Marabou City

Here's a handsome fellow!

I first visited Kampala in March 1994, when I was based in Nairobi working for the International Red Cross. I have three main memories of that visit: the seemingly-endless drive from Entebbe Airport to Kampala (the longest 40 km in the world); dinner with the Red Cross Head of Delegation at a roadside restaurant in Kabalagala - and the subsequent introduction to his favourite nightcap - a blend of whisky and amaretto (!); and my first encounter with the urban Marabou Stork.

These massive, repulsive birds are scavenger-predators and, alongside the kites which patrol Kampala's skies and the pi-dogs that lurk on every street corner, perform that invaluable service of disposing of the carrion, human detritus and rodent pests which would otherwise make Kampala a far less attractive city in which to reside. The main abattoir in Kampala's industrial area is a prized hang-out, as are the mounds of rubbish which attend most Kampala food markets. Despite its unpleasant appearance, most of us living here become rather fond of this silent, ungainly and ugly bird, which is now to be found in many towns and cities throughout East & Southern Africa.