First bird of the year

My first bird of 2011, the much loved or despised Hadeda Ibis, woke me up around 5.30 a.m on January 1, 2011. If you have trouble waking up, you might consider downloading its haa-haa-haa-de-dah call as a wake up alarm.

The Hadeda Ibis is found in Sub-saharan Africa, throughout open grasslands, savanna, wetlands, rainforests, in urban parks and large gardens. It feeds mostly on earthworms and small reptiles such as lizards, geckos and bush snakes. It also eats insects like butterflies, bees, wasps, locusts and ants.

I just came back from a two week holiday in Kruger National Park, so you can expect more South African birds for BPW the next couple of weeks.

Share and Enjoy:

http://www.facebook.com/marvinsmithjr Marvin Smith

Seems like no travel alarm is need if there are Hadeda Ibis around.
http://dreamfalcon.wordpress.com/ dreamfalcon

Lovely bird with that hint of pink and turquoise on the wings.
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Wren

Love it! Laughing gulls can provide the same service in their range.
http://sandystraitsandbeyond.blogspot.com/ Mick

That’s a very interesting looking bird but the noise it makes would certainly wake anyone up. Thanks for including the link to its call.
http://www.slugyard.com Mike B.

The coloring and shape of its wings reminds me slightly of a peacock, which is also a VERY loud bird. Wonder if there is a connection there.

http://twitter.com/gwendolen gwendolen

Perhaps in spirit

Larry Jordan

Ha ha ha Gwen. I would definitely think I was in the tropics if I heard that call in the morning. Beautiful shots of the Hadeda Ibis. I look forward to more of the African birds.
http://nfbird.blogspot.com NatureFootstep

I think that Ibis looks great. It´s nice to be travelling. Looking forward to more strange birds.

Sadly enough, I could not listen to the sound.
http://redandthepeanut.blogspot.com/ Kelly

Very cool! Another new bird for me. Although I don’t know if I would want him waking me up at 5:30 a.m.! Looks like a great first bird of the year!
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