Birds of the Serengeti

Adam Scott Kennedy has served as principal leader on birding holidays in Africa, South America, Europe, and New Zealand. With his wife, Vicki, he currently operates as a private safari guide, specializing in photographic and wildlife safaris in East Africa. Information on their tours and stock image library can be found at www.rawnaturephoto.com. He is the author of Birds of the Masai Mara (Princeton WILDGuides).

• About this book 9 The habitats 12 Plains 13 Marsh & water 14 Woodland, scrub & garden 15 Acacia scrub 16 Village 17 Forest 18 Up in the air 19 Nightbirds 20 Lake Victoria specials 21 Map of the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Conservation Area - NCA 22 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS The Big Ones: 1 - Ostrich 24 The Big Ones: 2 - Secretarybird & Grey Crowned Crane 26 Bustards - Kori, Black-bellied & White-bellied Bustards 28 Small plover & coursers - Double-banded & Temminck's Coursers & Kittlitz's Plover 30 Vanellus plovers - Crowned, Senegal & Black-winged Plovers 32 Sandgrouse - Black-faced, Yellow-throated & Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse 34 Storks & ground hornbill - White & Abdim's Storks & Southern Ground Hornbill 36 At the carcass - Marabou Stork & Ruppell's & White-backed Vultures 38 Vultures - White-headed, Hooded & Lappet-faced Vultures 40 Vultures in flight - all species for comparison 42 Black-and-white eagles & Egyptian Vulture - Martial & Black-chested Snake Eagles & Egyptian Vulture 44 Black-and-white eagles - Verreaux's Eagle, Augur Buzzard & Bateleur 46 Brown raptors - Black Kite & Tawny & Steppe Eagles 48 Raptors in flight - all species for comparison 50 Grey raptors - Pallid & Montagu's Harriers & African Harrier Hawk 52 Large falcon & grey kite - Lanner Falcon & Black-shouldered Kite 54 Small falcons - Grey, Common & Lesser Kestrels 56 Rollers - Lilac-breasted & Eurasian Rollers 58 Oxpeckers & starling - Red-billed & Yellow-billed Oxpeckers & Wattled Starling 60 Little brown jobs or 'LBJs' - Pectoral-patch & Zitting Cisticolas & Red-capped & Rufous-naped Larks 62 Sparrow lark & chats - Fischer's Sparrow Lark & Sooty & Anteater Chats 64 Wheatears - Capped, Northern & Pied Wheatears 66 Upright birds of the plains - Yellow-throated & Rosy-breasted Longclaws & Buffy & Grassland Pipits 68 Bishop & widowbirds - Yellow Bishop & Yellow-mantled & Jackson's Widowbirds 70 BIRDS OF MARSH & WATER Flamingos - Greater & Lesser Flamingos 72 Wetland storks - Woolly-necked, Yellow-billed & African Open-billed Storks 74 Stork & ibises - Saddle-billed Stork & Sacred & Hadada Ibises 76 Small herons - Hamerkop & Striated & Squacco Herons 78 Large, dark herons - Goliath, Grey & Black-headed Herons 80 Egrets - Cattle, Little & Great White Egrets 82 Fish eagle - African Fish Eagle 84 Smaller ducks - Red-billed Teal & White-faced Whistling & Fulvous Whistling Ducks 86 Larger wildfowl - Spur-winged & Egyptian Geese & Knob-billed Duck 88 Birds of the water's edge - Black-winged Stilt, African Jacana & Black Crake 90 Wetland plovers - African Wattled, Blacksmith & Spur-winged Plovers 92 Waders: 1 - Water Thick-knee & Ruff 94 Waders: 2 - Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper & Three-banded Plover 96 Waders: 3 - Wood, Common & Green Sandpipers 98 Kingfishers - Giant, Malachite & Pied Kingfishers 100 Wagtails & waxbill - Yellow & African Pied Wagtails & Common Waxbill 102 BIRDS OF WOODLand, SCRUB & GARDEN Open woodland raptors - Brown Snake & Long-crested Eagles & Steppe Buzzard 104 Bustard, thick-knee & courser - Buff-crested Bustard, Spotted Thick-knee & Heuglin's Courser 106 Spurfowl - Red-necked, Grey-breasted & Yellow-necked Spurfowl 108 Gamebirds - Helmeted Guineafowl & Coqui & Crested Francolins 110 'Collared' doves - Ring-necked, African Mourning & Red-eyed Doves 