Secretarybird - (Sagittarius serpentarius)

Nowhere near as large as an ostrich, these guys are still rather big and in many ways resemble raptor-type dinosaurs. They look quite regal as they walk along - spending most of their time on the ground.

Also trying to figure out what it is at the top of the tree in the first picture - didn't spot it until looking at the picture just now whilst selecting what to upload. If anyone who sees this has an idea it would be good to know (I suspect it could be another Secratary bird though very hard for me to tell).

They are quite beautiful and it is unusual to see such an eagle-esque head on such long legs

Apparently they fly as well, but that wasn't something I recall witnessing. And occasionally kill gazelles and cheetah cubs... Yeh... Proper carnivores.

I miss Africa.

Mongoose (Herpestidae)

At first I was under the impression that I was seeing meerkats of Lion King and insurance company fame - but no, these were mongooses (mongeese?).

Very skittish, they are very hard to see in the long grass and flee whenever you get remotely close.

Especially disappointing on the meerkat front was the fact that we usually saw them in the company of Pumbaa - until the realisation that a meerkat is also in the mongoose family.

So overgrown Timon.

Dik-dik (Madoqua)

The dik-dik (Madoqua) is the smallest of the antelope species living on the Savannah and in the brush - roughly the weight of a house cat.

The name is apparently onomatopoeic - the females repeatedly whistling the sound when threatened. 

We caught glimpses on several occasion, though they were very difficult to photograph - hiding in thicker vegetation - coupled up and protecting their little plots. They are hunted by more or less anything that is capable of hunting - including eagles and even baboons!

They have great eyesight - defend a known, well defined territory and with their tiny size and narrow snouts are able to pick at leaves on the very spiny branches of the acacia trees.

And the small "forests" that they inhabit - never managed to catch one in the open.

Common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus)

The common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) was our near constant companion on our journey across this part of the world.

They welcomed us on our first day - never getting too close - often running off with its tail raised up in fear before stopping, relaxing - looking around to see why the hell it was running in the first place - occasionally to be eaten.

The largest of these guys can reach 150kg - a somewhat scary proposition... Those tusks look like they could do some serious damage!

Apparently Pumba has a very short memory span of around 30 seconds by local accounts.

Mothers with young do a fairly good job of camouflaging themselves - the babies are barely visible - though some parents do a better job than others - each of the photos below feature a mother and two young:

And of course running away through a group of fake meerkats, tail raised, before getting confused and looking around in a daze:

And a family group - most likely sisters - raising their young together - if one of the adults is to be hurt or killed the other can continue providing milk to her sisters offspring.

Some photos of some sisters with their babies - small age gap clearly visible.

Ostrich

These huge birds can speed across the Savannah at speeds of up to 70km/h! Bear in mind - at his absolute fastest - Usain Bolt only clocked in 44.72 km/h... And they're HUGE.

The largest living bird - typically over 100kg in weight and lay the largest eggs in the world - a single one being large enough to feed a dozen people. Their kicks and pecks can lethally injure lions so they tend to steer clear.

Also - flightless. In good company there.

Sometimes in pairs - sometimes a single male with several females - they are very visible in the grass or brush if they are standing up - lying down they are barely visible as can be seen in the last few photos.

We caught our first glimpses of Ostriches - the common kind - North African Ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) and The Masai Ostrich (Struthio camelus massaicus) at Amboseli:

With an elephant herd in the background.

Look at the size of those thighs!

We were honoured to witness some defecation as well:

Later on we had a closer encounter with a male (pink legs, black body) and his little harem (3 females - one a little tough to spot lying down in the grass). We were told the males lay on the eggs at night and the females during the day - their colouring helping with camouflage based on lighting. 

Hildebrandt's starling

Saw plenty of these guys flitting about on our recent travels through Kenya.

The Hildebrand's starling (Lamoritirnis hildebrandti) is far from endangered as it stands - as was evidenced by their near constant presence.

Ranging from Ethiopia and Somalia to Kenya and Tanzania at relatively high altitude they look almost like groups of iridescent gems appearing and disappearing around you. Very tough to catch on camera in flight as the photos below will attest - managed to lure one to a chair nearby (apologies to the conservationists).

They are thought to feed primarily on insects and fruit though are also known to consume seeds (and anecdotally - potatoes) in pairs or small flocks.

Opera Omnia of Life

Have decided to do something a little bit different.

The last 8 months have been somewhat hectic - a bit too much time in the air and a little too much instability in my present and future.

Spent the last few weeks travelling with almost two weeks in Kenya where I got to see a lot of (relatively) wild life out in (relatively) natural settings.

For the time being I will focus (here) on the various life-forms that inhabit this planet and start building a personal database of all these wonderful things that co-habit this planet alongside us - though seemingly unrelated tangents will inevitably be followed.

Initially will start with subdivision into the various categories that scientists have decided to sub-divide it into - plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea, and bacteria - though primarily on those that are visible to the naked eye and that I encounter in my personal life on my wanderings around my various homes until I have a fixed abode and on my general travels.

Thankfully already have a small portfolio ready to write about and so I will begin.

First posts coming shortly.

To anyone reading this - welcome - hopefully you encounter something new and interesting to you!