The White-necked Rockfowl, also known as the Yellow-headed Picathartes, is one of the most extraordinary birds I have ever seen. This much sought-after species has an unmistakeable bare yellow head, and flits between trees and branches like an agile monkey!
Our small group had to suffer the heat and humidity of a tropical rainforest in Ghana, West Africa, walking uphill for an hour before reaching a small clearing at the foot of a rocky outcrop in the late afternoon. Here this remarkable bird lives in a small colony and makes its nest on the rockface. We were in luck… after an hour or so sat on wooden benches, swatting Sweat Bees buzzing around our ears, we were rewarded with glimpses of four or five birds that came into view then quickly disappeared in the mix of trees, undergrowth and rocks.
By dusk, it was not only difficult to see the birds in the gloom, but almost impossible to obtain a decent photograph. These very grainy images, taken at my camera's maximum ISO number, are selected from just six shots taken in the space of about 20 minutes!
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