#West African Crowned Crane

[vulturecamera]

West African Crowned Crane

2024

[zoofitness]

An Odd Duck: The Sequel!

[katymylady]

I saw this bird today and I was like...

“What does this thing remind me of?”

And then it hit me...

[scottpartridge]

Poster design for A Guide to the Birdsong of Western Africa, an album pairing musical artists and rare birds to aid conservation efforts.

[kimlion13]

West African crowned crane by Abeselom Zerit

https://500px.com/elusivecaptures

[animalworld]

EAST AFRICAN (GRAY) CROWNED CRANE Balearica Regulorum Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens Los Angeles California ©Laura Quick AFRICAN LEGEND: How the Crane Got Its Crown According to an African legend, a great chief became lost while hunting with his court in the heat of the summer. He quickly became weak from lack of water and food. He asked several passing animals, such as Zebra, Elephant, and Antelope, if they would help him find the oasis where his court was camping. All refused because he had hunted them. Finally, a flock of cranes flew by and agreed to help him. They brought the chief water and then led him to his court. As a reward, he had his goldsmith make each crane a gold crown. The next day, the cranes appeared without the crowns and explained that the other animals were jealous and had stolen and destroyed the crowns. The chief then called for his court magician, who touched each crane on the top of the head. From the place where the crane was touched grew its crown of gold feathers. ---

The West African crowned crane is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss caused by farming, especially of the marshy areas they prefer for breeding, and capture for domestication. Crowned cranes primarily eat grass, seeds, and grain. They will also consume invertebrates and the roots of some plants. Because of their proximity to humans, they can become crop pests.

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Grey Crowned Crane

Palm Cockatoo

[youneedone2]

West African Crowned Crane by Abeselom Zerit

[quickwitter]

WEST AFRICAN GRAY CROWNED CRANE Balearica pavonina ©Laura Quick The West African crowned crane is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss caused by farming, especially of the marshy areas they prefer for breeding, and capture for domestication. Crowned cranes primarily eat grass, seeds, and grain. They will also consume invertebrates and the roots of some plants. Because of their proximity to humans, they can become crop pests. #westafricangraycrowndcrane #balearicapavonina #beautiful #omnivore #©lauraquick #lazoo #losangeleszooandbotanicalgardens #losangeleszoo #bird #crane #croppest #vulnerable #pinkcheeks #goldcrest #danceforfemales #birdsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B8-sdarHXYN/?igshid=1vtk753t0cr84

[sylvestermouse]

West African Crowned Crane - Facts & Photos on Amazing-Wild-Animals.com

[tonyar27]

Here with my new friend, the West African Black-Crowned Crane. Forever grateful with @raul_bllamas & @zoologymarco, looking forward to working with you guys! (en San Diego Zoo Safari Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZc4_alvcSY/?utm_medium=tumblr

[gorillatrips]

How Lake Bunyonyi Trips/ Tour/Safaris Offer A Perfect Rest & Relaxation?

Lake Bunyonyi – a Magical Lake in Uganda has been a place of consideration, rejuvenating, exploration, discovery and a multitude of various – Lake Bunyonyi is simply Uganda’s Magical Lake. This place provides some of the most exciting areas for boat trips while on Uganda Safari. The country boosts of many rivers, channels and lakes where one can do a boat trip. Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda in the world, surely you would not like to miss Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip on one of the above mentioned water bodies once in Uganda.

At Saso Uganda Safaris, it is our passion and pleasure to show you the delights of our land and will help you experience Africa through the eyes of a local. From organizing gorilla tours in Uganda, Chimpanzee tracking, birding tours and cultural tours in Uganda to Lake Bunyonyi Trip, everything we have been providing.

Lake Bunyonyi is found in the southwestern part of the country near the Rwanda border, it is one of the amazing spots in Uganda which give a breathtaking environment to tourists. In spite of the fact that not well marketed as compared to different destinations in the country, Bunyonyi is a hideout hilarious site which is certain everyone would wish to visit particularly if interested in a lifetime experience. Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip have a chance to tour any of the 29 islands on this lake include Punishment Island and Bushara Island – visitors can have sun rising canoeing to view and study about the behaviors of early birds or have sunset cruises in late afternoon. There are also motorized boats for visitors on fixed schedule yet yarning to explore Lake Bunyonyi.

