Nubian Woodpecker

Nubian Woodpecker Campethera nubica

Yabello Area, Ethiopia

19 January 2014

    Nubian Woodpecker was quite common in some of the areas we visited in Ethiopia. It is a small woodpecker of drier bushland and riverine woods. The bird shown in the following pictures is a female.

Ring-necked Dove

Ring-necked Dove Streptopelia capicola

Yabello Area, Ethiopia

19 January 2014

    This small, slim dove was relatively common and fairly easily approachable. It was quite at home in villages and towns and seemed to be well habituated to humans. 

Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus

Yabello Area, Ethiopia

19 January 2014

    Martial Eagle is Africa's largest eagle and is found in a broad swath from West Africa over to the Horn of Africa, down the eastern part of the continent, and southward from Kenya through the entire section of southern Africa over to the west coast. Its prey covers a wide range of species depending on the area where it forages. We saw dikdiks fairly often in this area and I suspect that they formed a substantial part of the Martial Eagle's diet, as well as hares which were quite numerous also. Large birds such as guineafowl and bustards are also taken.

Red-and-Yellow Barbet Trachyphonus erythrocephalus

Yabello Area, Ethiopia

19 January 2014

    In all we experienced ten species of African Barbet, most of them seen on only a few days when we travelled in their preferred habitat. Red-and-Yellow Barbet is a dry country specialist and I have included a couple of pictures at the end to show the kind of terrain in which we found them. The termite mounds are especially important since they are used for nesting and roosting tunnels.