Birds

When I arrived, I was overwhelmed by the multitude of birds and the combinations of their colouring. Every morning there are dozens of tiny ones flitting outside my front door. In the last two weeks I've noticed different, darker species, I think because of the migration patterns. You just can't help seeing birds in The Gambia, but they are so beautiful that they are not seen as pests (and they don't behave like the Kamikaze pigeons of London or Hitchcock's Birds either). However for an inexperienced person like me, they are really difficult to capture on camera.



Hooded Vulture

These guys are huge! Their massive wingspans and powerful swoops make a stunning display. They're the easiest to photograph because they're not afraid of people. I thought their presence indicates rubbish dumps but there are none around here. The MRC incinerates all its waste, and locals don't really produce much rubbish because almost everything is recycled.

Red-billed Hornbill

As promised!

Mourning Dove

Purple Glossy Starling
Enlarge this to see his iridescent feathers.

Grey Plantain Eater

If you want to see decent pictures of Gambian birds online, try a search on http://www.birding.se/, a site by the wildlife photographer Lasse Olsson. There are 48 pictures, typical of the creatures I have seen, including close-ups of the Splendid Sunbird and Violet Turaco.