Country Aside Adventures

29/06/2025

Diederik cuckoo

Diederik Cuckoo.

The diederik cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius), formerly dideric cuckoo or didric cuckoo is a member of the cuckoo family of birds, Cuculidae, which also includes the roadrunners and the anis.

The diederik cuckoo is a smallish cuckoo at 18 to 20 cm. Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe and a short, green malar stripe. All remiges have three to four white spots on the inner vanes. The four green outer tail feathers are tipped white, and the outermost pair are spotted white on both vanes.

Females show more copper above, and have coppery barring on the flanks. The underparts are often washed brownish.

Juveniles have a red bill, streaky throat and a white wing-bar. They are more copper-coloured above and browner below than the females, and the flank markings are brown blotches.

The Diederik cuckoo is widespread throughout this region, from West to East Africa and across most of Southern Africa.

📸: Derek Keats.

29/06/2025

🌟 Meet the Bat-Eared Fox! 🌟

With its large, captivating ears and expressive face, the bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) is not your typical predator. Found mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, this small and nocturnal creature is a marvel of nature. Despite its striking, bat-like ears that help it listen for insects underground, it's not the fierce hunter you might imagine.

Instead, the bat-eared fox primarily feeds on insects like termites and beetles, using its sensitive hearing to locate its prey with pinpoint accuracy. 🦇🐾

This fascinating creature has an unusual charm and is a perfect example of how nature blends utility with beauty. With its unique features, it reminds us that every animal, no matter how quirky, plays an essential role in the ecosystem. 🌿💚

29/06/2025

You’re looking at Madagascar’s apex shadow — and it’s not a cat, not a dog… but something in between.

Meet the fossa — a predator so unique, it needed its own branch on the evolutionary tree. With the agility of a leopard and the snarl of a hyena, it rules the forests with unmatched ferocity.

Its long tail keeps it balanced in the trees. Its flexible ankles let it climb down headfirst. And those teeth? They crush through lemur bone like paper.

Here’s the twist: though it looks like a wild mix of creatures, the fossa belongs to the mongoose family. Evolution sculpted it into a perfect hunter — lean, muscular, silent.

Lemurs fear it. Biologists respect it. Because when the fossa moves… the forest holds its breath.

29/06/2025

Curl-crested Aracari(pteroglossus beauharnaisii)

Curl-crested Aracari (Pteroglossus beauharnaisii) in Brazil by Paul Bratescu.

29/06/2025

Serval

Spots, speed, and satellite ears—the Serval is the wild cat built for the perfect pounce! 🐆🎯🌾

The Serval (Leptailurus serval) is a sleek, long-legged feline native to the grasslands and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa. With its golden coat splashed in bold black spots and stripes, and oversized ears that act like radar, it's a master of stealth hunting. The serval boasts the highest success rate of any wild cat, thanks to its powerful legs that launch it over 10 feet in the air to sn**ch birds mid-flight or strike rodents with pinpoint precision. Elegant, elusive, and engineered for the hunt—this is Africa’s spotted stalker.

29/06/2025

Rain forest animals

The Malayan Civet (Viverra tangalunga), also known as the Oriental Civet, is a striking and easily recognizable mammal native to Southeast Asia. With its greyish coat adorned with numerous black spots, dark legs, and a long tail featuring black bands, this civet stands out in the rainforest.

Weighing between 3.5 to 4.5 kg, it is a small, agile animal that is primarily terrestrial but also an excellent climber. Despite its cat-like appearance, the Malayan Civet is more closely related to weasels and mongooses.

Malayan Civets are solitary, nocturnal creatures that spend their nights foraging on the forest floor and occasionally climbing trees in search of food or safety. They are omnivorous, feeding on a diverse diet that includes rodents, lizards, snakes, frogs, insects, fruit, eggs, and even some roots.

25/06/2025

Travel with us and meet our super guide the mad onks ,who have been in tourism industry more than 20 years , with life time experience of camping safaris 💪🤠🐃🐘🐆🦏🦛🦒🐿️🐒🦩🦅🦂🦗🐞🦋

24/06/2025

Adventure with the mad onks through out Botswana, makgadikgadi,Nxai pan, central Kalahari, Maun,moremi, khwai, Savuti and chobe river front