Clouds appear, but they dissipate inside Etosha dryness. They produce an impressive, constantly changing light. The mood is worth a hundred panoramic shots of the wide, dry plain, savanna light, a lonely one Zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) in the salt pan. Then suddenly there is movement between the thorny bushes. A courting male bustard who looks like a medieval court squire with a red collar over a brown head, black doublet and brown cloak “boots” after an inconspicuous B
ustard bird. It is a Red-crested Bustard (Eupodotis ruficrista). The love-struck male Red-crested Bustard hops around chasing his beloved and is clearly blind to his surroundings. I have to take pictures of this. So I leave the track and always follow with the camera. That means car on, two meters forward, car off, aim, snap, car on, half a meter back, car off, aim, take a picture, turn on the car, move one meter to the left, turn off the car, aim, end the film. At least there are a few nice photos in the box before changing the film.
Red-crested Bustards are called polygynous; So there is no evidence of long-term pair bonds or strict territorial behavior. Instead, the courtship males gather in groups of up to 6 birds that stay in more open areas where they make calls – apparently attractive in the world of bustards – to attract females. They also seem to have a pretty spectacular air display, in which the bird shoots straight up, appears to stop, performs a somersault backwards, then plunges back down before appearing to break out of the crash landing with a short glide. But we didn’t see that. But the spectacle with the neck brace in place was impressive enough.
Then the scene changes, two Namibian Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis) pluck leaves from a treetop with their heads down, evening sun. Wow, what is that one
Picture! On the way back, Black-backed Jackal (Lupulella mesomelas), four Burchell’s zebra, Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), a group of Springboks (Antidorcas marsupialis); Whenever the light is at its most beautiful, we have to go back. We are truly to be pitied. The white limestone soil and the light pastel tones of the Etosha pan (not just white, also green and pink) make the landscape impressions in Etosha something very special. The white crust of the pan is therefore made of salt, not lime. The big white square was a lake about 35,000 years ago. This has slowly dried out. The salts dissolved in the water were deposited.
There are many possible translations for the word Etosha. You can often read that Etosha is a word from the language of the Owambo people that means “Great White Place”. This is the interpretation that is most commonly used.
In order to meet the growing demand for top images of the rarer species of Palaearctic Bird-lens.com has specifically made trips to remote places. Additionally every chance is used, if a rare bird is around the homeground. This to do everything to ensure excellent photos of the Birds of the Western Palearctic. The yield of pictures also of rare Western Palaearctic birds is very good. There are other nice images of birds, that you will find behind the tab “Picture Shop“. Just give a notice if you need a picture of a bird which is not online.