Did you read part 1 about my burgeoning bird obsession? Obsession is an exaggeration. I am not about to blow the dwindling family nest egg to fly half way around the world to try and spot a rare wood duck that only comes out for 3 hours every 5 years in a bilharzia-filled swamp. For example.

But I have come to really enjoy birds. Imagining their world. Learning about their migratory feats, their insane temporal sensitivity to sound, their funny and bizarre social habits or lack of them.

I also find their presence somehow reassuring. I wrote about bulbuls in that first bird post. They were my alarm clock in Bamako. They are also my alarm clock here on the Petite-Côte of Senegal. Their call is hard-wired into my brain now.

And I do enjoy the chase. Hearing birdsong, discovering the author. What can I say? It’s really a thrill.

Now, I don’t like all birds. I have a big problem with pelicans. I am not going to go into it here. It warrants its own post, and I’d also prefer to keep my cortisol levels in check today.

But I also have my favorites. Here are my top 5. Keep in mind, these are all birds that I have seen in person. I have a separate wishlist of birds I long to see.

5. Long Tailed Glossy Starling

Photo from wikipedia

I booted them from my top 5, but they are back in now. They are too pretty. Seeing them plop down in front of you on a dusty backstreet in Bamako is always a joyful surprise. And my son Andre has come to enjoy them as well. They make a horrific racket but what can I say, sometimes good looks and my son’s affinity for you are enough. Here is Andre’s drawing of a long-tailed glossy starling:

4. Brown Snake Eagle

Photo from wikipedia. I have only seen the Snake Eagle once, in the sand pits near Footsteps Ecolodge in The Gambia. We stop there on our scooter trips. Footsteps is one of those places you always look forward to. The all-smiles staff, the fun, invested owner and his wife, the food, the well appointed bungalows with composting toilets and solar power. And having a gin and tonic under the trees next to a giant bird bath is a great way to end a day of riding.

Now that I’m into birds, this part of The Gambia is a particular highlight. The early morning walks with resident naturalist Lamin Bojang are NOT TO BE MISSED. It was Lamin that introduced me to the Snake Eagle. He is a walking bird encyclopedia with eagle eyes and the ability to replicate almost any bird call. He might actually be a bird.

Why is this bird in my top 5? Besides being majestic, this bird likes solitude and eats snakes. ANY snake. Nests have been found with puff adders, cobras, boomslangs and adult black mambas (mfers can be over 10 feet long). They decapitate the snakes in mid-air on their way home. It should probably be my #1.

3. Pied Kingfisher

I previously only had a top 4 bird list and one follower mentioned the pied kingfisher, which I had not yet seen. Her words, “everything about the tiny pied kingfisher is elegant.” It’s true! It was in a bolong in the Casamance, again on a scooter trip (the marketing is going to get more and more explicit I promise), that I first saw a pied kingfisher.

Pied kingfishers can fly 50 km/hr and eat fish in mid-air. What’s even more interesting is that younger non-breeding pied kingfishers will sometimes assist unrelated parents with the raising of their young! And yes, they are elegant. When on the bike, I always keep an eye on the power lines, especially in the Casamance. They love it up there. I’d like to think they are sentries, protectors, guardians of our journey. Really they are just looking for fish, but hey!

2. Western Gray Plantain Eater

Photo of a young plantain eater from Wikipedia

Big, acrobatic birds who flit through the trees. Quarrelsome and rambunctious. <- Trying to write like a bird guide author.

A brawling pair of them once nearly landed on my head in the garden of the sleeping camel, and I have enjoyed their antics ever since. There are times you may look at a heaving mango tree and assume there must be a family of chimpanzees in there. No, it is a solitary plantain eater. Like bulls in a china shop, but in trees.

1. Western Red Billed Hornbill

The GOAT. Come at me.

Ok, chill. This not like a #1 in the way that mango is the #1 fruit (an incontrovertible truth). I know there are way more impressive hornbills with casques and brilliant colors. But this little guy has character and is one of only two hornbills that I have so far seen in person.

I love their undulating flying style and the way they shimmy through the air. I’ve nearly crashed a motorbike on more than one occasion watching their hypnotic gliding. And forgive the anthropomorphizing, but I also love how lonesome and awkward they often look.

Your favorite birds

Alright, let’s hear it. I want your favorite birds. Please share.