Birding The Grounds Of The Addis Ababa Hilton

Posted on by

We were given a pick-up time of 9:30am which pretty much killed any hope of going anywhere for birding so we had to do the best we could at the hotel.  Lucky for us the Addis Ababa Hilton has vast grounds with lots of birds!  We were up at 6am and birded for a couple hours.  Here are some of the birds and a nice look at the grounds of the Hilton.

I did my best to match them up with pics in the bird book – Birds of Africa South of the Sahara 2nd Edition by Ian Sinclair & Peter Ryan.

African Mourning Doves

IMG_6257 IMG_6258 IMG_6259 IMG_6262 IMG_6264 IMG_6265

Heuglin’s Wheatear

IMG_6267 IMG_6271 IMG_6272 IMG_6275 IMG_6277

Hilton Swimming Pool

IMG_6282

Dusky Turtle Dove

IMG_6283 IMG_6287 IMG_6288 IMG_6294 IMG_6301 IMG_6302 IMG_6304

Typical arched hall linking the various wings of the Hilton

IMG_6308

I’d really like to get this Sunbird right.  I’m struggling to find one with the iridescent green head, purple breast, cream belly and yellow patch on the wing but without a red collar!  If anyone can help, please comment!

So far the most likely suspects are Violet-breasted Sunbird, White-bellied Sunbird, Oustalet’s Sunbird, Amani Sunbird, Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird or Variable Sunbird.  Any of these birds’s pics in the bird book are close but none are spot on.

IMG_6312 IMG_6313 IMG_6314 IMG_6315 IMG_6316 IMG_6317

Some kind of Bulbul?

IMG_6332

Who’s hiding in there?

IMG_6334

A little Speckled Mousebird!

IMG_6334a

While we only saw a few birds, considering this is just 2 hours in a major hotel in the capital city, I’d say Ethiopia is worth a 2nd visit someday to see more birds!