garden photography : A Bokmakierie in my garden

In March Jude is  looking for Wildlife in the Garden

The bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus) is a bush shrike.

This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, with an isolated population in the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.

It is a species of open habitats, including karoo scrub, fynbos and parks and gardens in urban areas. The bulky cup nest is constructed in a hedge, a scrub or tree fork.

The adult bokmakierie is a 22–23 cm long bird with olive-green upperparts and a  bright yellow tip to the black tail.

The bokmakierie has a range of loud whistles and calls, often given in duet, but the most typical is the one that gives this species its name, bok-bok-mak-kik.