Located in southwestern Uganda, Lake Bunyonyi is the 2nd deepest lake on the African continent. The lake has over 29 islands most of which are terraced offering great scenic views. The lake has a number of birds and that’s the main reason it’s called Bunyonyi meaning a place of birds. The major birds that can be viewed along the lake include herons, crowned cranes, weavers and many others. Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip is usually made using dugout canoes and the water is hippo and crocodile free meaning its safe for swimming. A stay by Lake Bunyonyi is a great way to get some time to relax and digest all you have so far seen on your Uganda Safari.

If you are looking for Lake Bunyonyi Accommodation, we have a selection of Lodge, Bed and Breakfast, Camping and Caravanning holiday accommodation in Lake Bunyonyi and surrounds. With 10 listings in Lake Bunyonyi, our handy Lake Bunyonyi map search and great low prices, it's easy to book the perfect holiday accommodation for your Lake Bunyonyi visit.

There is quite a lot to do while in the calm west, the top on the list being relaxing and chilling the entire time you are there. The view is calming and the Lake Bunyonyi Activities adventurous, rest assured to leave this place rested and with a different view on the world.  

1.    Boat rides

2.    Community visits/Hikes

3.    Bird watching

4.    Swimming

5.    Canoe riding

6.    Visiting Batwa pygmies

7.    Mountain biking

8.    Ziplining

For the best Uganda Safari Experience, Saso Uganda Safaris is the best tour operator in Uganda organizing affordable Uganda Safari Tours in different destinations. Our Uganda Travel Tips that we provide is well articulated and you won’t miss any necessary things or equipment in your trip.

If you are a nature lover, then Saso Uganda Safaris is the right place for you. We have lots of things to do and see at Lake Bunyonyi from which boat trip is the best one to pact. Our tour guide will take you through the history of the lake. We will also give you a brief of the culture of the local people and the relevance of the lake to their lives.

Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip is a motor boat trip on a lake which is rich in history and natural beauty. So start this trip to find the most enriching time on Uganda National Parks!

[zoofitness]

Some people weren’t as impressed as I was, but I’m very proud of my little girls figuring out their enrichment (and me for coming up for it!)

Next time will just have to add another in there, since Jasmine was dominating it the whole time and Tiana missed out on the fun. Love these girls!

[adyeri]

Gorilla Tracking in Virunga National Park

Jagged along the border with Rwanda and Uganda lies one of Africa’s most biodiverse conservation area, it protects the entire Congolese portion of the Virunga Volcanoes, Ruwenzori montane woodland, high altitude forests, open savannah, and lowland rainforest.

Virunga National Park is Africa’s richest protected area in terms of avian diversity, with an astonishing 218mammal species like lions, elephants, okapi, buffalo, hippo, antelopes among others, 22 primates namely mountain gorilla, an eastern lowland gorilla, chimpanzee, black and white colobus among others 706 bird species recorded namely yellow billed barbet, black and white casqued hornbill, double toothed barbet, narrow tailed starling, shape’s starling, Ross’s turaco, black-billed turaco among others.

The Virunga Volcanoes are dissected by the international borders of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Virunga Volcanoes is made up of three parks; Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The parks contain six volcanic mountains Karisimbi (4507 m), Mikeno (4437 m), Bisoke (3711 m), Mgahinga (3474 m), Muhabura (4127 m), and Sabinyo (3634 m) and covers an area of 447 km2. The park lies in the Albertine rift region, which is characterized by a high degree of avian and mammalian endemism due to its proximity to a Pleistocene refugium, created during the last ice age. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is situated in southwestern Uganda in Kisoro District. It covers an area of 33.7 km2. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is contiguous with Virunga National Park (240 km2 ) in the DRC, and Volcanoes National Park (160 km2 ) in Rwanda. Virunga National Park is a World Heritage Site and the oldest national park in Africa, the Park was created in 1925. Virunga National Park borders an extensive network of protected areas in neighboring Uganda and Rwanda and together these contiguous protected areas form the Greater Virunga Landscape.

Things to do and see in the Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park is a habitat for 218 mammal species, 706 bird species, 78 amphibian species, and 109 reptile species, and 22 primate species. Virunga is the only park in the whole world that shelters mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas, and eastern chimpanzees.

Virunga National Park is one of the oldest and famous National Park in Africa, arguably the best Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there several activities one can do in just one Park namely gorilla tracking, chimpanzee tracking, hiking, birding, cultural experiences, and forest nature walk.

