Birds of a same feather... or not!

Birds are tricky. They are small (often), easily spooked, take off very fast (most of them) and there are tiny variations from one subspecies to another. And then, there are males and females. It may sound stupid, but they are often so vastly different that it's difficult to remember who is who, especially in females, which are routinely drabber. And then, there is the added difficulty of actually seeing them in the surrounding shrubbery.

Today's discovery, clicked in Agbodrafo, Togo, is no exception. It took me another hour to get what I think is a proper identification. The yellowish-greenish colour and general appearance pointed me to a weaver of sorts. There are thousands of them around where I am. I was able to take pictures of Village weaver / Ploceus cucculatus / Tisserin gendarme before, but I was aware there were several types of weavers coexisting in the same area. I think this is a female Black-headed weaver / Ploceus melanocephalus / Tisserin à tête noire. As always, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you want to use my pictures anywhere. Thank you!

Birding is not for the impatient...

This bird gave me a lot of work. I saw it for the first time ever (I think!) this morning in Agbodrafo, Togo, and was lucky enough to be able to take a picture of it before it flew away. I spent more or less the rest of the day trying to identify it.

At first, I thought it was a Pin-tailed Whydah / Vidua macroura / Veuve dominicaine out of its breeding season long tail, but I looked it up and realised it couldn't be, since the beak was black, and the pin-tailed whydah's one is always red. Starting with a preconceived idea is the worst way to proceed, but it's extremely difficult to get rid of a first impression. I finally settled on an identification which I find likely. Allow me to introduce the Southern fiscal / Lanius collaris / Pie-grièche fiscale. 

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying is not. Please contact me if you want to use any materials posted on this blog. Not only it will be the nice, polite way of doing things, but it will also keep you on the right side of the copyright laws. Thank you!

Not-so-prickly pears

Yesterday I came across a riot of deep fuchsia flowers growing on a spineless prickly pear bush. Or does it have another name in its tame, non-aggressive avatar? I wish I knew, but looking up on the Internet, all I could find is that Opuntia ficus indica could be found in a spineless version, but then it was supposed to have yellow/orangey flowers, which is quite obviously not the case here.

I got a bit crazy with my camera on this one…

  

Believe me, I have another dozen similar pictures. An interesting fact, which I was totally unaware of until yesterday, is that the paddles of this cactus can be eaten too. I knew of prickly pear (the fruit), of course, although I don't remember ever having tasted it, but the paddles (nopales, as they are called in Mexico) are a discovery. All the recipes I could find went on and on about the best way to remove the spines. And here I am, with a ready source for spineless paddles... I will try some of the recipes as soon as I can! meanwhile, I selected a few paddles to plant in my garden. The process seems pretty straightforward and foolproof. Exactly what I need!

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying is not. Please contact me if you want to use any materials posted on this blog. Not only it will be the nice, polite way of doing things, but it will also keep you on the right side of the copyright laws. Thank you!

Flowers galore!

Yesterday I took advantage of the overcast weather before the rain and had an excellent walk along disused rail tracks in Agbodrafo, Togo. I saw a lot of birds of all sorts, none really new to me but in their quantity and willingness to be approached, and quite a few interesting plants too. Unfortunately, I had gone out without my camera. I decided that I would retrace my steps at the earliest opportunity, which happened to be mid-morning today after the rain stopped. Excellent news for the farmers! it was the first rain in almost two months.

I first came across a bush that didn't seem very interesting at first sight but taking a closer look, I saw flowers of different colours blooming on the same stem. This surprised me, because it didn't really look like they were at different stages of development. I took pictures and hope I will be able to identify the plant and find an explanation for this oddity.

A bit farther on, another type of flower caught my eye. I found this 'long-haired' style quite intriguing. Again, I don't have the faintest idea how it is called...

I thought I would devote one post to the flora I saw on my walk, and another to the fauna, but the next plant, I think, deserves a post of its own. Stay tuned!

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying is not. Please contact me if you want to use any materials posted on this blog. Not only it will be the nice, polite way of doing things, but it will also keep you on the right side of the copyright laws. Thank you!

Rainbow lizard

I never thought it could be interesting to some to see pictures of such a common sight as a rainbow lizard. Then I remembered what is common here may not be common everywhere. And this Rainbow lizard / Agama agama / Margouillat is rather striking! I learnt something too: I always assumed the male was colourful and the female drabber, but I read today that the male becomes colourful only in the breeding season. I'll assume that the following are actually female (ladies first!) and male, since it wouldn't make a lot of sense to me if all males didn't experience breeding season more or less at the same time. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

A friendly reminder: please contact me if you want to use any materials posted on this blog. It's polite, and it will keep you on the right side of the law. Thank you!

