Superb Starling

This was a fairly common bird in Tanzania, but considerably more colorful than the European Starlings that are so plentiful back in the USA.

Von der Decken's Hornbill

Never having seen any species of Hornbill before our trip to Tanzania, I was pretty excited to see a variety of Hornbill species.

Magpie Shrike

Also fairly common in the areas we visited, this one posed in nice light, with a good background.

White-headed Buffalo-Weaver

We saw quite a few different species of Weavers, including the beautiful nests they wove.

Long-tailed Fiscal?

I'm unsure of the identification here, so if you think this is incorrect, please email me using the link below.

Tawny Eagle?

We came across the raptor perched on a tree branch, eating the remains of its latest kill. It's hard to say, but it looked like a bird. As with many other photos, I'm guessing on the species here. We saw quite a few Raptors, with the Tawny Eagle perhaps the most common, so I'm playing the odds here a bit.

Tawny Eagle in Flight

I'm more confident of the species here; as in my Costa Rica trips, blue sky backgrounds are often hard to come by, so they're very much appreciated when they come!

Helmeted Guineafowl

These were quite plentiful, but surprisingly hard to photograph. They were typically walking around in dry grass that mostly obscured them, and often in large flocks, making it difficult to pick out one individual to shoot.

Lilac-breasted Roller

This is perhaps my favorite bird species from this trip. Prior to going to Africa, I had seen photos of these incredibly colorful birds, and hoped we would get a chance to see and shoot one during our time in Tanzania. Fortunately we came across them quite a few times, and this particular morning we had some very nice light, and a complementary background.

Lilac-breasted Roller in Flight

Sometimes you get lucky! I was shooting the Roller in the prior shot, and was able to get a few frames when it suddenly took off.

Crowned Lapwing

I have enjoyed seeing and shooting the Southern Lapwing in Costa Rica, and was pleased to find a few different species of Lapwings in Tanzania.

Red-billed Hornbill

We enjoyed watching this Hornbill eating the seeds you can see him holding at the tip of its beak.

Southern Ground-hornbill

We only saw one of this particular Hornbill species, and it required the 600L plus 2x Teleconverter to get any photo, with it being almost 300 feet away.

Grey Kestrel

A gorgeous little Raptor, we found this one perched against a nice blue sky, with the light almost directly behind us!

Blacksmith Lapwing

This is another Lapwing species we saw in Tanzania.

African White-backed Vulture?

We saw quite a few species of Vultures throughout Tanzania, and I"m not certain of the ID here.

Vulture species in Flight

I'm not even comfortable venturing a guess here, but the head looks like a Vulture species. Please email me using the link below if you can help with the ID.

Yellow-collared Lovebird

This is one of my favorite moments from this trip. We were driving around Lake Manyara, with some clear skies and nice light. We had seen several of these gorgeous Lovebirds elsewhere, but they were always far away, partially obscured in the grass on the ground, etc. But we were driving down one path, and came across 4 of these perched together at the top of a dead tree trunk, in a perfect position. Initially they were only 2, but within a few minutes, 2 more appeared. I don't know how many frames I took over the next 10-15 minutes, but it was just so beautiful to see that I couldn't stop shooting!

Hamerkop

This is the only sighting we had of this unusual looking bird, and shortly after this photo was taken, this displayed some mating behavior which was exciting to see.

Grey-headed Kingfisher

While there wasn't much available light, requiring fairly high ISO, this beautiful little bird perched for a few minutes about 20 or so feet from us.

Silvery-cheeked Hornbill

A very bizarre looking bird, we usually saw these up in the trees, typically with bright white cloudy sky behind them, making shooting difficult. We came across this one fairly close to us, in the bushes. Available light was again limited, requiring an ISO of 6400, but we were able to get a pretty good look at him.

Red-and-yellow Barbet

This is one of the most intensely colored birds we saw on this trip! I would have preferred a natural perch, but was glad to get any shot of this beauty.

Green-backed Woodpecker?

The ID above is my best guess, based on pictures from the Stevenson and Fanshawe book I bought to help with identification. This was taken at the same location as the Barbet, and also the next 2 species. We had actually just left our lodge, heading toward our next destination, when we stopped by the side of the road to shoot the Barbet. But we must have spent 20-30 minutes there as several other new species showed up, one after the other!

