African Safari #13 - David Vs Goliath

After spending a couple of nights in Western Serengeti, our next stop was the Ngorongoro National Park. As we were exiting Western Serengeti, we saw a Giraffe standing at a distance next to a shrub. The tall, elegant animal looked beautiful in its surroundings and this provided us an opportunity to photograph an animal in its habitat.

As we decided to move on, we noticed a movement in the tall grass, a little distance away from the Giraffe. We noticed that it was a Warthog. From the direction the Warthog was heading, we could clearly see it crossing paths with the Giraffe. After a while the Giraffe too took notice of the Warthog heading in its direction, and when they finally met, it was like having David and Goliath in the same frame! It was quite an interesting encounter and we managed to capture the moment in a couple of images.

 

Birding in India - Portrait of a Crested Serpent Eagle

In general, the Crested Serpent Eagle are cooperative subjects who sit motionless on branches flanking the safari track, allowing photographers to get full frame compositions using a lens with 400mm focal length or higher. We feel that this makes the beautiful raptor a perfect subject for those who are starting out with wildlife photography.


This time round, we spotted a Crested Serpent Eagle on the forest floor. On seeing it there, we instinctively knew that it was hunting. As we approached it closer, it flew onto a branch close to the jeep track. On closer observation, we noticed that it has preyed on a lizard, and must have stomped it to death (we realised this from the Crested Serpent Eagle's blood stained claws). 

The Serpent Eagle is known to have a protective membrane (known as the nictitating membrane in eagles as seen in the 2nd image) around its eye. This membrane is a clear inner eyelid that closes to moisten and protect the eye while allowing the eagle to still see. 

This particular Serpent Eagle, sat on the branch scanning its surrounding giving us the opportunity to take some portrait images and before it flew away to eat its meal in peace.