Day 4 - Monday, February 4, 2019
Marmaboi Tented Lodge and Tarangire N.P.
On our second day of game drives in Tarangire NP we came across the world's largest and heaviest bird (weighing up to 90 kilograms), the ostrich. They can run up to 50 kilometres per hour.
Much smaller than the ostrich, with males weighing approximately 170g - 220g and averaging 51 cm in length, this white-bellied go-away-bird is a member of the "banana-eater family." It is seen here perched in a thorny acacia tree.
Crowned lapwings (or crowned plovers) are common birds that are adaptable,bold and noisy birds with a preference for short, dry grassland which may be overgrazed or burnt.
The martial eagle is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa. Living in wooded belts adjacent to the open savanna, it is a "booted eagle" with feathering over its tarsus. It preys on mammals, birds and reptiles swooping down on its quarry from a high soar. It is endangered as the consequence of the efforts of farmers and rangers to protect livestock and wildlife.
This elephant was checking out our safari vehicle and our driver was concerned that she could charge us (we found out much later).
One sad sight in Tarangire NP was vultures feeding on the corpse of a baby elephant. The vultures literally have a pecking order because lesser vultures depend on the larger lappet-faced vulture to tear through tough hides and muscle to open up the corpses they feed upon.
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