Streaky Seedeater, Ethiopia
Streaky Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Another common bird I observed in Addis Ababa on my recent trip to Ethiopia was the Streaky Seedeater Serinus striolatus. This is another member of the finch family of birds. In the school grounds where my daughter was teaching they were very common, behaving like many species of finch and sparrow in cleaning up after the children had dropped crumbs and other bits of food in the playground.
This species is found in the higher altitudes – from 1300 – 4500m – in Ethiopia, Kenya, Zaire, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Streaky Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Streaky Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Brown-rumped Seedeater, Ethiopia
Brown-rumped Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Brown-rumped Seedeater (Serinus tristriatus) of Ethiopia is a very common bird in the city of Addis Ababa. It is the common finch like bird of the suburbs and I observed it on my recent trip there in large numbers. In some respects it is like the House Sparrow here in Australia and its habits and habitat is very similar. They even look similar.
It was very common in the grounds and gardens of the school where my daughter was teaching. Like the sparrows we know, they were the ground cleaners in the lunch areas and other parts of the school where the children ate their lunches. Any little scrap or morsel was pounced upon and devoured.
It actually took me quite a while to accurately identify this bird. This is because Ethiopia has many “little brown birds” that can cause so much confusion.
Brown-rumped Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Brown-rumped Seedeater, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Yellow-billed Kite, Ethiopia
Yellow-billed Kite, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
On my recent trip to Ethiopia I had the opportunity to spend quite a few hours birds in the grounds of the international school where my daughter was teaching. She lived on the campus and we were able to stay with her in her apartment. The school campus was quite large and included a football ground (soccer) and a small forest of eucalyptus trees.
By far the most obvious birds visiting the school were the Yellow-billed Kites. At first I thought that they were Black Kites as we have them in large numbers here in Australia. The Yellow-billed Kite (Milvus aegyptius) is regarded as a sub-species of the Black Kite which also occurs in Ethiopia. The one shown in the photo above does not appear to have a yellow beak, so it is almost certainly a juvenile bird.
The kites were in abundance every day both on the school football ground and soaring overhead. Sometimes I could see 20 – 30 soaring on high and just as many low over the oval or actually on the ground.
This was the first of many “lifers” I saw on my trip. (“Lifers” = bird species seen for the very first time and so eligible to go on one’s “life list“. )
Yellow-billed Kite, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Birding in Africa
No Comments »9th December, 2011; Category: Non-Australian birds
I am currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia visiting our daughter who is teaching here. We are living with her on campus at Bingham Academy, a private school in the capital city.
The grounds of the school are extensive and well planted with native and exotic species. We are delighted to feel almost at home because we’ve found many Australian plants included.
I’ve also been doing quite a deal of birding on the campus. So far I’ve seen about 15 different species and all of them are “lifers”, meaning that it’s the first time I’ve seen each species in my life. Probably the most interesting is the Hooded Vulture which frequents the school oval.
I’ve managed to get some good photos of some of the birds, but I won’t be putting these up on this site until I return home. The internet connection here is rather slow to load photos and I’d rather be out and about birding than sitting here at my daughter’s computer waiting for them to load.
In the meantime, I have scheduled photos and articles to appear here over the next few weeks. The articles were prepared before I left.
Good birding.
Muscovy Duck, Lameroo
Muscovy Duck nesting at Lake Roberts, Lameroo
Sydney Trip Report June 2011
Over the coming few weeks I will intersperse my usual sightings around home with a series of trip reports when we went to visit family in Sydney in June earlier this year. I’ve been both busy and unwell so these reports are a little overdue. Never mind; I’m much better now and getting back into adding regular postings here.
On the first day of our trip we drove from home in Murray Bridge to Lameroo in eastern South Australia. We stopped for a cuppa and morning tea at Lake Roberts on the eastern edge of Lameroo, a farming community in the Murray Mallee region. I always like stopping here as you never know what birds are around.
This time I observed a Muscovy Duck near the edge of the lake and it seems it was sitting on a nest (see photo above). This is an introduced species in Australia and there are only a few feral populations away from farmyards. It is commonly kept on farms and in backyards as pets and are edible and are sometimes kept as meat birds. You can find out more about keeping them as pets by clicking here.