Recently, our friend “Pinkshade” found notes from the past that included info on what we had seen on our safari to Ngorongoro and Manyara in 1988. As she puts it “It doesn’t seem exhaustive but it reveals the most that we saw at that time… including the (most probably) Black-bellied bustard and the Eulophia welwitschii (terrestrial yellow orchid)! And, the bonus is a map drawn by the warden himself to help us to find the spots! Historical piece!!! To which, very disrespectfully we added some of our notes!”

Ngorongoro & Manyara safari – Fauna and Flora lists – February 1988 (with 4WD, XRay, Khanga, ScoutSpirit and PinkShade)

Dried flower of a terrestrial orchid (probably Eulophia welwitschii), cf. picture below.

List of birds:

• Grey heron
• Black-headed heron
• African sacred ibis
• African spoonbill
• Yellow-billed stork
• Lesser flamingo
• Abdim’s stork
• Saddle-billed stork
• Marabou stork
• Cape teal (or Cape Wigeon)
• Red-billed duck (or Red-billed real)
• Spur-winged goose
• Maccoa duck
• Egyptian goose
• Francolin (undefined)
• Kori bustard
• Black-bellied bustard (cf. photo in post)
• Grey crowned crane
• Spur-winged lapwing (or Black-winged plover)
• Blacksmith plover
• Pied avocet
• Speckled pigeon
• Mousebird (undefined)
• European swallow/Hirundo rustica (migration)
• White stork (migration)
• Lark (undefined)
• Fisher’s sparrow lark
• African stone chat
• Olive thrush
• Fiscal (undefined)
• Tropical boubou
• Yellow bishop
• Superb starling
• Black Kite

Only seen at Manyara:

• Hamerkop
• Greater flamingo
• Knob-billed duck
• Long-crested eagle
• African harrier hawk
• Pale chanting goshawk
• Crowned lapwing
• Namaqua dove
• White-browed coucal
• Lilac-breasted roller
• European roller
• Striped kingfisher
• Little bee-eater
• Hornbill (undefined)
• Ground hornbill
• Wagtail (undefined)
• Red-headed bluebill
• Long-tailed paradise whydah
• Weaver (undefined)
• Red-billed oxpecker
• Pied crows

List of mammals:

• Warthog
• Hippopotamus
• Giraffe
• Eland
• Wildebeest (gnu)
• Kongoni
• Grant’s gazelle
• Thompson’s gazelle
• Buffalo
• Grant’s zebra
• Impalas
• Black rhinoceros (4 individuals)
• Elephant
• Golden jackal
• Spotted hyena
• Lion (a big group and some scattered ones)

Only seen at Manyara:

• Black-backed jackal
• Baboon
• Dik-dik

List of plants:

• Euphorbia kibwezensis
• Heliotrope (undefined)
• Cycnium tubulosum
• Hibiscus (undefined)
• Hibiscus aponeurus
• Pavonia gallaensis
• Crossandra subacaulis
• Commicarpus pedunculosus
• Crinum macowanii
• Commelina sp.
• Eulophia welwitschii (?), terrestrial orchid (cf dried flower above and picture here-under)

Our picture of Eulophia welwitschii (?), to be compared with: http://pza.sanbi.org/eulophia-welwitschii

Only seen at Manyara:

• Baobab
• Euphorbia candelabrum
• Datura stramonium
• Lippia sp. (white)
• Crotalaria agatiflora (Canary bird bush)
• Spathodea campanulate (African tulip tree)
• Kigelia Africana (African sausage tree)
• Gloriosa superba
• Erythrina abyssinica (Coral tree or Flame tree)
• Calotropis procera (Sodom apple)
• Solanum incanum
• Solanum sp.
• Scadoxus multiflorus (slightly north of the aera)

I thank Pinkshade for her contribution!