Eastern Paradise-Whydah?

A very unusual looking bird, this was yet another new species at this one location, and this was the only time we saw one of these.

Augur Buzzard

The last species at this same location, this Raptor perched in a tree in the distance, and then took off, circled around, and returned to the same tree, repeating this at least two times, providing us with the opportunity to get some flight shots.

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

This was another of my favorite moments in Tanzania. We had seen a few of these Bee-eaters, but either against bright white sky, or too far away to shoot, etc. But then we came across this pair, one facing us, the other turned away, providing both front and back views. And to top it off, the one on the right had a nice little bee in its beak, and seemed to be offering it to its partner.

Black-bellied Bustard

The ID is my best guess on this species - I think it is another of the Bustard species seen on this trip.

Black-winged Lapwing

Yet another Lapwing species. I just love the red ring around its eye!

Sacred Ibis

We arrived at one pool of water, where these Ibis were quite abundant. As with the Guineafowl, this actually made getting a decent photo quite difficult, as they presented just a mass of birds.

Grey Crowned Crane

I have seen these at varous zoos and parks in the U.S. and have always been so impressed by their beauty, and often wondered how exciting it would be to see them in the wild. Fortunately, we came across these in several locations in Tanzania, and it was thrilling to be able to photograph them.

Kori Bustard

This is a very large bird, although this is a little hard to appreciate in this particular photo, where I wanted to display some of the landscape as well as the bird.

Tawny Eagle Pair

Judging by the images in Stevenson and Fanshawe's book, these look like Immatures, and posed like this for several minutes, including the one with the outstretched wing.

Grey-breasted Spurfowl

We only saw this one individual of this species during our time in Tanzania, but fortunately it did a little calling which added some interest to the photo. Light was once again limited, with ISO 3200 needed to get an adequate exposure.

Vitelline Masked Weaver

If I remember right, this little yellow Weaver was hopping around an area where we had stopped for lunch one day. Going through my bird guide book to identify him, I was amazed at the huge number of Weaver species present in Tanzania. The red eye helped to narrow it down, but there were still a few similar looking species, so this ID is an educated guess.

White-browed Coucal??

A very pretty bird, we saw these in a few locations. The ID is very tentative, but it's the closest match I could find in my guide book. Please email me using the link below if you can help.

Black-chested Snake-Eagle??

These are the only 2 individuals of this species that we saw, and were quite a distance away (the EXIF data shows 'Infinity' so I'm guessing it was at least 100 meters). The ID is extremely tentative. Looking at the prominent white chest, I thought it would be easier to confirm the species, but this is the closest I could find in my guide book.

Pied Kingfisher

A very unique looking Kingfisher, this is the only one we saw on this trip.

African Fish Eagle

We saw a number of this species, which bears a surprising resemblance to the Bald Eagle we have in this hemisphere. They were typically quite far away, however, and I never did find one with a decent background. Maybe next time!

Black-headed Heron

Initially when I first saw these from pretty far away, I thought it was the Great Blue Heron we have here in the US, but once we found some individuals closer up, the differences could be more clearly seen.

White-bellied Bustard

Smaller than the Kori Bustard, this is still a fairly large bird, and yet another one where we only saw the one individual shown here.

Lesser Masked Weaver

Another weaver species, this one is a fairly close match in my guide book, with the prominent yellow eye helping narrow down the possibilities.

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Another tentative ID, this cute little owl never did give us a completely clear shot!

Usambiro Barbet

Another beautiful Barbet species, this one could be the d'Arnaud's Barbet, which apparently looks quite similar.

Hooded Vulture

Ironically, I shot this 'ugly' vulture in some of the best morning light we had during our trip.

Secretary Bird

We saw this unique, large bird, several times during our stay in Tanzania.

Yellow-billed Stork

We stayed on in Tanzania to rest for a few days after the formal safari was completed, and our lodge was at the edge of a small national park. It abutted the open area where we ate and lounged around, where we had our final opportunity to see and shoot African wildlife.