Purple-banded Sunbird - Cinnyris bifasciata
We started together on these sunbirds in earnest last year when I went to Sri Lanka. There are dozens of them but this is the only half-decent picture I got of a single species in Tanzania. This was taken near the Eagle owl rock on the same game drive as my last posting.
This is the male bird. Shining and metalic - they could be wrapped in chinese wallpaper or a posh chocolate paper. I think the birds came first and then the wallpaper. They are fabulous and oriental.
We were in slightly different habitathat day so were expecting to see different animals. This deer or antelope wanted to stay very secure behind his rock. Our driver explained that it was a Water Buck and that there was likely to be more nearby. Reading up they do favour the intimate little bushy areas on the edges of wide open spaces - they are not a creature of the open savanah.
The one animal strode out from behind his rock and was joined by two more.
I quite like these duets of birds and mammals. I spent much longer looking at the bigger animals as it was really the reason we were there so I will post my mammals along with the closest bird if that's possible. These are the hornless females and are told as Waterbucks in particular by the white egding to the muzzle and orbits. I like the almost variagated pattern in the ears. We only had one siting of these animals in a week.
Purple-banded Sunbird, Cinnyris bifascatia
Serengetti, Camp Olikira, Tanzania
24 July 2012
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