The praying mantis caught our eye because of his size whilst the unidentified spider in the bathroom was a bit of a shock late in the evening! Black and blue materials hanging from trees are impregnated with insecticide because their colour is attractive to tsetse flies that cause sleeping sickness.
We saw no snakes but plenty of colourful agama lizards sunning themselves on rocks. The chameleon was picked up on the night safari. Our solitary Nile crocodile did not move in the 10 minutes we watched - asleep or tricking an unsuspecting animal in to believing he was a rock?!
The fairly plain female weaver bird inspects the elaborate nest created by the male in colonies that take over whole trees. Shrikes earn the name of 'butcher bird' because of their habit of impaling caught insects on thorny bushes as a larder for future use. Superb starlings, an ox-pecker, blacksmith plovers, a hornbill, a goliath heron and grey-crowned cranes all caught our attention. Bustards are the largest birds that fly whilst grazing ostriches may look peaceful but have a considerable burst of speed and a very dangerous kick. With so many predators around birds of prey are common ... a tree full of vultures and marabou storks is a sure sign that a kill is nearby as they wait for the rich pickings at the carcass. Their bare, featherless necks allow them to feed from within the carcass itself. To see the photos click here.

Photos Main Page - Introduction - Safari Background - Mammals - Kili Days 1-4 - Kili Days 5-8