This is the first of many recordings we made on the beautiful Tiwai Island, one of Sierra Leone’s largest inland islands and a nature reserve preserving one of the last tracts of the Upper Guinea Forest in Sierra Leone. Eight types of hornbills are found on Tiwai, including this beauty, the Yellow-casqued Hornbill, whose whooshing wings and distinctive trumpeting vocalisations are often heard above the forest canopy – especially at this time of year. This is an edited extract from a much longer recording we have of this pair of hornbills. In the background, you’ll hear cracking noises and other movements created by some of Tiwai’s larger animals – including a group of Lesser Spot-nosed Monkeys in the nearby branches. We’d like to thank all the Tiwai Island crew, especially Suzanne for all her help and our guide, Hindowa Kamara, for his patience, knowledge, skill and silence! We’ll be posting several more recordings from Tiwai over the next few days (along with a couple of blog posts to update you on our travels, which have been quite eventful recently…).

Species: Ceratogymna elata
Common name: Yellow-casqued Hornbill, Yellow-casqued Wattled Hornbill
IUCN Red List status: Near threatened
Date and time recorded: 07:17 local time, 23rd December 2009
Location: Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone (view on map)
Equipment: Sennheiser MKH30/40 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Wildlife: Yellow-casqued Hornbill is a post from: Listen to Africa

Giant Eagle Owls are wonderful creatures; they have huge, lidded eyes that make them look a little like gremlins, and they sound a bit like pigs. We were lucky enough to enjoy the presence of two (wild) Giant Eagle Owls at Le Thiossane camp in Senegal, and we spent a few hours sitting near this vocal individual’s tree and gaining its confidence before setting up the recorder. This extract is taken from the hour-long recording we have of this individual.

Species: Bubo lacteus
Common name: Giant Eagle Owl
Date and time recorded: 18:54 local time, 6th September 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Wildlife: Giant Eagle Owl is a post from: Listen to Africa

While we were in the Bandia Reserve, our guide, Mamadou, stopped the vehicle and went off on foot to follow some large tracks. Fifteen minutes later, he came back and told us to follow him, on foot. He led us to a wooded copse, where the Bandia Reserve’s only two (Southern) White Rhinos – an eight year-old pair – were resting. Here are the few seconds we managed to snatch of the female breathing.

Species: Ceratotherium simum
Common name: Southern White Rhinoceros
Date and time recorded: 12:42 local time, 31st August 2009
Location: Bandia Reserve, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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White Rhino is a post from: Listen to Africa

This flock of Village Weavers was busy building nests in a tree just across from the restaurant in the Bandia Reserve. Every now and then the whole flock would suddenly go quiet for one or two seconds before starting up again. In this recording, taken just before the skies opened to rain, we captured one of these silences.

Species: Ploceus cucullatus
Common name: Village (Spotted-Backed) Weaver
Date and time recorded: 13:47 local time, 31st August 2009
Location: Bandia Reserve, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Flock of Village (Spotted-Backed) Weavers is a post from: Listen to Africa

The area around Mbodiene, Senegal, was an ornithologist’s dream: giant eagle owls, pelicans, weavers, terns, gonoleks, bulbuls, and lots and lots of long-tailed starlings, who often carried on singing through the night. We recorded this group of long-tailed starlings as we walked back to camp one afternoon.

Species: Lamprotornis caudatus
Common name: Long-tailed Starling
Date and time recorded: 16:04 local time, 30th August 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Long-tailed Starlings is a post from: Listen to Africa

With apologies to any more sensitive folk who may find this distressing, here’s a python (kept in captivity) killing a chicken at Le Thiossane camp, where we also recorded the pig, hyenas and jackals. At the beginning of the recording, you’ll hear the chicken – which had just been thrown into the enclosure – clucking away, oblivious to the nearby python. We were amazed at how quickly the python struck, and how quickly it was all over for the chicken. The photo was taken around half an hour later.

Date and time recorded: 14:33 local time, 3rd September 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Python killing a chicken is a post from: Listen to Africa

OK, so it’s not exactly Chris Watson’s snoring cheetah, but we’re fond of this recording, and we’re filing it with our wildlife sounds for want of a better category. This sow – living at the same camp as the hyenas and jackals we recorded – was trying to get scraps of food from the bottom of her trough, and blowing bubbles to stop the water getting up her snout…

Date and time recorded: 11:07 local time, 30th August 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Pig blowing bubbles is a post from: Listen to Africa

These two ten month old, orphaned spotted hyaena pups (reared in captivity) were still being bottle fed, partly – a task which both they and Alain (the Frenchman raising them) seemed to love. Here, you can hear Alain feeding them breakfast – four or five bottles of milk each, slurped down in record time.

Species: Crocuta crocuta
Common name: Spotted Hyaena (Hyena)
Date and time recorded: 09:28 local time, 31st August 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Hyaena breakfast time is a post from: Listen to Africa

As well as three jackals, Alain is raising two orphaned spotted hyaenas, now ten months old, which he is also hoping to release into a reserve one day soon. Raised almost entirely in captivity and accustomed to interacting with humans, it was amazing how much this pair resembled pet dogs in their behaviour – although their vocalisations, especially this contact call, were unmistakably hyaena-like.

Species: Crocuta crocuta
Common name: Spotted Hyaena (Hyena)
Date and time recorded: 13:18 local time, 30th August 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Spotted hyaena contact call is a post from: Listen to Africa

These three jackals were hand reared by Frenchman Alain in Western Senegal after they were orphaned (he intends to release them into a reserve if/when possible). Their vocalisations were extremely diverse, including barking and the growling and spitting you’ll hear in this recording. They were especially vocal when the hyenas kept nearby started whining and when humans approached.

Date and time recorded: 17:23 local time, 30th August 2009
Location: Near Mbodiene, Senegal (view on map)
Equipment: Audio-Technica AT897 via FEL MicBooster MB-1 to Fostex FR2LE
Copyright: Listen to Africa
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Jackals is a post from: Listen to Africa