Birds of the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater • Over 1,100 species of birds in all of Africa • Third largest amount of species in the world • About 520 of those species are found Tanzania • Had to narrow focus somehow: Chose birds based off of abundance and ‘residency’ of the Serengeti & Ngorongora Crater • Early and late daylight hours are the best time to observe
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Birds of the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater Over 1,100 species of birds in all of Africa Third largest amount of species in the world About 520 of those.
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Birds of the Serengeti & Ngorongoro Crater
• Over 1,100 species of birds in all of Africa
• Third largest amount of species in the world
• About 520 of those species are found Tanzania
• Had to narrow focus somehow: Chose birds based off of
abundance and ‘residency’ of the Serengeti & Ngorongora
Crater
• Early and late daylight hours are the best time to observe
Flamingos courtesy of Beth
• Two species inhabit crater: Greater (36-50 in) and Lesser
flamingos (31-36 in) and a generally a non-migratory bird
• Commonly found on and around the saline lakes but in
largest numbers at Empakaai Crater Lake.
• Filter feeders of plankton. Use their long, webbed feet to stir
up bottom of shallow lakes, sucking up mud with curved
beaks. Then they expel the water and eat the plankton, tiny
fish, and shrimp inside.
• Pairs of flamingos take turns incubating their single egg (like
many penguins do) and in years of drought or when food is
scarce they will skip breeding
• Young flamingos are grey in color for two years in this time
the store the pigment canthaxanthin in their liver and then
deposit it when they grow adult feathers.
• Flamingos will molt their feathers every six months-every two
years. Molted feathers will loose their pink color.