Here are some incredible bird shots taken by Tony Goldman on a trip to the African bush. Enjoy!
One of the more colourful residents of the Lowveld, the crested barbet is able to call almost indefinitely by using one of its bronchial tubes to breathe in and out while using the other tube to vocalise.
Bright colours in flowers serve mainly to attract pollinators such as sunbirds. Pictured here is a collared sunbird, whose iridescent green head and yellow underbelly are unmistakeable.
Portrayed as harbingers of doom in many cultures, vultures still perform a vital function in the bush as waste removal technicians. Here a white-backed vulture hunches over as it anticipates the first thermals of the day.
Spring is here and the European bee-eaters should be arriving any day now, with the southern carmine bee-eaters following a month or two in their wake. Little bee-eaters, like the one pictured here, are resident at Londolozi all year and are a favourite subject for bird photographers.
Another collared sunbird, from a different angle this time. The blooming of many flowers around the camp has been providing a bonanza for these birds of late.
The lilac-breasted roller subsists largely on small invertebrates such as beetles, and vertebrates as well, as this unfortunate frog discovered.
A female paradise flycatcher. These beautiful inhabitants of riparian vegetation are estimated to occur at a density of one pair every 150m in suitable habitat. the male of the species looks almost identical but has a much longer tail.
The beak and eye colour of this red-billed oxpecker provides a wonderful contrast with the black and white tones of a Burchell’s Zebra’s coat.
Photographed by Tony Goldman
Rich Laburn is filmmaker, photographer and writer who is based at Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. Spending his time capturing scenes of the wild and communicating the beauty of the African bushveld, he runs the Londolozi Blog as a way to entertain and engage people wishing to visit these wild lands.
