400 up

On Wednesday I saw my 400th Tanzanian bird species.  It was a Green-tailed Bristlebill deep in the Minziro Forest.  This is a thrush-sized bird with olive-green upper parts, yellowish underparts, bright yellow panels on the tail edges and a yellow eye.  It is a skulker in the undergrowth of the forest. 

There are 3, 4 or 5 species of Bristlebills depending on taxonomic revisions.  All are found in central and west Africa in dense equatorial forest.  Two reach Tanzania in the far north west and both are in Minziro (The other is the Red-tailed Bristlebill) with a uniform, rich rufous tail.

I didn't get a photo of the bird but here is one by Nik Borrow (co-author of The Field-guide to the Birds of West Africa):

And here's a link to a bigger version:

http://www.birdquest.co.uk/gallery.cfm?TourTitle=&GalleryRegionID=0&GalleryCategoryID=0&Country=Type+here+to+search..&Photographer=Type+here+to+search..&Species=bristlebill

With the addition of Compact Weaver and Yellow Bishop I'm now on 402.  Now I need to get into some of the drier country to the west to add species that prefer those conditions.

I'll aim for over 300 for Kagera and over 450 for Tanzania.

Bukoba, 26 March 2011