In this week’s episode of Sound Escapes, experience dawn in the Kalahari Desert as the sun rises over the sandy savannah of southern Africa. It’s nearly level at this part of the Kalahari Desert. The trees are widely spaced. There’s almost no available water. You cannot see very far — the heat itself ripples the horizon. "It's a place that's hard for me to imagine any animal being at home," says Gordon Hempton. "But of course they certainly sound like they are."

ID the birds in this episode: Kalahari Sunrise Bird List

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Support for Sound Escapes comes from Jim and Birte Falconer of Seattle.

BirdNote Presents: Sound Escapes is produced by Mark Bramhill and John Kessler. Ashley Ahearn is our editor. Music is by Blue Dot Sessions.

Sound Escapes illustration by Jia-yi Liu