"Incoming, Miranda the European Eagle Owl. I absolutely love this bird, she is truly one of a kind. From her history to her manners, you will find no other like her. Released into the wild by her owner she managed to survive until it became to hard for her, severely malnourished and suffering with a gut infection I rescued her as I determined she wouldn’t survive much longer in the wild. A few days of high quality food and medication and she was doing really well. Miranda is 20 years old and is a valued member of our demonstration team. A bird that doesn’t need handled, she weighs herself on the scales, flies out into the flying arena and runs behind me on the way back to the aviary. A truly magnificent bird."
I am not a birder by any stretch, and struggle to photograph birds (so much moving around! so many branches!). But Kenya is absolutely packed with remarkable birds, and there were a couple of nice birders in our group. So, I learned about lots of birds just by having them around.
Along with the showstopper birds like the lilac-breasted roller, the secretarybird, and the goliath heron, there were hundreds of gorgeous birds where I barely caught a photo, and plenty of less flashy species that were just fascinating to watch. So, here are a few of them. I didn't caption the individual photos, but did try to list them all in the tags.
Jufeng is second in command, and replacement for the previous Shangyen--now deemed traitor--Impeccable and resiliant, Jufeng has been fighting by Jiang's side for decades.
Zhan is much younger, but has proven to be a competent soldier. He was recently promoted after his selfless efforts in saving a whole village at the Battle of the Golden Talons.
These two first appeared in Chapter 1 of my webcomic, but do expect them to make a return sometime soon!