112 Distinctive pigeons & doves - Speckled & African Green Pigeons & Emerald-spotted Wood Dove 114 Doves & mousebird - Namaqua & Laughing Doves & Speckled Mousebird 116 Parrots & hornbill - Fischer's Lovebird, Meyer's Parrot & African Grey Hornbill 118 Large cuckoos & relatives - White-browed Coucal, Red-chested Cuckoo & Bare-faced Go-away-bird 120 Three green gems - Klaas's & Diederik Cuckoos & Little Bee-eater 122 Bush kingfishers - Striped, Woodland & Grey-headed Kingfishers 124 Hoopoes - Green Wood-hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill & Hoopoe 126 Barbets - Usambiro & Spot-flanked Barbets & Red-fronted Tinkerbird 128 Honeyguides & woodpecker - Greater & Lesser Honeyguides & Bearded Woodpecker 130 Woodpeckers - Green-backed, Nubian & Cardinal Woodpeckers 132 Large bushshrikes & oriole - Grey-headed Bushshrike, Tropical Boubou & Black-headed Oriole 134 Small black-and-white birds - Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Chin-spot Batis & Black-backed Puffback 136 White-fronted shrikes - Common & Grey-backed Fiscals & Northern White-crowned Shrike 138 Black birds of woodland edge - Common Drongo, Slate-coloured Boubou & Northern Black Flycatcher 140 Tchagras & bulbul - Brown-crowned & Black-crowned Tchagras, Common Bulbul 142 Thrushes, scrub robin & babbler - Spotted Morning & Olive Thrushes, White-browed Scrub Robin & Arrow-marked Babbler 144 Attractive flycatchers of woods & gardens - White-eyed Slaty & African Paradise Flycatcher 146 Little brown jobs or 'LBJs' - Rattling Cisticola, Red-faced Crombec & Tawny-flanked Prinia 148 Green warblers - Yellow-breasted Apalis, Grey-backed Camaroptera & Grey-capped Warbler 150 Sunbirds: 1 - Scarlet-chested, Collared & Variable Sunbirds 152 Sunbirds: 2 - Marico, Beautiful & Bronze Sunbirds 154 Colourful birds of bush & garden - White-browed Robin Chat & Ruppell's & Greater Blue-eared Starlings 156 Brightly coloured starlings - Superb, Hildebrandt's & Violet-backed Starlings 158 Yellow weavers - Spectacled, Baglafecht & Village Weavers 160 Waxbills - Purple Grenadier, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu & Bronze Mannikin 162 Striking small birds of open bush - Pin-tailed Whydah, Golden-breasted Bunting & Yellow-fronted Canary 164 BIRDS OF ACACIA SCRUB Acacia barbets & go-away-bird - Red-and-yellow & Red-fronted Barbets & White-bellied Go-away-bird 166 Medium-sized birds of acacia scrub - Blue-naped Mousebird, Abyssinian Scimitarbill & Von der Decken's Hornbill 168 Shrikes - Brubru, Taita Fiscal & Magpie Shrike 170 Small birds of acacia scrub - Silverbird, African Grey Flycatcher, White-bellied Canary & Foxy Lark 172 Acacia weavers: 1 - Grey-capped Social, Speckle-fronted & Vitelline Masked Weavers 174 Acacia weavers: 2 - Red-billed Buffalo, White-headed Buffalo & Rufous-tailed Weavers 176 VILLAGE BIRDS Village sparrows - Swahili, Kenya Rufous & House Sparrows 178 Common village birds - Red-billed Firefinch, Village Indigobird & Pied Crow 180 FOREST & CRATER HIGHLandS BIRDS Large forest birds - White-necked Raven, Schalow's Turaco & Crowned Hornbill 182 Small birds of forest edge & open areas - Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Streaky Seedeater & African Stonechat 184 BIRDS OF THE AIR Black swallows & dark martins - Black & White-headed Saw-wings & Plain & Banded Martins 186 Swallows with red rumps - Mosque, Red-rumped, Rufous-chested & Lesser Striped Swallows 188 Swallows with dark rumps - Wire-tailed, Angola & Barn Swallows 190 Swifts - Little, White-rumped, African Palm, Nyanza & Common Swifts 192 Bee-eaters - Eurasian, Blue-cheeked & White-throated Bee-eaters 194 NIGHT BIRDS Owls - Pearl-spotted Owlet, Verreaux's Eagle Owl & African Scops Owlbr 196 Barn Owl & nightjars - Barn Owl & Square-tailed / Gabon & Slender-tailed Nightjars 198 LAKE VICTORIA SPECIALS Birds of