Gorilla tracking experience

Virunga National Park offers a mountain gorilla tracking encounter comparable in quality and most other respects to that of neighboring Rwanda. There are seven habituated gorilla families active for tourism. Gorilla tracking permits for Virunga National Park cost US$ 400 for foreign non-residents and US$ 150 for Congolese citizens. It is also famous for being home to about 200 critically endangered mountain gorillas

There are eight habituated gorilla families active for trekking in the Virunga National Park namely the Bageni gorilla family consisting of 26 individuals, Mapuwe gorilla family consisting 22 individuals, Kabirizi gorilla family consisting 19 individuals, Humba gorilla family 9 individuals, Lulengo gorilla family 9 individuals, Nyakamwe gorilla family 11 individuals, Rugendo gorilla family 9 individuals and Munyaga gorilla family 9 individuals.

Chimpanzee tracking experience

Chimpanzees are found in savannah woodlands, grasslands – forest mosaics, and tropical moist forests, from sea level to about 3,000 m in elevation. Chimpanzees are sheltered northwest of Rumangabo sector- Tongo, Tongo is a 10km2 block of a medium-altitude forest isolated from other similar habitats by the lava flow, traversed by an 80km network of walking trails. Tongo is home to a troop of 36 chimpanzees first habituated by the Frankfurt zoological society. Chimpanzee tracking in Virunga National Park, Rumangabo headquarters cost US$ 100 per person for foreign non-residents.

Birding

Virunga National Park is a birders’ haven; the Park is a refuge to more than 706 bird species out of which 24 are endemic species to Virunga National Park. Bird species in the Virunga National Park include red-throated alethe, handsome francolin, Kivu ground thrush, dusky crimson-wing, Arche’s ground robin, collared Apalis, red-faced woodland warbler, mountain masked Apalis, Grauer's rush warbler, Ruwenzori nightjar, Shelley's crimson wing, blue-headed sunbird, strange weaver, strip-breasted tit, collared Apalis, Ruwenzori batis, white-backed duck, African black duck, Egyptian goose, little grebe, hamerkop, yellow-billed duck, southern pochard, northern pintail, mountain buzzard, grey kestrel, quail, grey crowned crane, common snipe, curlew, marsh-sandpiper among others.

Nyiragongo Mountain Hike

The Virunga Volcano of Nyiragongo is surrounded to both the North and West by adjacent Nyamuragira Volcano, and other several volcanoes to the East namely, Mikeno, Karisimbi, and Lake Kivu. Mount Nyiragongo shelters, one of the largest active Lava Lake in the whole world. Mount Nyiragongo seats on an elevation of about 3470m, with a wide caldera at its summit about 1.5 km wide.

Nyiragongo is located in the Albertine Rift, on the western branch of the East African Rift Valley system, the Mountain is Africa’s most active volcano, and the fact is that it has erupted 34 times since 1884 and world’s largest lava Lake, about 20 km, North of Goma and approximately 180 km from Kigali International Airport.

[thelifedocumentor]

Reflecting on Solange’s artistic masterpiece, A Seat At The Table

When I was at the of age 17, in my final year of high school, I listened to a few albums that were pivotal to my evolution as a black woman. These albums set me on a trajectory of understanding myself and the world I live in. One of these albums was A Seat At The Table by Solange Knowles. The album helped me make sense of so many things that I wasn’t able to articulate into words at the time. When I listened to the lyrics, it became an unspoken synergy between the music and my mind. The purpose of this piece is to reflect on this artistic and cultural masterpiece. With strikingly appealing visuals, that may make you overlook the depth it weighs, I unpack how it paid homage to black people, black womanhood and what inspired Solange on her journey to creating it.

It’s been 4 years since Solange Knowles released A Seat At The Table and it is more relevant than ever. The album was welcomed well and achieved great success in the industry such as the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for "Cranes in the Sky". However, it packs so much historical significance in an honest and relatable way. Solange paid homage to her roots and family’s history. She translates all of her life's experiences, frustrations, victories, views of the world into the art, and still gently encourages us to rise above it all. The way she was able to intersect the eras of her life and current social issues makes the album contemporary but still defies the limitations of time.

Through symbolism in her imagery and documentation of critical conversations in the interludes, she makes cultural references that urge us to go back and interrogate history. This is exactly why I love it when musicians revisit their origins because you have to decode the message and you can’t help but dig deeper which enlightens you.  Especially if you didn't have the opportunity to traditionally study African history, art, philosophy, literature, or social anthropology – subjects which are the foundation of understanding our existence. Some of these conversations are painful and resonate with most of us, but we are forced to tackle them because they are in our spaces and are constantly woven into our lives’ phases.

Solange sings in a very harmonious and spiritual nature. It can be felt that Raphael Saadiq was the executive producer because the album has soul. And then some of the songs have an uptown funk groove. Solange draws inspiration from spirituality and metaphysics as we have seen in her overall creative direction.  

