Last Day in Comoros

It was our last day here, so we just hung out at the hotel and watched the birds and bats. I finally got a real nice picture of that mysterious blue/purple sunbird, and I now believe I have it identified correctly as a Malagasy sunbird (Cinnyris notatus). My best guess for the confusion is that the sunlight has never been right to see the green, just as the heads of mallard drakes usually look green and only sometimes look blue, when the feathers catch the sun just right.

Meanwhile, I believe that this cutie is a female of the species.

The mongoose was out again this afternoon, perhaps to wish us safe travels.

I’ve been seeing bronze mannikins here on the island now and then, but this afternoon this one let me have my best portrait yet.

As the afternoon wore on, the bats started returning from their day in the forest searching for fruit, and here’s a pair.

Anne and I noticed that as they arrived and started to settle in for the night, some would appear to skim the surface of the Indian Ocean. Sure enough, the fine folks at Nature Seychelles Conservation report that “close observations show that the bats dip their chests in the water as they fly over and then lick the water off when they roost,” and that “many Pteropus species are found in coastal areas and islands and have been seen drinking salt water” probably to “to supplement certain minerals lacking in their diet.”

Finally, let me leave you with this pretty image of a plain tiger butterfly, aka African queen or African monarch (Danaus chrysippus)