Birds. All I Really Want is Birds.

Mom, Jeremiah, this post is for you!

According to a magazine found in the hotel we stayed at in Pretoria, there are some 507 species of birds in Kruger National Park. Not surprisingly, we saw just a small sampling of them -- some 68 that we could identify, plus many more that were too small, too quick or too not-in-the-book for us to identify. (Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the full list, if you dare!)

Here are some of the ones we got decent (sometimes even good!) photos of:

 

Swainson's Spurfowl (aka "Red-faced Chicken") a daily sighting.

Pearl-Spotted Owlet (aka "tiny owl") seen on our first night drive.

European Roller, commonly spotted along the roadways, this bird is beautiful

Southern Ground Hornbill (aka "the endangered weird-looking bird")

Ostrich (aka "fluffy rock")

Spotted Eagle Owl, as seen on our second night drive

Cattle Egret

Kori Bustard (aka "kori bastard")

Crested Barbet, often seen on the deck at Olifants Restaurants

Saddle-billed Stork

Saddle-billed Stork in flight!

Another European Roller

Southern Carmine Bee-eater

Cape Turle-Dove, mid song

White-headed Vulture pair

White Stork, preparing for take-off

Verreaux's Eagle-Owl looking super fluffy

Woodland Kingfisher

Lilac-breasted Roller, so pretty!

Inquisitive Green-backed Heron

White-backed Vulture

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Burchell's Coucal

Red-crested Korhaan

Paradise Whydah

And here are a few more unknowns. Perhaps you can identify them?

Mystery Eagle

Mystery Goshawk?

Tree full of songbirds of indeterminable species

Sky full of vultures awaiting feeding time at the vulture restaurant at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center.

 

Here's the complete list of birds we identified for anyone who is crazy enough to care:

1. Egyptian Gose
2. Comb Duck
3. White-faced Duck
4. Green-backed Heron
5. Goliath Heron
6. Grey Heron
7. Cattle Egret
8. Great Egret
9. Saddle-billed Stork
10. White Stork
11. Marabou Stork
12. Red-crested Korhaan
13. Kori Bustard
14. Crested Francolin
15. Natal Spurfoel
16. Swainson's Spurfowl
17. Helmeted Guineafowl
18. Cape Turtle-Dove
19. Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
20. Red-billed Oxpecker
21. Red-billed Buffalo-weaver
22. Greater Blue-eared Starling
23. Cape Glossy Starling
24. Burchell's Starling
25. Black-headed Oriole
26. Red-billed Quelea
27. Paradise Whydah
28. Pin-tailed Whydah
29. Southern BouBou
30. Three-banded Plover
31. Southern White-crowned Shrike
32. Magpie Shrike
33. Red-backed Shrike
34. Southern Carmine Bee-eater
35. Fork-tailed Drongo
36. Burchell's Coucal
37. Grey Hornbill
38. Southern Yellow Hornbill
39. Red-billed Hornbill
40. Southern Ground-Hornbill
41. Water Thick-knee
42. Crowned Lapwing
43. Double-banded Sandgrouse
44. African Hoopoe
45. Grey Go-away-bird
46. Woodland Kingfisher
47. Lilac-breasted Roller
48. European Roller
49. Chinspot Batis
50. Cape Vulture
51. Hooded Vulture
52. Lappet-faced Vulture
53. White-backed Vulture
54. African Crowned Eagle
55. African Fish-Eagle
56. Martial Eagle
57. Brown Snake Eagle
58. Walhberg's Eagle
59. Gabor Goshawk
60. Black-shouldered Kite
61. Yellow-billed Kite
62. Steppe Buzzard
63. Spotted Eagle Owl
64. Verreaux's Eagle Owl
65. Giant Eagle Owl
66. Barn Owl
67. Pearl-spotted Owlet
68. Common Ostrich