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Beyond the Big Five: 10 Birds You’ll See on a Serengeti Safari

Beyond the Big Five: 10 Birds You’ll See on a Serengeti Safari: Though Birds are not part of the Tanzania’s Big Five, they are still an amazing part of the Serengeti ecosystem and you will encounter a lot of them during your safari.

Tanzania is home to over 1,100 bird species with over 500 of them being visible in Serengeti National Park.

Here are the 10 of Tanzania’s most spottabled birds, you are likely to see many of them while on your Tanzania Safari and you won’t need binoculars

Big Birds

Ostrich

These giant birds are instantly recognizable and enormous, the ostrich is prevalent throughout Tanzania. These flightless birds are capable of running at speeds over 43 miles per hour, making them the fastest land birds in the world. The male ostriches have black feathers making them stealthy at night, while female ostriches have grey – brown plumage which provides good camouflage during the day.

Ostriches make a range of sounds including snorts, whistles and loud booming noises when predators are near. It is not uncommon to hear them before you see them.

Tawny Eagle

These fascinating birds are short – legged and heavily feathered in white, reddish-brown or grey brown, Tawny Eagle live and are spotted nearly everywhere in Tanzania. They are formidable hunters, diving from their perches and seizing prey in their sharp talons. They are not picky eaters, either and are known to feed on insects when given the chance.

Short-legged and heavily feathered in white, reddish-brown or grey-brown, the Tawny Eagle live nearly everywhere in Tanzania. They are formidable hunters, diving from their perches and seizing prey in their sharp talons. They’re not picky eaters, either, and are known to snack on insects when given the chance.

Marabou Stork

The Marabou Stock is a fascinating bird noticeable by its massive dagger-like bill and pink head that appears as if sunburned, this bird is found throughout Tanzania’s iconic destinations including Serengeti National Park. Also, they have huge wingspan that enables them to soar high above the ground. They are most often seen around carrion, stealing scraps from the kills of major predators. The lack of feathers around their head and neck enables them to stay clean while eating messy foods.

Marabou storks are intimidating, opportunistic creatures. When its throat sac is inflated, other marabous take this as a sign of dominance and get out of the way. If they are around a grass fire, it is common for a stork to march a head of the flames, attempting to grab any prey trying to flee.

Medium-Sized Birds

Grey Crowned Crane

The strikingly beautiful grey crowned crane lives in the middle of Serengeti National Park favoring flooded grasslands and open habitats when foraging, the males are commonly known for their performative dance, where they flap their colorful wings and skip around for potential mates.

Despite the name, their “crown” is always golden-yellow.

Kori Bustard

The three front toed birds, buff and gray prefer wide open grasslands and lightly wooded savannah. The Kori bustards are notably carnivorous, their diet consisting of small mammals, lizards, snakes, seeds, berries and insects.

During mating, the male inflates his esophagus up to four times its normal size and moves its tail feathers to reveal as much of its white underfeathers as possible. Just as striking as its appearance is its low-pitched booming sound, often made during courtship with a female.

Lesser Flamingo

Despite its tall, large body and question-mark-sharped neck, the lesser flamingo is the smallest flamingo in the world. Pink plumage defines this lanky bird which live in large groups around Tanzania’s Lake Natron. Its diet consists almost entirely of microscopic blue – green algae and other organisms found in the lake, but will also eat small aquatic invertebrates.

Small Birds

Vitelline Masked Weaver

This beautiful vitelline masked weaver is a tiny, red-eyed bird found all over the Serengeti. Males have distinctive, bright yellow plumage with a pointy bill and chestnut coloring on the breast and crown. Females are much duller but have yellow streaks on their backs.

Their vocalizations include “chek” noises and a fuzzy, garbled song, like radio static.

Superb Starling

Stunning iridescent plumage makes the superb staring worthy of its name, they are found broadly across northern Tanzania and travel in small flocks. They are similar to many varieties of starling, but are easily distinguished by their white chest band, separating the blue breast from the fire-orange belly.

Lilac-breasted Roller

The lilac-breasted roller is extensively found through Tanzania, its rust-colored cheeks, green crown, lilac breast and blue body make it highly visible. This bird is called a roller because of its mating display often includes aerial stunts, such as rolling from side to side quickly – not to mention plenty of diving, swooping and loud, harsh cries.

Von der Decken’s Hornbill

The Von der Decken’s hornbill also recognized as Zazu from the Lion King is a native bird to Tanzania’s dry regions. Males have clunky, red bills while females have black bills. Females isolate themselves in small tree cavities to hatch and raise their chicks, during this time, the males feeds the female and the chicks through a silt in their nest.

Beyond the Big Five: 10 Birds You’ll See on a Serengeti Safari 

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