The most common rare bird

WHEN AMAZING FLIES JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE

Have you heard about the “Birds of Paradise”?
They are as colorful as they are hard to find. And, of course, they are rare. Rare as snow in Tel Aviv.
Judging by appearance this bird should be too.

It has Charcoal black head equipped with a pair of the brightest, most penetrating white eyes I’ve seen. Its mud-tinted chest has the sort of brown color kindergarten toddlers paint with. Wrapping it all is the most striking glowing, blue-turquoise coat of feathers you can find this side of Papua New Guinea. It just couldn’t care less about camouflage.

If birds had a motto, this one would be “Flaunt’em if you got’em!”

You can only find it in the sun-scorched plains of East Africa’s Savannas. Unlike other rare birds, however, this one isn’t shy. Nope. It’s pretty bold and assertive – scavenging my breakfast right out of my table.

When I saw it for the first time, I thought I saw a Unicorn. This would explain the numerous photos I snapped of this particular specimen.

Oh, did I mention I later found out it was not so rare?

While confined to a very specific geography, the Superb Starling it’s just about everywhere. It’s not even remotely threatened, which doesn’t make it any less stunning!

The morning after the night of “Oh S***!”

It was a bright, beautiful morning near the shores of Lake Manyara, Tanzania. I was finishing my breakfast and recovering from a night I’ll never forget. Around me birds were feasting on the heaps of dead bugs. Millions and Billions of them scattered around. A single Superb Startling appeared from no-where. Bright, shiny and bold, it took the seat in front of me and Judged me for a second or two before nabbing off my breakfast leftovers.

It all started about 12 hours earlier when my wife, three kids and I, arrived at the lake lodge just after dusk. After having a quick shower in one of the spacious bungalows we came to the open dining shack for dinner. We couldn’t help notice the many little bugs that flew around us. As night fell the real swarm came in. A cloud of buzzing little bugs that got everywhere – our food, our drink, our lungs, eyes, and ears. It was one of those “once in a year” kind of infestation. We never experienced anything like it.

When morning came, the entire area of the lodge was covered with a blanket of dead bugs. Employees swept them into small mounds. The birds of Lake Manyara were feasting on the unexpected bonanza.

Not the Superb Startling. It was only interested in staring at my camera.
And then grabbing the butter.