Site Report: Engikaret Lark Plains

Gorgeous Sunbird (Cinnyris melanogastrus) - Male

Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis)

Abyssinian Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus minor)

Fawn-colored Lark (Calendulauda africanoides)

Dodoma Rock Agama (Agama dodomae)

Desert Cisticola (Cisticola aridulus)

Purple Grenadier (Granatina ianthinogaster)

Blue-capped Cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)

Brubru (Nilaus afer)

Von der Decken's Hornbill (Tockus deckeni) - Male

Black-faced Waxbill (Brunhilda erythronotos)

Gorgeous Sunbird (Cinnyris melanogastrus) - Female

Gray-capped Social-Weaver (Pseudonigrita arnaudi)

Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow (Gymnoris pyrgita)

Pale White-eye (Zosterops flavilateralis)

Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis) - Male

Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius)

Beesley's Lark (Chersomanes beesleyi)

Capped Wheatear (Oenanthe pileata)

White-rumped Shrike (Eurocephalus ruppelli)

Gray Wren-Warbler (Calamonastes simplex)

Red-faced Crombec (Sylvietta whytii)

White-bellied Canary (Crithagra dorsostriata)

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (Plocepasser mahali)

Fischer's Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix leucopareia)

Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)

Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) - Female

African Bare-eyed Thrush (Turdus tephronotus)

Buff-bellied Warbler (Phyllolais pulchella)

Unstriped Ground Squirrel (Xerus rutilus)

Red-and-yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus)

Ayres's Hawk-Eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii)

Eastern Chanting-Goshawk (Melierax poliopterus) - Juvenile

Cape Hare (Lepus capensis)

Red-throated Tit (Melaniparus fringillinus)

Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)

Wahlberg's Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi)

African Hawk-Eagle (Aquila spilogaster)






































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Gorgeous Sunbird (Cinnyris melanogastrus) - Male

Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis)

Abyssinian Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus minor)

Fawn-colored Lark (Calendulauda africanoides)

Dodoma Rock Agama (Agama dodomae)

Desert Cisticola (Cisticola aridulus)

Purple Grenadier (Granatina ianthinogaster)

Blue-capped Cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)

Brubru (Nilaus afer)

Von der Decken's Hornbill (Tockus deckeni) - Male

Black-faced Waxbill (Brunhilda erythronotos)

Gorgeous Sunbird (Cinnyris melanogastrus) - Female

Gray-capped Social-Weaver (Pseudonigrita arnaudi)

Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow (Gymnoris pyrgita)

Pale White-eye (Zosterops flavilateralis)

Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis) - Male

Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius)

Beesley's Lark (Chersomanes beesleyi)

Capped Wheatear (Oenanthe pileata)

White-rumped Shrike (Eurocephalus ruppelli)

Gray Wren-Warbler (Calamonastes simplex)

Red-faced Crombec (Sylvietta whytii)

White-bellied Canary (Crithagra dorsostriata)

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (Plocepasser mahali)

Fischer's Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix leucopareia)

Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)

Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) - Female

African Bare-eyed Thrush (Turdus tephronotus)

Buff-bellied Warbler (Phyllolais pulchella)

Unstriped Ground Squirrel (Xerus rutilus)

Red-and-yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus)

Ayres's Hawk-Eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii)

Eastern Chanting-Goshawk (Melierax poliopterus) - Juvenile

Cape Hare (Lepus capensis)

Red-throated Tit (Melaniparus fringillinus)

Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)

Wahlberg's Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi)

