Some relationships are built on trust. Some thrive through necessity. Others work out just well enough that no one really ever rocks the boat. Perhaps the latter is the closest to being the case with the birds featured in this month's image. And, such are the sights in Kenya and Tanzania.
 
One of the great pairings you can bet on witnessing in East Africa is that between the surly, primitive Kori Bustard and the smoldering Northern Carmine Bee-eater. As strange and prehistoric as one is, the other is so elegantly beautiful it seems conjured from the imagination of a child. The heaviest flying animal on the planet, the Kori Bustard is indeed a big bird, recalling a small dinosaur. Anyone who has visited the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania and seen this flourishing present-day Jurassic Park can attest to the otherworldliness of this spot and these beastly birds. With alert reptilian eyes they scan the savanna as they stride in search of insects, lizards and other potential prey. Hanging nearby like avian imps, the bee-eaters too watch vigilantly, yet they seek different prey. The bustards are bulky and heavy enough that they startle smaller insects, funneling them into the air for the bee-eater to snag and gobble down. And the bee-eater doesn't seem to get in the bustard's way, often riding on the back of the bustard as it strolls along. Bustards never seem to let much bother them.
 
Kenya and Tanzania feature such a vast and inspiring array of well-known charismatic megafauna that many other magical birds and animals get short shrift. The bustard and the bee-eater, worthy of a fable or a children's book, qualify among these. We've all heard of the abject and profane indifference of the honey badger by now (well documented on YouTube), and yet it is often relegated to background noise in a wild safari such as this. Also confined to the shadows of the lions and elephants are many a mongoose, a host of fancy finches, and a surprisingly long list of majestic raptors. Living with Mt. Kenya or Kilimanjaro as a backdrop, one can lose sight of what's in the foreground. 
 
Times have never been more strange or stressful, but the meerkats don't appear to know this. Nor does the aardvark. If you don't know what an aardvark is (granted, unlikely in this crowd), you'll find it early on in the Oxford English Dictionary. Or you can google it. Just be careful when you open your browser to avoid your social media feed. Seems the news is challenging lately. Books are better sometimes. Better still is getting outside, being mindful and present, and wallowing in the wonder of nature.
 
Popular Rockjumper leader Rob Williams is headed to Kenya & Tanzania soon. This November Rob and a few Rockjumper friends will return to one of our most popular safari-style tours, and will see a good 500 or so species of birds along the way together with a huge assortment of mammals as well. Reach out if you'd like to join them. Or, as is more and more in vogue these days, contact our Tailor-made Tours team and custom design a trip for you and your friends or family. There's a whole big wide world out there. Bit by bit, we shall see it together.
 
Yours in Birding,
Team Rockjumper