A juvenile puff adder (Bitis arietans) scarfs down a rodent, rubbing its face against a rock to finish off the long tail. Again, eight or so birds were sounding off their alarm calls nearby, with some veering just a foot away from the snake to coax it away. Slate-colored Boubous (Laniarius funebris) stood by idly while a grey wren-warbler (Calamonastes simplex) investigated closely, occasionally dive bombing the adder. A mating pair of purple grenadiers (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster) seemed relatively adamant while a spotted palm thrush (Cichladusa guttata) and a two common bulbuls (Pycnonotus barbatus) watched from a meter away. Eventually a brief rainstorm passed over, and the adder was temporarily relieved of its pestering neighbors. The viper began undulating its body to push the meal further down and slithered with a moderate pace in search of a better refuge. Being a juvenile, its color was much more vibrant than in the subadult I saw yesterday. The transition from brown and white dorsal stripes to thick alternating orange bands on the lower half of the body was particularly noticeable.
All birds photographed in situ / after pursuit [1-3]
