Beesley's (Maasai) Lark

photo Martin Goodey

Osugat habitatMaasai boysFat-tailed sheepTravelling down from Nairobi on the Namanga road, about an hour out of Arusha, one passes a seemingly featureless arid plain that stretches away eastwards toward the distant snowy summit of Kilimanjaro. This tree-less plain is home to what is arguably the rarest bird in all of mainland of Africa. A 'newly-created' passerine species with a global population of at very best one hundred individuals.