Hamerkops aren’t very colorful, but they make up for it with style. The two species of hamerkop can be found throughout most of sub-Sahara Africa. They are medium-sized wading birds with eating habits that can best be described as “generalist.” In other words, they aren’t too particular about what they eat, although they have a penchant for fish and amphibians. I photographed this one in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second.
Hamerkop sounds less like a sub-Saharan bird and more like a thrilling Swedish detective series about Olaf Hamerkop, a 20 veteran of the Stockholm PD who is two days away from his retirement (at age 40, with full-salary pension; damn those socialist Swedes) when he gets sucked back into the case of herring smuggling ring that he thought he’d closed years ago.
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Hamerkop sounds less like a sub-Saharan bird and more like a thrilling Swedish detective series about Olaf Hamerkop, a 20 veteran of the Stockholm PD who is two days away from his retirement (at age 40, with full-salary pension; damn those socialist Swedes) when he gets sucked back into the case of herring smuggling ring that he thought he’d closed years ago.
What a funny looking head on this bird! I learn and see someting new every day from your photos!
Wow – what a remarkable looking bird, Sean. Thanks for sharing this image!
Yeah, they’re pretty cool looking but get lost amidst the excitement of lions and elephants and giraffes.