Cinnamon-chested Bunting
Emberiza tahapisi
In a fence row of a grazing paddock, Magadi Rd., Kenya. December 2014.
This seed-eating bird is finding grass seeds in a paddock barrier constructed from dead branches of Whistling Thorn. The sharp thorns deter goats and cattle, allowing the grasses growing among them to flower and seed. This is an example of how people alter the environment and how wildlife can sometimes adapt to those changes. Away from the thorny fences, grasses rarely grow tall enough to produce seed, and the seed feeders learn to forage among fence rows.
Emberizidae -- Bunting Family
Books:
- Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania by Zimmerman et al.
- Birds of East Africa by Stevenson and Fanshawe