Photographer: Markus Lilje   Destination: Kenya

Our January image of the month is this stunning Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse by Rockjumper tour leader Markus Lilje. Sandgrouse are an old world family of 16 species, currently considered most closely related to waders although their true affinities have yet
to be determined. The most famous trait of these largely desert dwelling birds is that of the male’s especially modified breast feathers, with which they transport water to their chicks after soaking them in distant waterholes. Lichtenstein’s Sandgrouse is an inhabitant of rocky areas in dry Acacia woodland from northern Kenya and eastwards to Pakistan. The bird is named after Martin Heinrich Carl Lichtenstein, a German zoologist and trained physician who founded the Berlin Zoo in 1844.

This beauty is one of four possible sandgrouse species that are regularly seen on Rockjumper’s Kenya Mega Birding tour. Kenya offers some of the best (and easiest!) birding on the planet, and our Mega tour comprehensively covers this extraordinary land, offering the keen birder the opportunity of racking up a list of over 800 species, including numerous east African specialties! This is in fact one of the few tours worldwide where this feat is achievable.

Besides birding, this tour often scores over 70 mammal species plus a wide range of other highlights. Only two places remain, so if you are interested in a tour of a lifetime, then please contact us for this unbeatable Kenyan birding and wildlife adventure!