the lakeside - Blue-headed Coucal, Swamp Flycatcher & Black-headed Gonolek 200 Sunbird & weavers - Red-chested Sunbird & Grosbeak & Slender-billed Weavers 202 Lakeside weavers - Northern Brown-throated, Golden-backed & Yellow-backed Weavers 204 Terns & gull - Whiskered & White-winged Black Terns & Grey-headed Gull 206 Cormorants & small plovers - Reed & Great Cormorants & White-fronted & Common Ringed Plovers 208 Further reading & useful resources210 Acknowledgements 211 Photographic credits 212 Scientific names of the bird species included in this book 213 Index 217 Short Index inside back cover

"The bird you see in the field is often exactly what you find in the book, and equally clear is its habitat, such as a thorny acacia branch or a forest floor littered with dead leaves. Kennedy also avoids using intimidating jargon to describe bird species, opting instead to keep the tone of his descriptions light hearted while still being informative... The overwhelming majority of photographs are of exceptionally high quality."--Derek Kverno, Birding in Tanzania "Essential book if you are heading for the Serengeti... Excellent."--Derek Moore, Derek Bird Brain "Birds of the Serengeti: And Ngorongoro Conservation Area by Adam Scott Kennedy may be the best birding book available covering the general safari region for northwestern Tanzania and southern Kenya. Filled with firsthand accounts, excellent photographs, and broken down into chapters by habitats, Birds of the Serengeti: And Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the guidebook for the broader non-scientific community."--Gabriel Thoumi, MongaBay.com "The amateur birder will find this a helpful book to have in hand while in Tanzania."--Library Journal "[A] great companion to existing field guides to the region, so certainly earns its place in my bag."--Martin Sullivan, BTO News "[A]n attractive and handy layout, and informative and accessible text that discusses interesting behaviors and provides insights into species background. Rich in detail, this indispensable volume uses a habitat-based approach, making it simple for everyone--from the novice to the experienced birdwatcher--to locate diverse birds in this fascinating area of the world."--BASE "I'd like to praise the overall visual effect of the Birds of the Serengeti. The overwhelming majority of photographs are of exceptionally high quality, undoubtedly shot with the finest equipment, but also indicative of a high level of skill."--Birding Tanzania Blog "These two guides are keys to prepare you for your journey, whether it is an actual safari or an imaginary one from the comfort of your home."--Dan R. Kunkle, Wildlife Activist "This field guide is 'aimed at all levels of birding ability' and it is definitely suitable for novice birders and for those on a safari primarily for mammals and larger wildlife. The ... quality of the photographs and text would make it a fine addition to field naturalist's library with an interest in East Africa."--Robert F. Foster, Canadian Field Naturalist "The result of this innovative approach is superb. It guides the layman on where to look for birds and what to look for. I wish there was such a field guide for every Important Bird Area (IBA) in East Africa!"--Fleur Ng'weno, Scopus "Superb layout ... Both books have a thoroughly modern feel about them, thanks to the wizards of the WILDGuides production team ... Those for whom these books are really intended will find their visits to these bird-rich regions hugely enhanced."--Martin Kelsey, IBIS, Journal of the British Ornithologists' Union "The friendly text is supported by a superb layout: hundreds of excellent photographs with great use of background tones means that colour leaps out of each page, yet the blocks of text are masterfully visible and easy to read."--Martin Kelsey, IBIS