Male Paradise Flycatcher calling

Right at the end of our first trek in Ranomafana we had my first highlight of the area. We were walking along a path back to the car park when something moved in the leaf litter; a tiny Brown Leaf Chameleon (brookesia superciliaris).

As you can see from one of the photos below, this critter was also tiny just like the leaf-tailed gecko and just like the gecko is endemic to Madagascar.

Obviously due to its size they not easy to find despite them being abundant through the park. It was my first opportunity to crawl around in the mud and leaves to get an 'eye-level' shot of this chameleon. Fortunately with the park being dry I was able to shake off most of the dirt once I was done.

The guide picked up the chameleon and moved him off the path to the safety of the other side amongst foliage. It could have quite easily been trampled by us or anyone else walking through the park as well as being picked off by predators otherwise.