The album has a lot of interludes in between the songs,  which thoughtfully provide background and paint the scene of what inspired the song. Solange sets the tone with Rise as the first song on the album - which I think is perfect that she began with that song because it’s about channelling your light. It almost serves as a  metaphor for how she began rising above it all by writing this music. Rise begins softly while her words dance on the beautiful percussion. The central theme is not crumbling under the heaviness of the world, she motivates us to rise and prosper. It then moves on to Weary whereby she admits she is tired.  She is tired of being strong and having to hold it all together. Even the way she pronounces her words, represents how weighed down she has been feeling, she expresses all these anxieties but in a way that sounds so heavenly.  Solange then continues to narrate all of these pains in great detail on Cranes In The Sky. She documents her process of coping. She sings in such an angelic way you might even think she is trying to romanticize her struggles, but through all of these methods, she was still aspiring to be free. The more she tried to escape, the heavier she would feel. When she says, “Sometimes I don’t want to feel those metal clouds” , she yearns for freedom. Although the song is sombre, it offers solace to artists who often have to romanticize their pain in the virtue of creating art because, in the process of creating, they also heal others who are seeking a sanctuary.

Don’t Touch My Hair and Mad address the way black women’s struggles are downplayed in society. Don't Touch My Hair is so relevant because we see our hair as our crown. People often feel so entitled to intrude and touch it mindlessly – sometimes without even permission. When Solange says “Don’t touch my hair”- it’s not just hair but it’s about so much more of our existence as black people. She and Sampha sing so softly, “Whatcha say to me? Whatcha say to me” and I love that part. She’s standing up and going “Hey, don't violate me, don't dehumanize me. Don't intrude my space.” When you have an encounter like that, you feel pulled in between the tensions of “Would my personality be perceived as overbearing, am I being too much if I reprimand people who make me feel uncomfortable. Or should I call it out?” Sometimes you summon the courage to call it out, and then sometimes you don’t call it out - just praying it doesn't happen to you again. So it's really powerful when she says that. She is taking control of her autonomy. She is communicating that it okay to set boundaries. The music videos for Don’t Touch My Hair and Cranes In The Sky have a dreamy and ethereal aesthetic.  

We move onto Mad which features Lil Wayne. In Mad, Solange is saying don’t gaslight me when I speak of my suffering as a black woman. “Why are you always so angry?” Solange says I have a right to be angry. And it is highly justified. Just because it might be outside of your reality, it is my reality. So my pain should also be treated with the same level of urgency and preciousness as any other person. I have a right to be soft and delicate. Throughout A Seat At The Table, Solange offers a sanctuary for black women while she uses it as an instrument to make her voice heard.

I also really appreciate how For Us By Us is a song for black affirmation. This art was made by us, for us. This is important because I believe nobody can tell your story better than yourself. She describes so many different microaggressions that black people face in society. She breaks them down in detail. Solange sings, “When you driving in your tinted car and you're criminal, just who you are, but you know you're gonna make it far.”  That was incredibly significant because it’s saying no matter how much you have been disrespected and you’re angry about it, you have a story to tell, you’re a child of the stars.  You are going to make it far because your vision is larger than life, it’s larger than everything that tries to suppress your voice. Solange says you’ve taken so much from us – but why don’t you value us? And then The Dream sings, “Don't clip my wings before I learn to fly. I didn't come back down to Earth to die.” The message is don’t suppress my voice when I am trying to rise. However,  we can even delve deeper into that because if someone clips your wings before you’ve learned to fly – they’ve taken away your power before you were even able to recognize it. So that you aren’t aware of your brilliance.  And then lastly, the song I will discuss is Where Do We Go which is towards the end. Where Do We Go is a plea to repair our society. In the songs and interludes, she describes these issues and tensions but now she begs us to move forward by taking action to improve these issues. It is a crucial inquiry because ultimately we have to make conscious efforts to progress in the present and mold a better future. Nobody has all the answers, we are all trying to figure it out as a collective, but we can try every day. Her storytelling encourages us to rise above it all and accept that it’s okay to not have all the answers.

In a 2016 interview with Tom Breihan for STEREOGUM, Solange shared her inspirations for her album which I will now be unpacking in depth.

The killings of innocent black people in America under law enforcement served as catalysts for change. Solange made references to these events and draws in knowledge from her parents’ experiences as well. Solange revisited Lousiana and Creole for her healing and desire to connect to something bigger, and she ultimately was inspired by this pilgrimage.

