Birds of The Gambia

For a country of its small size, The Gambia has a great diversity of birds, with about 580 species having been found there. Besides the endemic and mostly non-migratory species also found in other areas of Africa, winter migration out of Europe and Asia brings added diversity for part of the year. Some of the families
of birds we observed there are the same as those here in North America, and other are quite different from what we are familiar with. The African Gray Hornbill - below - is similar to some birds south of the US/Mexico border, but, for sure, nothing like anything we see here in Montana.

The Sunbird Family, represented here by this Beautiful Sunbird, seem to be the ecological equivalent of our hummingbirds. They are most often seen feeding on flowers. And they are every bit as beautiful as our hummers.
 
There are about a dozen species of doves and pigeons in The Gambia, many of which are more colorful than the ones we see here. This Bruce's Green Pigeon is an example of that.

There is about 8 species of Kingfishers and they can be beautifully colored. Several are mostly terrestrial and must feed mostly on insects.  This Giant Kingfisher is really huge for such a bird but not quite as colorful as a few of the other species.

The largest Heron in the world, the Goliath Heron, resides in the mangrove swamp habitats of the lower Gambia River, and is usually solitary.

Hamerkops are an odd looking sort of bird that we saw rather commonly in wet habitats. It is said that this bird builds among the largest nests (in trees) of any bird in the world.

 

There are no really vibrant colors on this Laughing Dove, but the pastels combine to make it very attractive.

Namaqua Doves don't have much for color but their black face and bib certainly set them apart from the others.

There were many Vultures in The Gambia and about six or so species. The Palm-nut Vulture was the most striking of the group but certainly not a crowd favorite.

The Corvids - crows and jays - were not well represented. However, the Pied Crow (below) certainly was abundant, especially in the coastal areas. The only other Corvid we saw were Piapiacs which were often found in association with livestock.

It is not difficult to figure out how this Red-billed Hornbill got its name. As with the other hornbills, this species was relatively abundant and we saw them every day of the trip.

The above series of images gives you a small sample of some of the bird species we encountered. But they are certainly do not represent the most colorful ones we were fortunate to see. Stay tuned for more of "The Gambia Experience".