Bird Watching: Tanzania’s Spectacular Birdlife
If you’re an avid bird watcher and you enjoy traveling to the far-flung corners of the earth in search of prime specimens, Tanzania should be your next birding destination. This beautiful corner of the African continent is home to a surprising number of strikingly different birds. What’s more, family members can join you in your travels and experience the safari of a lifetime.
A Look at the Intriguing Lives of Honeyguides
Honeyguides, also known as indicator birds or honeybirds, are a relatively small Old World family of near-passerine birds, related to woodpeckers and barbets. Honeyguides are entirely parasitic, laying their eggs in the already occupied, but temporarily vacated, nests of other hole-nesting species such as barbets, kingfishers, bee-eaters, woodpeckers and tinkerbirds. For this reason, honeyguides are often treated as pariahs by other birds in their neighborhood. Birding enthusiasts agree that these aggressive, opportunistic little birds are fascinating to watch.
Oxpeckers – Cleaners or Parasites?
The two species of oxpecker which make up the family Buphagidae are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. The yellow-billed oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) is slightly larger and more widely found than its red-billed cousin (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) which is generally only found in the eastern part of sub-Saharan Africa.
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