My 7-year old daughter described a bird that she had seen. Unlike the previous time she played that game with me, I wasn't able to identify the said bird, but her description was detailed enough for me to figure it out when I saw it through the kitchen window this morning.
The only time I had seen it before was from afar and I wasn't even sure I identified it correctly, which explains why I didn't immediately visualise it based on its (slightly flawed) description. Today, it was quite close (less than 10 meters from my window) and despite the fixed mosquito net that makes the pictures a lot more grainy than I would like them to be, it was clear enough to get a good view of them. Let me introduce the Green Wood hoopoe / Phoeniculus purpureus / Irrisor moqueur.
The dots on the wings develop into two very distinctive white bars under the wing when it flies away. Unfortunately, birdwatching while holding a wriggling 2-year old in one arm and the camera in the other hand is not conducive to extraordinary in-flight bird pictures. Maybe another time!
Meanwhile, we researched the Green Wood hoopoe and discovered it was quite common in sub-Saharan Africa all the way to southern Africa (except in the very wet deep forests of Central Africa and the Namib desert). All in all, a very good way to start one's day!
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