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they don’t eat plantains or bananas, but they sound like monkeys and they fly. so, what are they? they’re monkey-birds! or at least that’s what phil & i call them. no kidding – they’re birds that sound like monkeys…one guidebook even says: “the eastern grey plantain-eater makes a chimplike hooting that featured in the soundtrack to tarzan movies.” okay, so they’re not actually monkey-birds, technically they’re eastern or western grey plantain-eaters. (i’m not sure if they’re eastern or western; according to the guide book they’re eastern, but according to google they’re western.) their monkey calls are common all over kampala, and today we finally saw a pair. they perched in the big tree across the way from our office/apartment and just hooted away. they’re not all that spectacular compared to the more flashy eastern african birds, although they do have a cool, blunt beak reminiscent of grosbeaks and a long banded tail, but so far they’re my faves. if for no other reason, they make me laugh. a lot.

on our hike in mbira forest reserve last weekend, we saw a trumpeter hornbill. he was huge and had a hornbill that was even huger. good thing we had our binoculars from jim & val. :)

i’ve never done any birding and am miserable at using binoculars, but that’s going to change. it has to when i’m living in uganda, one of the prime spots for birding in the world. if anyone has any suggestions on good birding books, let me know. (kk?) so far we’ve been scraping by with the bird section of a wildlife book. definitely inadequate.

despite our lack of quality birding books, however, i haven’t had any difficulty identifying uganda’s two best-known birds: the marabou stork and the grey crested crane. this pair reminds me of the turkey and the bald eagle. the first is somewhat awkward and unsightly, the second majestic and striking. the first was almost our national bird, the second actually is. it’s the same with the marabou stork and the crested crane. i don’t know if the stork was ever considered for uganda’s national bird, but for how common and recognizable it is, it sure could’ve been. storks are everywhere…most likely perched on some high, precarious spot, despite their large, ungainly size. if not there, then they’re on the garbage heap rummaging for scraps. honestly, i have no idea why anyone ever wanted one of these guys delivering their babies – i can only assume (hope) that it was some other stork.

the crested cranes on the other hand are bea-u-ti-ful. and, not surprisingly, they are the ugandan national bird - you can see them prominently featured on the ugandan flag, the ugandan crest, and just about everything ugandan for that matter. rightfully so…truly, they’re elegant. i saw a pair in a papyrus marsh on the drive to ssembabule when i was here in march. i want to see more, especially now that i have the binocs. supposedly a crested crane pair will “dance” together as they bob their heads, bow, toss sticks, and leap into the air, sometimes even enticing the rest of the 60+ flock of cranes to join in the dance. crazy birds. :) 101paige 101africa