Black-Headed Heron
There’s a Black-Headed Heron with what looks like a snake. I know they eat fish and amphibians, but I didn’t expect it to be trying to control and then swallow a snake whole.
African Black-Headed Herons are nearly as large as the Grey Heron I’m used to seeing in the UK.
It’s quite a struggle when your dinner coils quite as much as snake does.
Especially when it wraps itself around your jaws.
What a great thing to witness.
More adventures on safari in Kenya
Kenya has many species of Heron Here's a Rufous-Bellied Heron. It's one of the many species of Heron in the wetlands here. It has a beautiful… read more
African Green Pigeon There's an African green pigeon, Treron calvus, at the top of this tree. I can hardly believe its colour. What a… read more
The Long-Crested Eagle awaits us I'm glad that I've learned never to turn my camera off or to put my lens hood on until I'm… read more
A Lilac-Breasted Roller perched and waiting Lilac-Breasted Rollers are chunky birds. They also have unusually large heads. I particularly like the long tail streamers which the… read more
A Saddle-Billed Stork and its dangling wattles The Saddle-Billed Stork or Saddlebill, Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, is a truly huge bird. It's 4' 9" to 4' 11" tall. That's taller than my… read more
A Yellow-Throated Longclaw There are many yellow birds here in Kenya. It's a brighter world. Red, orange and yellow pigments are ones which… read more
A fluffy young Zebra Seeing Zebras at a watering hole in the Masai Mara is a pleasure. It's dry work munching the parched vegetation… read more
A Striped Skink I expected to see many more reptiles in Africa. I thought there would be snakes and reptiles with four legs… read more
Southern Ground Hornbills There's a massive bird as big as a Turkey wandering through the close-cropped grass. It has a strange-shaped bill, a… read more
Common Drongos Today's another chance for me to appreciate Common Drongos. They have distinctive forked tails and intense red eyes set in… read more
Lilac-Breasted Roller attack Sometimes there's such an extraordinary moment and it seems impossible that you could have captured it. There's a dispute between… read more
Grey Crowned Crane It's one metre tall and has a two metre wingspan. It has a ridiculous crown. It has an inflatable red… read more