Ethiopia September - October 2012 - Yabello

After the depressing events in Negele Borena (see previous post) we headed south to Yabello. To get here by public transport: take the very overcrowded (even for Ethiopia) Negele Borena - Moyale bus and get out at Mega. From here it is only two hours to Yabello and the roads are also in very good shape again. Keep an eye out for birds and mammals in this stretch of Ethiopian road (if possible...) for we saw some good species like Vulturine Guineafowl, Orange-river Francolin, Buff-crested Bustard, White-crested Helmet-shrike, Golden-breasted, Bristle-crowned and Shelley's Starling. The mammals recorded included Lesser Kudu, Guenter's Dikdik, Gerenuk and Bright's Gazelle.

The two major targets in Yabello are the enigmatic Ethiopian Bushcrow and the equally range restricted White-tailed Swallow. You don't need a guide to find them, but after Negele Borena we wanted to succeed very badly so we hired a guide named Ali (0911787693; ali.guche@yahoo.com). He knew the birds and also helped with a scientific paper on the social structure of the Bushcrow. We took a bajaj to a well known site near a ranch and soon struck gold: a very obliging Ethiopian Bushcrow which was approachable for up to two meters!

But we wanted to explore the area some more and so we did. In the end we found twelve Bushcrows and two White-tailed Swallows. But we also saw other great birds like two very enjoyable Heuglin's Coursers, A Northern White-faced Owl at its roost, a lovely D'Arnaud's Barbet and a tame Black-headed Oriole (ssp. rolleti).

Ethiopian Bushcrow (Zavattariornis stresemanni) in its full glory

A pair of Ethiopian Bushcrows (Zavattariornis stresemanni)

Ethiopian Bushcrow (Zavattariornis stresemanni), preening

Heuglin's Courser (Rhinoptilus africanus)

Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus)

Northern White-faced Owl (Ptilopsis leucotis)

D'Arnaud's Barbet (Trachyphonus darnaudii)

We also saw some great mammals with nine Boehm's Zebra's being the stars. The Unstriped Ground Squirrels and an unidentified Elephantus Elephant-shrew were also much enjoyed.

Boehm's Zebra (Equus quagga boehmi)