Superb Starling

What an apt name for a bird with such superb colours! The superb starling, which will fly by you a-plenty in Kenya, has stunning, shiny shades of blue-green.

From Jan Nordvalen's beautiful Safari photos.

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa

I just read 'A Guide to the Birds of East Africa' by Nicholas Drayson. If you're looking for a nice, light read based in Kenya which brings forth many aspects of the nation from the Government, the life of immigrants, society and crime to the scenery, people and of course, the beautiful birds, this is the book for you. Here is a review. If you like McCall Smith, you will enjoy this book; I sure did. One last thing... I loved all the little bird sketches at the beginning of every chapter. They prompted me to look up some of the birds and I've never seen anything like the Great Blue Turaco, Turner's Eremomela or the gorgeous Hoopoe seen below. Picture from Wikipedia.

Casela Bird Park

In May 2005, I visited the Casela Bird and Nature Park. Casela is a mini-zoo with a fantastic collection of birds (and plenty of other animals including tigers, zebras, javan deer, etc.). The aviaries are well maintained and have many exotic birds including some of my favourites - the Toucan, the Makaw and the Bleeding Heart Pigeon. If you come to Mauritius, you must meet the famous "Pink Pigeon". Luckily, they've saved this one from extinction (and a lot of the hard work was done by Gerald Durrel and his team). I saw many amazing photo opportunities but the I had a really hard time taking pictures because of the cages! :(

The Casela Park entrance ticket costs Rs.150 but they have a superb safari ride through the mountains for just Rs.30. I spotted these beauties while we were heading towards the mountains.

At Casela, I had the privilege of meeting Lori, the cockatoo. She is 30 years old. She can talk, dance and whistle a variety of tunes. She loves meeting new people. I had read about her and was eager to meet her.

At the petting zoo Lori was in her cage and as soon as I saw her I said "Hello" at least 10 times and she wouldn't reply. I kept wondering why until the sweet lady who takes care of her (and who took this picture) said "Oh, Lori speaks only French"!! She responded to my first "Bonjour" and happily climbed onto my arm to have a nice conversation with me and whistle some tunes for me. She was fascinated with my camera. I took a picture of her and showed it to her and she was amazed with it - she kept touching it with her beak. She also liked my bag and had a nice time walking all over it. So adorable!