61. Orange-breasted Bushshrike No black and white bird here: with a dark grey cap and black mask, a bright yellow forehead, eye-brow stripe and throat, and the lovely orange wash over the yellow breast and belly, the Orange-breasted Bushshrike is highly colourful. It’s shy and not often seen in the open: though widespread within its range, I was lucky to see it here. Was it a male or a female I saw? They look the same: but only the females do the amazing work of producing and laying eggs. Eggs are a brilliantly ingenious way of allowing growth to take place outside the bird’s body, which doesn’t have to lug it around like the mammals. A cell from the ovaries grows, forms a yolk and begins the journey down the oviduct to meet, hopefully, a viable sperm (though an unfertilised egg will also continue and be laid infertile). With membranes and albumen (i.e. the protein-rich ‘white’) added, the shell develops from calcium deposited on the outer membrane. Appropriate colours are added as it proceeds: spots, blotches or streaks are added as it passes colouring points, and (here’s the clever part) swirls made by rotating the egg. All birds’ eggs are beautiful, but some are exquisite. Birds of AFRICAMA House 126 Birds of AFRICAMA House 127