The Perfect Palette

The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.

As is to be expected when venturing out in the Serengeti, there are many different groups on tours, all hoping to catch a glimpse of something special. My group was one of many – far too many to count – and by this point we had spent close to a week with our trusted and skilled tour guide roaming through the savannah, witnessing one majestic scene after another.

Something that I absolutely was not expecting to see was the most incredible, iridescent blue of the Superb Starling bird – a fitting name if ever there was one!

The young girl in me almost literally leapt for joy at seeing such a stunning blue shining amongst the dust of the savannah. From a somewhat frivolous perspective, I was absolutely smitten with this bird from the start, for reasons harking back to my childhood. I remember strolling through the nail polish area of the pharmacy as a child and staring at the metallic blue polishes with such awe – blue is a perennial favourite of mine and has been for longer than I can recall. At first, I was too young to have polish on my nails, and as I got older and started biting my nails, they became far too short to support nail polish of any kind. I still purchased them regardless, but year after year, the polishes would sit unused in my bathroom, where they remain to this day. Birds have similarly been a long-term fascination of mine. When asked as a child – and as an adult – what my superpower might be if such a thing were possible, my answer is always the same: to fly, not like a plane or a superhero, but like a bird,

So, the satisfaction and pure joy of seeing a few of my favourite things, combined, and in the most magical of environments, was just remarkable. These birds are apparently quite common in Tarangire National Park, however we saw them only once while there.

We learned that these birds feed mainly at the ground level, and so it was therefore no surprise to see one roaming around the bins at the campsite, though they typically feed on insects, worms, and grains.

Though they appear fairly reasonably sized, I recall being taken aback by how small they seemed, which was in direct contrast to how bold and brave they were. They seemed mostly unperturbed by our presence, whereas I might have expected them to flee at the sight of us. It was a relief to hear that, despite their open nature and their stunning features, they weren’t an endangered bird and are not facing a high risk of extinction at this point in time.

This one starling in particular was generous enough to allow me to follow along behind him while he foraged on the ground, until eventually settling on a branch in a thornbush tree. I remember being transfixed by the contrast of the black head, the orange belly, the dotted black wingtips, the beady white eyes. I took a number of photos and only ever needed to adjust the lighting afterwards; the colours were so rich and intense that little else needed to be done to the picture. To say I was captivated by the Superb Starling would be an understatement, and I’ll be forever grateful for being able to witness such an exquisitely vivid bird in the wild.