhodonessa caryophyllacea, not clearly spelt out by Jerdon and others. He
Y
NR “very far from common”, “found in thin forest or high Himalayan Quail Ophrysia superciliosa, and Forest also checked the Telugu names attributed to the
E
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M. scrub”, “never in open ground”, and “never saw any on Owlet Heteroglaux blewitti (now ‘rediscovered’). species, and shortlisted those that were not used
D.
G: hills”, which provide some insights into both its rarity Efforts were made to look for the Jerdon’s for other species and seemed appropriate for
N
TI
PAIN and habitat. Courser during the Vernay Survey of the Eastern this elusive species, which considerably helped
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narrow down the search. Its local name in the trappers he had been in touch with earlier,
Kadapa area, as we know now, is kalivi kodi. managed to catch a Jerdon’s Courser near
Kalivi is the local name for the thorny shrub Reddipalli in the Lankamalai Reserve Forest
Carissa sp. (in which the species is reported to of Kadapa district. After the rediscovery,
take refuge during the day) and kodi means fowl. he obtained a few other sightings in the
An advantage that Bhushan had was that he area, including a photographic record taken
spoke Telugu. Conversing in the local language during the day. The rediscovery of Jerdon’s
is important for carrying out surveys, especially Courser in the Reddipalli area prompted
for elusive species. Bharat distributed posters the Forest Department to declare the area
of the species with write-ups in Telugu to as a wildlife sanctuary, Sri Lankamalleswara
Forest Department personnel, bird trappers Wildlife Sanctuary (464 sq. km). After some
and villagers, which helped pass the word time, Bharat shifted to a posting at BNHS MALI SUM
around. Knowing Telugu, he could easily headquarters. After he left, in 1988, I almost got MANT ANT M
communicate with the locals and judge their an opportunity to work on this enigmatic bird SU ALI
identification skills by asking them to point after my stint in Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary
out the illustration of the target species among on the Great Indian Bustard came to a close.
other similar-looking bird species in field However, with change of plans at the very last
guides. It was through such discussions with moment, I was instead posted in Point Calimere
bird trappers that he started suspecting that Wildlife Sanctuary to work on the waterbirds of
Jerdon’s Courser was a nocturnal species, which the Great Vedaranyam Swamp.
turned out to be true (as is the case with all its The next project by BNHS in Sri
congeners in Africa). The earlier birders appear Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary was a
to be not aware (not reflected in their writings) two-year project (1994–1995) funded by the
that the species was nocturnal despite its tell- MoEF (now MoEF&CC, the Ministry of
tale Olanrg eJ aenyueas.r y 14, 1986, Bharat Bhushan’s EV.n vEirloanngmoevnatn, , Ftohree srte saenadrc hCerli, moabtet aiCnehda nfigev)e. MANT MALI SUMANT M
SU ALI
efforts finally paid off, after one of the bird sightings all in the Reddipalli area. The MoEF Camera-trapped fauna in Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary: Chinkara,
project was followed by a major project with Jungle Cat, Grey Junglefowl, and Golden Jackal
funding from Darwin Initiative, which ran
from 2000 to 2008. In this innovative project, Fund. However, they managed to sight only (including increase in shrub cover), and
the researcher, P. Jeganathan, laid out tracking- two birds in one instance during the entire expansion of agriculture. Poaching of wildlife,
strips in potential areas to record the species’ tenure of the study till 2012. After this project, in including birds, is not uncommon as reported in
footprints, which were further confirmed by 2013, I was asked to oversee a newly sanctioned Sumant Mali’s study. Has Jerdon’s Courser gone
images captured by camera traps facing these two-year, MoEF project on the species in extinct from the area with all these changes and
tracking-strips. The call of the species was Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary. threats? Or has it moved to other more suitable
recorded for the first time, and its playback was However, this too ‘fizzled out’ for me at the and less disturbed adjoining areas – there are
used to detect the presence of birds at sites last moment. The researcher of this two-year still tracts of scrub country in the plains along
in the study area. However, despite this study, project, Sumant Mali, used around 200 cameras the hills of the Eastern Ghats in this region that
the species remained an enigma, with only a in an attempt to record the species. However, look suitable Jerdon’s Courser habitat. This is
handful of short-duration sightings of birds other than obtaining photographs of many not to say that there are no pressures here – vast
obtained and with no records of nests, eggs, species of interesting birds and mammals tracts of scrub habitat south of Kadapa have
A and chicks. Thus, much remains to be known through the camera traps, there was not a single disappeared with government establishments,
S
BY- about the species’ population, ecology, habits, photograph of the Jerdon’s Courser. engineering and medical colleges, hospitals, and
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ALI / behaviour, movements, and breeding biology. In the past decade or so, there have been industries gobbling up land. And one can expect
UR After a short break, the project resumed in significant changes in the landscape of more of these wilderness areas to be lost in the
M
NJINI 2009 with two researchers Rahul Chavan and the Jerdon’s Courser habitat, including the coming decades in the name of development.
