Birds of the Masai Steppe

_ Calling all bird lovers!  The Masai Steppe – particularly Tarangire National Park – supports one of the greatest diversities of birds in Africa, if not the world.  The park alone contains more than 550 species.  Especially rich in bird life are the wetlands (Silale Swamp), the floodplain of the Tarangire River, and the open Acacia woodlands (giraffe habitat!)  During our January and February TUNGO and giraffe photographic surveys, we noticed large numbers of raptors (birds of prey) which indicates a healthy ecosystem, filled with myriad rodents, small birds, insects, and reptiles that feed these raptors.  We also spotted several wintering Eurasian migrants, such as the Eurasian Roller, Eurasian Bee-eater, and vast numbers of White Storks stalking the ground for large insects, mice, moles, frogs, and other amphibians.  It is the breeding season for some birds here; many of the Acacias are weighed down with weaverbird nests, making them look like African Christmas trees!

We invite you to enjoy this slideshow of some of our favorite pictures of the raptors (including owls), shorebirds, ducks, geese, fowl, and passerines of the Masai Steppe Ecosystem.