Towheeblog

Uganda’s national bird is the Gray Crowned Crane.  Here you see two reasons why.

This is one of many Great Blue Turacos we saw.  Sometimes they were in loudly screaming groups of six or more. Each is about 30 inches long, nearly half of it that marvelous paddle-tail.  They are vegans, living largely on the abundant year round fruit in tropical Uganda.  There are over twenty species in this turaco family, all native to sub-Saharan Africa.  The group includes the Go-away Birds (named for their calls) and the Plantain-eater.  These are not popular with the plantain growers.

We saw over 370 bird species on this trip.  Most of those were lifers for me.  I never birded south of the Sahara before.  But even some birds familiar in Europe were great to see in their wintering habitat.  Like the Stonechat male hanging around the Trekker’s Tavern, 8000′ up on the edge of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

For a taste of the economic and political realities in this natural wonderland, you can click onto my other blog here.