There are far more birds in Africa than there are animals, and while I am hungry to see EVERYTHING, if I'm honest, birds are my primary focus.  Why?  Firstly, animals come in a relatively small variety of colours aimed at camouflage, whereas birds come in a riot of colours seemingly aimed at outdoing every nearby variety - and of impressing,  dare I say it, the less audacious females.  Secondly, often due to size, speed and propensity for looking the other way, they can be somewhat harder to photograph.  Lastly, there is a huge variety in Africa: there are over 1,000 bird species definitely recorded in Kenya - and Botswana is not far behind.
To a man, my guides seem delighted not to have to focus on lions, leopards, cheetahs etc, but rather to try and identify everything that has wings, large or small. Their ability to see the eye colours of tiny birds, a good number of whom I have difficulty in spotting at all, is as absolutely wonderful as it is amazing.

Back to Top