16 Dec 2019: Santo Antonio

My guest house, Residencial Apresentacao, was situated near the beachfront on the banks of a small river in the rural town of Santo Antonio. A leisurely stroll along the river soon found me ticking three new endemics – a Principe Sunbird that I could not entice out of the thick bush from where it was calling, a Principe Kingfisher that looks very similar to the Malachite Kingfisher of the mainland, and a few Principe Golden Weavers. Feeling a bit peckish I stopped at a local house that also served meals and pantomimed that I wished to eat. The lady of the house nodded, and a few minutes later I was served a scrumptious fish stew brimming with so much fresh fish that I was unable to finish off the dish. I had found my diner for the next few days.

Principe Kingfisher, Principe

Later the afternoon I crossed the river and hiked up a dirt track leading into the interior. This turned into a 15-kilometre hike through rainforest and farmland to the village of Bela Vista. The high humidity and lack of drinking water were counterbalanced by the abundant birdlife. Noisy congregations of Principe Glossy Starlings gathered in the cocoa plantations while the secretive but vociferous Dorn’s Thrush Babbler stared at me from the deep recesses of the undergrowth. Higher into the hills the difficult to find Principe Drongo flew over the road. The fact that it is the only drongo found on the island made for easy identification. A bumpy ride on the backseat of a motorcycle taxi saved me a long and exhausting walk back to Santo Antonio. That evening, while enjoying the beautiful sunset from the veranda of the guesthouse, I watched flocks of Grey Parrots heading into the forest to their overnight roosts.