Artistically, Solange was inspired by Mark Rothko’s collection at the Menil Museum in Houston, Citizen – An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine which is a book-length poem about everyday racial struggles in America. When I discovered this, I went back to read some of Rankine’s poems and she is incredible. She combines visual art, quotations from artists, and scripts. One quote by Claudia Rankine that stood out for me was "I love language because when it succeeds, for me, it doesn't just tell me something. It enacts something." When you read that doesn’t it just embody Solange’s vision with her album? She was also inspired by Robert Pruitt, Lynette Yiadom Boakim, and Fire Shut Up In My Bones by Charles Blow. Musically, Solange was inspired by Syreeta Wright’s Black Maybe, D’ Angelo’s Africa, Kanye West’s “We Major.” That influenced the sound of her horns and piano in the album. Vocally she was inspired by Master P and No Limit Records, Minnie Riperton, Tweet’s Southern Hummingbird and Lauryn Hill’s I Get Out. Many songs on the album encapsulate her soul-funk sound that characterized her music style from her early career.

Spiritually, Solange was inspired by Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane to channel a higher frequency in the album. Let me tell you something super crazy about these two Jazz composers. Their music is spiritual right, however, I didn’t know about Sun Ra. When I researched Sun Ra I discovered that his themes were afro-futurism, cosmic philosophy, and spirituality. The only Jazz composers I was exposed to whose music was spiritually influenced were Alice and John Coltrane. And in terms of poets, in South Africa, I was exposed to Credo Muthwa. So to come across Sun Ra was crazy to me because not only was he pioneering the Afro-futuristic school of thought, he also inspired Petite Noir and Rharha  Nembhard – the Noirwave on their Afro-futuristic creative executions. Also what is super crazy is that Sun Ra was also born on the 22nd of May – which is my birthday! I mean – can this get more supernatural?

Afro-futurism is an entirely different ideology, and it could be a topic on its own but the fact that Solange can rope in these diverse teachings into her music is truly admirable. Overall, sonically the album is therapeutic – the way she arranged the songs and the harmonies -  she pieces together all of the musical influences she loved growing up. I am sure she made every single person who contributed to it proud because she elevated to a different plane.  

We don't fully understand ourselves - I don't think any artist does because by creating, you are trying to understand your world and heal from your pain. And it just so happens that others find healing in it too. Your journey is constantly unravelling. You read books, engage with art, have enriching conversations. You are forced to stretch outside of your comfort zone and spiral into new layers of awareness - all of these things shape you. And sometimes the only way you can move forward is by creating art.

Fundamentally, A Seat At The Table is an ode to black women. As younger black girls are growing up, we need to expose them to iconic works of this nature. So that they are empowered in ways that some of us weren’t growing up. It is one to be studied for generations to come because the themes are just that momentous.

A Seat At The Table is one of those albums that you have to revisit now and then. You know get some books that are classic masterpieces, you read them once. And then you engage with them again when you're a little bit older. When you read them again, it feels so new as if you have never read it before -  and that’s simply because you are revisiting it with a richer understanding. You have gained new experiences and your horizons have expanded.

I hope I have inspired you today to revisit this album. If you haven’t listened to it before, I hope that you enjoy it and that you bask fully in that magical experience.

Images from the A Seat At The Table Digital photobook, courtesy of solange music. References: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22482-a-seat-at-the-table/

https://www.stereogum.com/featured/solange-shares-her-inspirations-for-a-seat-at-the-table/

https://www.solangemusic.com/

[speakingofnature]

The Black Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina) is native to Africa. A distinct threat to the overall population of this crane is the pet industry. In West African countries it is a tradition to keep these cranes at household compounds, additionally in the recent past international trade of these cranes has increased markedly.

This crane was observed at the International Crane Foundation display near Baraboo, Wisconsin.

[quickwitter]

WEST AFRICAN GRAY CROWNED CRANE Balearica pavonina ©Laura Quick The West African crowned crane is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss caused by farming, especially of the marshy areas they prefer for breeding, and capture for domestication. Crowned cranes primarily eat grass, seeds, and grain. They will also consume invertebrates and the roots of some plants. Because of their proximity to humans, they can become crop pests. #westafricangraycrowndcrane #balearicapavonina #beautiful #omnivore #©lauraquick #lazoo #losangeleszooandbotanicalgardens #losangeleszoo #bird #crane #croppest #vulnerable #pinkcheeks #goldcrest #danceforfemales https://www.instagram.com/p/B8jmKUfHQX6/?igshid=jn6sqzojtzqw