A
R Sumant Mali, with additional funding from the construction of the Telugu Ganga Canal (that Over the years, I have been troubled by
Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation supplies water from Nagarjuna Sagar Reservoir a nagging query whenever the topic of the
Egg of Jerdon's Courser, collected from the Kolar
Gold Fields area of Karnataka in 1917 Fund and IUCN’s Save our Species (SOS) to Chennai), changes in the vegetation Jerdon’s Courser arose. What would have been
12 HORNBILL April–June 2020 HORNBILL April–June 2020 13
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PATHMAKING FOR THE ARTS
As Marg enters its 75th year in October 2020, we renew our engagement with contemporary
realities as well as histories of cultures. Our iconic magazine has now been reconceptualized
as a vibrant space for public intellectual work. While our focus remains the living legacies of
India and the South Asian region, our new path shall also be one that deeply interacts with
the most pressing concerns of our time and moves towards discovering and nurturing ideas
and artistic practices of relevance.
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Typical open scrub habitat of Jerdon's Courser
the ‘story’ if I had indeed shifted to Reddipalli enigmatic and elusive species again elude me?
in 1988 to work on the species? Would I have Only time will tell, as the saying goes! Y
been able to locate nests, eggs, and chicks that
eluded the others, and also managed to add
significant insights into this enigmatic species
– I tend to be ‘lucky’ in the field, my colleagues
say! And similar questions arise about the
second missed opportunity in 2013. I still
occasionally ponder on undertaking a project
Shibu Natesan, Existence of Instinct - I, 2004, Oil on linen. Image courtesy: Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai.
on the Jerdon’s Courser, even though age is not Ranjit Manakadan is Deputy Director
on my side now. Will I be lucky with a third (and (Ornithology) in BNHS and has
final) try, or will the opportunity to work on this been working with the Society
Support us as we bring to our readers the most vital thinking on the arts and culture.
for almost four decades.
Subscribe to Marg, available in print/digital, at www.marg-art.org | [email protected]
Current issue:
March 2020—Art & Ecology
Upcoming issues:
June 2020—Art & Conflict
September 2020— Art in the Time of Contagion
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Crowned Hornbills wait to nab a swift fledgling from its mud nest
H
aving more than a soft corner for – the Crowned Hornbill – they were after the
wildlife, I enrolled for a BNHS trip fledglings of swifts in their mud nests within
to Kenya, but I had not in my wildest the roof of the resort. We didn’t know then that
dreams anticipated that I would witness such Kenya had so many other species of hornbills
diversity and plethora of fauna. Even as we, in store for us – Red-billed, Yellow-billed, Grey,
a group of 16 like-minded nature lovers and and the amazing Southern Ground Hornbill
our leader Asif Khan, stepped on to African with its black garb, beady eyes, and patches of
soil, we were greeted with the cawing of crows bare red skin on the face and throat, the latter
with white fronts. That was my first surprise, being inflatable.
Pied Crow – the tuxedoed feathered bipeds of Talking of birds, we came across some of
Africa. I was not aware that such crows existed! the most spectacularly coloured ones in all of
After landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Kenya, as if nature had been trying out various
Airport, Nairobi, we headed straight for combinations of paints on her palette. Just
Aberdare National Park, a protected area in the to name a few: the Cut-throat Finch with a
Kenya
Aberdare Mountain Range in central Kenya. blood-red band across its throat, Grey-headed
The drive, though rather long, was over smooth, Kingfisher with black and turquoise blue wings
unpotholed roads bordered with African Tulip and tail and a russet underbelly, Chestnut
Trees, Cactus trees, and Umbrella Acacias. The Sparrow with its resplendent shades of sepia
Calling
acacias seemed as though they were decorated plumage, and the enormous Ostrich with its
for Christmas, festooned with lantern-like small head, long neck, and velvet black tutu of
weaver bird nests dangling from them. The feathers, moving in the grass with the grace of
Aberdare Country Club Resort simply took a ballerina. Then the very handsome Bateleur
OPAL our breath away. Impalas with the typical black Eagle with its crimson beak, flying about among
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AJ Text: Katie Bagli McDonald style ‘M’ marking on their butts, the Yellow Fever Acacias, the sunny yellow
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AN and Dik-dik antelopes that looked like toys, Baglafecht Weaver, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
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AN pranced around to the chorus of birds. Here that seemed to have put on too much rouge,
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MA we were thrilled to see our first hornbill species and the species that brought us to our knees in
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Ostrich
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