African Hawk-Eagle (Aquila spilogaster)
Plains
Visits
- 2025-01-31: We arrived on the plains, and we were in the process of looking for larks when we first heard the mewing sound. It sounded like a cat inside the car. We dismissed the sound, however, and continued down the road. When we stopped again, we heard additional mewing. Eventually, we found a very tiny and angry kitten curled up inside the car's engine compartment. With some difficulty, we were able to move the kitten to the back of the car. After this, we spent a couple of hours walking around in the plains area and the dry forest that was next to it. The big surprise was when we flushed a Spotted Eagle Owl. We arrived back at the hotel, and since we thought we had picked up the kitten at that place, we released him back into the parking lot (with some more difficulty, this was a very scratchy and bitey cat). The hotel people knew nothing about the cat, however.
Species Seen
Kingdom: Animals (76 records)
Phylum: Chordates
(76 records)
Class: Birds
(73 records)
- Order: Bucerotiformes
(3 records)
- Family: Hoopoes
- Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupa epops)
- Family: Hornbills
- Von der Decken's Hornbill (Tockus deckeni)
- Family: Scimitarbills
- Abyssinian Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus minor)
- Order: Coliiformes (2 records)
- Order: Cuckoos
(1 record)
- Family: Cuckoos
- Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius)
- Order: Doves and Pigeons
(2 records)
- Family: Pigeons and Doves
- Ring-necked Dove (Streptopelia capicola)
- Namaqua Dove (Oena capensis)
- Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (5 records)
- Order: Musophagiformes (2 records)
- Order: Owls And Nightjars
(1 record)
- Family: Typical Owls
- Spotted Eagle-Owl (Bubo africanus)
- Order: Pelicans
(4 records)
- Family: Falcons and Caracaras
- Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus)
- Eleonora's Falcon (Falco eleonorae)
- Family: Herons
- Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala)
- Family: Storks
- White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)
- Order: Perching Birds
(49 records)
- Family: African Warblers
- Northern Crombec (Sylvietta brachyura)
- Red-faced Crombec (Sylvietta whytii)
- Family: Cardueline Finches and Allies
- White-bellied Canary (Crithagra dorsostriata)
- Family: Chickadees and Titmice
- Red-throated Tit (Melaniparus fringillinus)
- Family: Gonoleks
- Brubru (Nilaus afer)
- Family: Indigobirds
- Straw-tailed Whydah (Vidua fischeri)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Pied Crow (Corvus albus)
- Family: Larks
- Fawn-colored Lark (Calendulauda africanoides)
- Fischer's Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix leucopareia)
- Beesley's Lark (Chersomanes beesleyi)
- Family: Old World Flycatchers
- African Gray Flycatcher (Bradornis microrhynchus)
- Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe)
- Pied Wheatear (Oenanthe pleschanka)
- Capped Wheatear (Oenanthe pileata)
- Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina)
- Family: Old World Sparrows
- Yellow-spotted Bush Sparrow (Gymnoris pyrgita)
- White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (Plocepasser mahali)
- Gray-capped Social-Weaver (Pseudonigrita arnaudi)
- Lesser Masked-Weaver (Ploceus intermedius)
- Black-necked Weaver (Ploceus nigricollis)
- Red-billed Firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala)
- Blue-capped Cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)
- Purple Grenadier (Granatina ianthinogaster)
- Black-faced Waxbill (Brunhilda erythronotos)
- Family: Old World Warblers and Gnatcatchers
- Buff-bellied Warbler (Phyllolais pulchella)
- Yellow-bellied Eremomela (Eremomela icteropygialis)
- Family: Prinias and Apalis
- Red-faced Cisticola (Cisticola erythrops)
- Desert Cisticola (Cisticola aridulus)
- Yellow-breasted Apalis (Apalis flavida)
- Red-fronted Prinia (Prinia rufifrons)
- Gray Wren-Warbler (Calamonastes simplex)
- Family: Shrike-flycatchers
- Pygmy Batis (Batis perkeo)
- Family: Starlings and Mynas
- Hildebrandt's Starling (Lamprotornis hildebrandti)
- Wattled Starling (Creatophora cinerea)
- Family: Sunbirds
- Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird (Anthreptes orientalis)
- Scarlet-chested Sunbird (Chalcomitra senegalensis)
- Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis)
- Gorgeous Sunbird (Cinnyris melanogastrus)
- Family: Swallows
- Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
- Family: Thrushes and Allies
- Rufous-tailed Rock-Thrush (Monticola saxatilis)
- African Bare-eyed Thrush (Turdus tephronotus)
- Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)
- Spotted Morning-Thrush (Cichladusa guttata)
- White-browed Scrub-Robin (Cercotrichas leucophrys)
- Family: Wagtails and Pipits
- African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp)
- African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus)
- Family: White-eyes
- Pale White-eye (Zosterops flavilateralis)
- Order: Shorebirds and Allies (2 records)
- Order: Woodpeckers, Barbets, Toucans, and Honeyguides
(2 records)
- Family: African Barbets
- Red-and-yellow Barbet (Trachyphonus erythrocephalus)
- Family: Piculets and Woodpeckers
- Nubian Woodpecker (Campethera nubica)
Class: Mammals
(2 records)
- Order: Lagomorpha
(1 record)
- Family: Leporidae
- Cape Hare (Lepus capensis)
- Order: Rodents
(1 record)
- Family: Squirrels
- Unstriped Ground Squirrel (Xerus rutilus)
Class: Reptiles
(1 record)
- Order: Lizards and Snakes
(1 record)
- Family: Agamas
- Dodoma Rock Agama (Agama dodomae)