The mopani and miombo woodlands of South Luangwa National Park provide habitat for a wide variety of interesting birds. A visitor will tire of seeing the lilac- breasted roller despite it having such beautiful colors--they seem to be everywhere. Another frequently sighted bird is Lillian's lovebird (Agapornis lilianae). These smaller members of the parrot family are easily recognizable because you have probably seen relatives in pet stores. Villagers tend to dislike the gregarious and noisy lovebirds because they are seed eaters which damage grain crops and stores.
This is a truly impressive stork, the Saddle-billed (E. senegalensis) The "saddle" is the flat yellow frontal shield on the top bill. It's five foot height is exceeded by an immense wing span of more than eight feet. Watching such a big bird take flight was amazing. The ancient Egyptians thought enough of the stork to give it a hieroglyph with the phonetic value, "ba". It feeds on aquatic animals which it stalks in a deliberate manner in shallow water. Behind the stork is an Hadeda Ibis looking for worms in the grass.
This raptor looks like a hawk, but it is the Western Banded Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinerascens).
