Michael's Ninth Year

[michael-ibk]

349/N64) Mountain Wheatear (Myrmecocichla monticola) / Bergschmätzer

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 24/5. A common and bold bird. Occurs in several different morphs - a grey one here:

 

 

And the black form from Damaraland:

 

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

350/N65) White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (Plocepasser mahali) / Weißbrauenweber

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 24/5. A widespread and familiar bird.

 

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

351/N66) Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris) / Helmperlhuhn

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. No need to introduce this one.

 

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

352/N67) Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea) / Guineataube

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Abundant, but pretty much forgot about it.

 

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

353/N68) Freckled Nightjar (Caprimulgus tristigma) / Fleckennachtschwalbe

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Like to hang out around the big rocks towering over the lodge.

 

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

354/N69) Pied (ebird taxonomy) aka Ackacia Pied Barbet (IOC taxonomy) (Tricholaema leucomelas ) / Rotstirn-Bartvogel

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. The classic dry country Barbet.

 

[michael-ibk]

355/N70) Cardinal Woodpecker (Dendropicos fuscescens) / Kardinalspecht

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Must be Africa's most common Woodpecker.

 

[michael-ibk]

356/N71) Pririt Batis (Batis pririt ) / Priritschnäpper

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Very fond of this family, always love seeing a Batis.

 

 

And a male from our last day of the trip:

 

[michael-ibk]

357/N72) Ashy Tit (Melaniparus cinerascens) / Akazienrußmeise

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. TIts are quite tough birds to get in Africa - what a contrast to Europe.

 

[michael-ibk]

358/N73) Rockrunner (Achaetops pycnopygius) / Klippensänger

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Lifer, and probably my Nr. 1 target bird for the trip. Another Namibia/Angola-endemic. A tough bird. Dipped on it on the first try, and took the better part of an hour to find one the next afternoon. The only member of the monotypic genus Achaetops. The beautiful song is an accelerating and descending series of warbles.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

359/N74) Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis) / Gelbbaucheremomela

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. The word Eremomela comes from the Ancient Greek erēmos for "desert" and melos for "song" or "melody" (Wiki).

 

[michael-ibk]

360/N75) Pale-winged Starling (Onychognathus nabouroup) / Fahlflügelstar

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Very common in the drier areas.

 

 

[michael-ibk]

361/N76) Herero Chat (Namibornis herero) / Namibschnäpper

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Another important lifer. Almost a Namiba endemic, just about reaching the South of Angola.

 

[michael-ibk]

362/N77) Dusky Sunbird (Cinnyris fuscus) / Rußnektarvogel

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. Not exactly the most impressive species of the Sunbird family.

 

[michael-ibk]

363/N78) Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) / Maskenweber

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 25/5. The only "Yellow Weaver" species we saw.

 

[michael-ibk]

364/N79) Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) / Rotringtoko

 

Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge, 26/5. A familiar and well-known bird.

 

 

Next stop: Back to the Coast.

Edited August 29 by michael-ibk

[Galana]

Good to see you getting your target birds. That White-tailed 'not a' Shrike is one I always love to see. It has a bad attitude but quite confiding. Rightly placed with Batis/Wattle-eye/Vanga group and not with 'proper' shrikes.

 

Your 'juv' Pied Babbler may just be a lost Black-faced as I don't think Juv Pied vary much from adults.

 

Still waiting the long overdue Trip Report. More detail please!

[TonyQ]

Excellent additions @michael-ibk

I really like Batis family also.

Yoou did very well at Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge!

[michael-ibk]

Thanks @Galanaand @TonyQ!

 

3 hours ago, Galana said:

Your 'juv' Pied Babbler may just be a lost Black-faced as I don't think Juv Pied vary much from adults.

 

Crossed my mind but it was basically in the same bush. And the juveniles do look different, from Roberts:

 

 

2 hours ago, TonyQ said:

Yoou did very well at Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge!

 

It is a very nice lodge, and we had a good guide there, really helped. 

 

 

Edited August 30 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

3 hours ago, Galana said:

Still waiting the long overdue Trip Report. More detail please!

 

Just been having a lot on my plate this year. But i promise to get to it before Botswana. 

[Peter Connan]

Wonderful stuff!

[PeterHG]

More great photos from Namibia! I am a little jealous of your White Shrike ( what a beauty!) and full of admiration for the way you smoothly switch taxonomies whenever it is profitable to do so ;)! Keep going! 

[michael-ibk]

Thanks Peters!

 

39 minutes ago, PeterHG said:

nd full of admiration for the way you smoothly switch taxonomies whenever it is profitable to do so

 

Whatever it takes!

[michael-ibk]

365/N80) Red-capped Lark (Calandrella cinerea) / Rotkappenlerche

 

Cape Cross Seal Reserve, 26/5. A few scattered sightings.

 

 

This one (from Etosha) looked really confusing, had it labelled as a Pipit for quite a while.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 2 by michael-ibk

[michael-ibk]

366/N81) Gray's Lark (Ammomanopsis grayi) / Namiblerche

 

Skeleton Coast, 27/5. One more Namibia/Angola endemic, so another lifer. And no, not succumbing to American English here. The name does not describe the colour, this bird is named after John Edward Gray, an English ornithologist and author (1800-1875).

 

Edited September 2 by michael-ibk