Female Variable Sunbird

This, I think, is a female Variable Sunbird / Cinnyris venustus / Souimanga à ventre jaune. The male is shown here. But I just discovered that the immature looks just like the adult female, so I will probably never know. Would you believe they don't allow you to come near them and strike a conversation? The best I could do with this one was about 20 metres. This picture was taken in Agbodrafo, Togo.

A friendly reminder: please contact me if you want to use any of the materials posted in this blog. It's the polite way to do, and it will keep you on the right side of the law. Thank you!

Juvenile bulbul

Based on this specimen's somewhat unkempt feathers and less defined colourings, I suspect it may be a juvenile Common bulbul / Pycnonotus barbatus / Bulbul des jardins. Clicked in Agbodrafo, Togo.

A friendly reminder: please contact me before using any of the material posted on this blog. It's a nice thing to do, and it will keep you on the right side of the law. Thank you!

Laughing dove

These doves are extremely common in all West Africa and beyond, but maybe not where you are? I love the detail of their feathers and the rusty colour too.

Their full name is Laughing dove / Spilopelia senegalensis / Tourterelle maillée.

This specimen was clicked in Agbodrafo, Togo.

A friendly reminder: please contact me if you wish to use anything posted on this blog elsewhere to avoid a breach of copyright. Thank you!

African grey woodpecker

Do you know this crazy lady who rushes out of the bathroom to grab her camera because she saw a bird through the window? That would be me... This bird was nice enough to stay there until I came back and could snap a few pictures. They are not 100% clear because I had to shoot through a fixed mosquito net. I think they are clear enough for my purpose, though.

Here is the African grey woodpecker / Dendropicos goertae / Pic goertan, snapped in Agbodrafo, Togo.

A friendly reminder: please contact me if you want to use anything posted on this blog to avoid a breach of copyright. Thank you!

Variable sunbird

I took a few more pictures of what I thought was the same bird as posted recently here, the bird sitting and feeding on the exactly same bush as previously. Looking at them more closely on my computer, I was surprised to see this bird had a yellow belly, which would make my first identification wrong. Then I went back to my previous post and realised that the bird I first snapped was actually a different, dark-bellied, sunbird.

Allow me to introduce a Variable sunbird / Cinnyris venustus / Souimanga à ventre jaune. I'm more excited to find so much variety in this place than I can ever describe. Bird enthusiasts will understand, though.

A friendly reminder: taking pictures and posting them here for the enjoyment of all is my pleasure. Discovering they were used elsewhere without my permission is not. Please contact me if you want to use anything that was posted on this blog. Thank you!

Bulbul

This bird is quite common here but easily overlooked because of its less outstanding colourings. I looked it up in my birds book long ago but only took a decent picture of it recently.

It's a Common bulbul / Pycnonotus barbatus / Bulbul des jardins, clicked in Agbodrafo, Togo. I find it very elegant in an unassuming way.

A friendly reminder: I'm very flattered when you appreciate my pictures. Much less if you use them without prior permission. Please contact me if you intend using any material posted on this blog. Thank you!

Free-ranging domestic pig

Visitors from a neighbouring compound, Agbodrafo, Togo.

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior authorisation is not. Please contact me if you want to use my pictures in any way. Thank you!

Delicious promises...

Agbodrafo, Togo (6°12'30.9"N 1°28'14.8"E). Mango / Mangifera indica / Manguier. Promises of fruits to come.

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior permission is not. Please contact me if you want to use my pictures anywhere. Thanks!

Village weaver

Village weaver / Ploceus cucculatus / Tisserin gendarme, Agbodrafo, Togo (6°12'31.7"N 1°29'10.8"E)

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you want to use my pictures anywhere. Thank you!

Splendid sunbird

A very fitting name for this Splendid sunbird / Cinnyris coccinigastrus / Souimanga éclatant clicked in Agbodrafo, Togo (6°12'31.7"N 1°29'10.8"E). I first thought it was some kind of hummingbird but it seems there are none in Togo. It is very small, can stay stationary by fluttering its wings very rapidly, has a long curved bill and drinks nectar from flowers, hence my good-faith mistake!

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you want to use my pictures anywhere. Thank you!