The Adventures of Kerri & Matt

In Chobe we finally saw Zazu.

Zazu is a red billed hornbill.

These ones look more grumpy and Zazu like.

They eat insects and grubs in the dirt.

(Disclaimer: post made long after pictures were taken). We saw many bird species in Botswana.

I think this was a Fish Eagle.

This doesn’t look like a fish eagle.

This is fish eagle food, well maybe not as it isn’t a fish.

Here is a stork patiently waiting for food to swim by.

Here’s another bird. This time of the yellow variety.

Here’s a much more colourful bird. Maybe a kingfisher?

This is a less blown out shot of the yellow feathered bird.

This bright-eyed bird has irridescent feathers that does not help it to hide. 

This confused looking bird is failing to look for its food which is down. It is probably on the lookout for predators.

This bird must scoop insects from the ground as it’s upper beak is much shorter than the lower beak.

Oh I remember this one. It is an open-bill stork. If you are surprised at the name it is called that because it’s bill is in fact open at rest. This lets the water drain out when fishing.

And back to not remembering. Looks like a very slim pelican, probably isn’t but we’ll call it that so we have a caption and can include the picture in the post.

(Kerri would like to note that we have been seeing cormorants for a full year now, on every continent. But Matt still thinks this is a pelican.) Matt would like to point out he forgets the name of cormorants every time he sees one and instead thinks there’s one of those…uh…swimming birds.

(Kerri thought that at least the Australian name – shag – would stick.) 

Kerri thought wrong, it didn’t.

Hope you have enjoyed this post which has probably made you less knowledgeable about African birds than when you started.

The crocodiles at Chobe park looked particularly evil.

And chubby.

But they were just sleeping.

It’s a lot of work to move when you are that big.

Some were also cooling off while showing off all of their teeth.

We were glad we were in a boat.

And not in the water.

Lions cannot take down an adult African elephant.

But when one gets old or sick and dies they will guard the body to make sure they get it first.

And then they will feast

They drool over even the least appetizing bits.

Eating it involves a surprising amount of licking, which you wouldn’t expect to work well with meat.

Even when she uses her teeth it’s not very effectively.

The vultures sit in a nearby tree waiting for their turn.

Watching very intently for their opportunity

The next morning the lions were gone and the vultures had taken over the body.

They ate it enthusiastically, even though they had split open the intestine and it smelled absolutely disgusting to us.

The dingos also got in there and were taking back pieces to their cubs..

In a couple of weeks it will look like this one, with nothing left but skin and bones.

Nothing eats the tough skin.