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Asrat

@asratag.bsky.social

460 followers 470 following 460 posts

Nature, Culture, Society - in that order All pictures/videos I post here are mine unless specified otherwise. Researcher @ZEF, University of Bonn

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Feb 19

H.D.
"The Walls Do Not Fall"

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 7d

A life well lived.

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 8d

Could be either. The sexes are not dymorphic in this case.

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 8d

Ignore the matching feet and beak. Ignore the larger than life pose. Nothing extra ordinary there, anyone can do it. But the splash of dazzling velvet across the face ... that is what makes you a fashion icon.
African Pygmy Kingfisher
📍Bahirdar, Ethiopia
🪶 #nature #fashion #colors

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 9d

Nature's paintings
Nature does some of its best paintings on bugs
From left to right - clockwise
Bandit Shieldbug
Ladybird Bug
Picasso Bug
Jewel Bug

#Nature #Bugs #art

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 9d

Clip is from FRAproductions; link 👇
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX-q...

RIAT 2025 Highlights #1: Arrivals, Training, Air2Air: IL-78, JF-17, C-5, E-3F, U-2, C-17...

YouTube video by FRAproductions

www.youtube.com

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 9d

A new species of eagle, made of metal, has been documented for the first time.
Haliaeetus metallum
🪶
Magnificent livery!

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 11d

No one guessed, but here is the answer any way.
Vulterine Guinefoul
🪶

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 12d

Feathers on Friday
Guess the bird
🪶

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 17d

Some rock formations from Borena, Ethiopia

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 19d

It's #Flyday folks!
So, here is an African Fish-Eagle flying away with the dismembered head of a catfish. Like most birds of prey, the African Fish-Eagle is a hunter. But it won't say no to a free meal. This particular head of a catfish was left over from the local fishermen.
📍Bahirdar, Ethiopia
🪶

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 21d

Yeah, that would have been my first choice - who doesn't want bigger prints! But it is a bit out of my budget as well. Thanks a lot for sharing your experience.

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 21d

I would love to hear your thoughts about the printer. Have been thinking of getting a good printer for a while now but I haven't gotten around to making it happen yet. Was considering the PRO-300 but this looks to be a newer version?

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 23d

Ayaye!
Let's get them feet moving yal all!
The Konso have some nice groves. If I was a music producer, I would have signed these bunch in a heartbeat
Konso, Ethiopia
#music #art #africa #indigenous #dance

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · 29d

It's #Twosday, innit?
So, how about a faceoff between two bishops?
Yellow-crowned Bishop
🌍 Bahirdar, Ethiopia 🇪🇹
🪶 #birds #nature

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Sep 7

Starlings on Sunday
Africa has some of the most colorful starlings in the world. From left to right
Golden-breasted Starling
Suberb Starling
White-crowned Starling (quite odd looking, more like a crow than a starling)
Violet-backed Starling
All photographed in Ethiopia
🪶 #birds #starlings #nature

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Sep 5

When not in flight, those fiery red wing feathers are tucked away neatly.

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Sep 5

It's #Flyday folks!
Ruspoli's Turaco in flight.
Borena, Ethiopia
🪶 #birds

A turaco in flight displaying it's fiery red outer feathers

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Sep 4

The Tiny Cisticola is ... well, really tiny. One of those few cases where a bird's name actually describes it.
Borena, Ethiopia
🪶 #birds #ornithology

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Sep 3

That is a giant lion!

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 31

In a tiny corner of the world, residing in an area that's just 2400 km square, there lives a crow that is quite unlike any other.
Stresemann's Bushcrow.
Borena, Ethiopia
🪶 #birda

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 19

There is no Planet B.
Karat, Konso 🇪🇹

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 8

The Red-cheeked Cordonbleu on the other hand has both a red spot on its cheeks, and a blue ribbon around its eyes (and most of its belly and chest but let's ignore that little detail). So, it is not impossible to give descriptive names to birds.
#Ornithology #Birds
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Konso 🇪🇹

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 8

Mousebird looking for a mouse amidst the branches
Well, not really. The Mousebird doesn't eat mice, nor does it really look like a mouse. So why the name then?
#ornithology
Speckled Mousebird; Konso, Ethiopia.
🪶 #birds

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Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 6

They are not just relics from the past, not just remains from a bygone age. They are an integral element of identity and a link between the past and the present.
#Heritage
#KonsoCulturalLandscape
#UNESCO
#WorldHeritage

Asrat @asratag.bsky.social · Aug 6

That these dry walls have survived for several hundred years, with little to no maintenance, is testament to the engineering skills of the people who built them. And the fact that they have been kept largely intact, even when they lost their original function, is testament to the generations after.