NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 8 -The Grand Architect)
Among animals, birds are renowned for being highly skilled builders, able to construct complex nests made of sticks, grass, mud or other materials. What makes this really amazing is that they do it with nothing but their beak and feet. They do not have the luxury of hands like we…
NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 7 – Extreme Transformations)
Certain birds have an incredible annual cycle of transformation. Every year, they change from a relatively dull ‘boring’-looking appearance into a vivid, colourful and attractive look. This happens when they change from their non-breeding plumage to their breeding plumage. (Plumage means the colour and arrangement of a bird’s feathers). These…
NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 6 – The Pest Controllers On Your Farm)
For many farmers in Kenya, pests are a big problem. They destroy your crops or lower the quality of your produce. Most of the time, the culprit is either an invertebrate (e.g. insects) or a rodent (rats, mice, moles etc). And in some cases it’s a bird or another type…
NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 5 – Visitors from Far and Wide)
Of Kenya’s 1100 or so species of birds, over 200 are migrants – birds that are only in Kenya for part of the year and spend other months somewhere else. Migrants live some very fascinating lives. They are born in a certain part of the world, and then travel huge…
NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 4 – A Name that Says A Lot)
There are many birds in Kenya with interesting names. A name might describe a bird’s appearance, behavior, call/song, habitat or location where it is found. Of all the birds found in Kenya, one stands out to me as having the most legendary name of all. It’s a bird with a…
NDEGE WETU: A Tribute to the Birds of Kenya (Part 3 – The World Record Holders)
There are some birds in Kenya that stand out among all other birds globally. They have characteristics or behaviours that set them apart from the rest and even people who are not particularly interested in birds will often admire them with awe. On this episode of Ndege Wetu, we will…