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© 1994-2009 David L. MartinSee complete copyright notice. |
In late February and early March of 2006 we visited northern Tanzania to see and hear the wildlife and birds. The abundance of birds and mammals was stunning, and the openness of the landscape made it very easy to oberve them. We spent most of our time in national parks -- Arusha, Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Tarangire -- and in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. We were there at the end of the dry season (it had been very dry). We had some rain, the land was beginning to green, and some birds were working on nests. Here I have presented a few sounds and some photos from our trip. Click on a topic.
Click on a photo to see a larger image.
These vultures make a variety of roars, screeches and hisses as they compete for access to a zebra carcass. The griffon's heads and necks, which normally are gray, were covered with gore from digging deep into the carcass. There were no other scavengers present except a couple of white-backed vultures that sat quietly several meters away.
The guineafowl making this call was displaying 20 feet up a tree in a wooded area. An African mourning dove can be heard calling loudly in the background, along with other birds. Helmeted guineafowl are very common in the areas we visited. The bird in the photo wanted to share our lunch.
Male Hartlaub's bustards make a three part mating display call -- a very quiet "rip", followed about 2.7 seconds later by a loud gulp, and after another second by a prolonged "ooom". To make these sounds the bird inflates air sacs in its neck (see photo).
The common call of Hartlaub's turaco is bascially a series of hoarse khaws. These birds were calling from trees roughly 50 meters away.
Male's songs vary individually and by locality. Here are examples of two slightly different songs by one bird.
Song is introduced by sweet notes followed by several strong harsher notes.
These birds perch on top of low shrubs and sing loud, spirited duets; one bird sings a rolling trill while the other whistles a piping accompaniment. Here are examples of three different duets.
Songs are loud and variable. This remarkable song was the only one of several heard on the trip that I was able to record. (Same song repeated once).
Male's display song. The bird was vigorously displaying in a small acacia tree by spreading its tail and extending and flapping its wings. The display appears to include bill clicks (listen carefully). There were several nests in the tree. Here are a few calls made by the male while not displaying.
A zebra stallion makes a barking bray, which he sometimes uses to gather his harem. This was recorded near a water hole where many zebra were wading and very actively moving about. Rain was imminent.
These moos and herd sounds were recorded in an area where common wildebeests (brindled gnu; Connochaetes taurinus) and common zebras (Equus quagga) were grazing. Female wildebeests and calves make lowing sounds, but I did not see the particular animals making the calls.
Maasai Music
Here are two examples of a cappella music performed by groups of Maasai singers.
Recorded at a boma not far from the Naabi gate to Serengeti National Park.
Maasai song 2Recorded at E Unuto. Rhythm changes several times. Performers were about 75 feet away.
Click on a picture to see a larger version.
Tanzania is among the more conservation-minded nations in Africa, but human activities inside and outside of the national parks and conservation areas continue to put pressure on many animals. Many of species are declining in numbers and some, such as the Black Rhino, have declined dramatically and are critically endangered.
Go to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources's Red List to see the list of endangered and threatened species for Tanzania.
Original CD-quality digital recordings were made in Tanzania with a Sennheiser MKH-60 microphone and Marantz PMD670 digital recorder (16 bits mono, 44.1 kHz). They were edited and converted to mp3 files in SoundForge.