27/07/2019 Too hot for the birds this week in France so a return visit to Botswana

Photos taken in Botswana by Patrick Miller, my thanks go to him for allowing me to use them on my blog.

Yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas)...

 As above...

As above.

Southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri).  Yes, they spend a lot of time on the ground, but they do fly and they do roost in trees.

Crested Francolin (Francolinus sephaena)

Swainson’s francolin (Pternistis swainsonii)

African jacana (Actophilornis africanus)

Pale chanting goshawk (Melierax canorus).

Lesser grey shrike (Lanius minor)

African darter (Anhinga rufa)

African pied wagtail (Motacilla aguimp)

I will be in South Africa in October and November and during that time I will not be blogging,  I hope though to return with many new photos 😉

Posts will also be a bit sparce when we have visitors for 3 weeks as from 18 August.

Joining up with

Wild Bird Wednesday

and

I'd Rather B Birdin.

More birds from my travels seen in South Africa and Botswana.

Little stint (Calidris minuta). Botswana.

See comments for possible identification of this being Kittlitz’s plover (Charadrius pecuarius).

Broad-tailed paradise whydah (Vidua obtusa). Botswana

Shaft-tailed whydah or queen whydah (Vidua regia). Botswana.

Southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas). Botswana and South Africa.

As above.

As above.

Southern red-billed hornbill (Tockus rufirostris). Botswana.

As above.  During the incubation (brooding of the eggs), the nest entrance is typically blocked off with a plaster of mud, droppings and fruit pulp. The purpose for this is to keep the nest, including the brooding female, eggs and young chicks protected from predators. A narrow opening is left to allow the male to transfer food to the mother and the chicks.

Swainson's spurfowl, Swainson's francolin or chikwari (Pternistis swainsonii). Botswana and South Africa.

African jacana (Actophilornis africanus). Botswana.

The African darter (Anhinga rufa), sometimes called the snakebird. Chobe, Botswana.

As above.

Pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis). Chobe, Botswana.

  A pair- as above,

Speckled pigeon (Columba guinea), or (African) rock pigeon. Elephant Sands, Botswana.

As above,

Brown-hooded kingfisher (Halcyon albiventris). South Coast, South Africa.

Trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator). Kwa-ZuluNatal, South Africa.

Linking with Wild Bird Wednesday 296

To be continued.....