Tag: Bird of the week

Bird of the week #69: Common Starling

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Bird of the week

Common Starling

In South Africa, the common starling was introduced in 1897 by Cecil Rhodes. It spread slowly, and by 1954, had reached Clanwilliam and Port Elizabeth. It is now common in the southern Cape region, thinning out northwards to the Johannesburg area.

It is present in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape and the Free State provinces of South Africa and lowland Lesotho, with occasional sightings in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and around the town of Oranjemund in Namibia. In Southern Africa populations appear to be resident and the bird is strongly associated with man and anthropogenic habitats. It favours irrigated land and is absent from regions where the ground is baked so dry that it cannot probe for insects. It may compete with native birds for crevice nesting sites, but the indigenous species are probably more disadvantaged by destruction of their natural habitat than they are by inter-specific competition. It breeds from September to December and outside the breeding season may congregate in large flocks, often roosting in reedbeds. It is the most common bird species in urban and agricultural areas. Wikipedia

Common Starling

Bird of the week #68: Pied Avocet

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Bird of the week

Pied Avocet – Bontelsie (Afrikaans)

Striking and essentially unmistakable, with elegant shape, boldly pied plumage, long bluish-gray legs, and long, slender, upcurved bill. Curve is stronger on female. Usually breeds in small colonies; nesting birds call noisily. Nonbreeding flocks locally number in hundreds. Feeds while wading or swimming, sweeping its bill side to side. Most common in coastal wetlands and brackish lagoons and estuaries, but will also appear inland, particularly on or near large lakes.

Bird of the week #67: Little Egret

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Bird of the week

Little Egrets can be found in suitable habitat across most of sub-Saharan Africa, as well as southern Europe, southern Asia and the Middle East. In South Africa it can be found in most areas with water habitats. They are not shy and can often be seen stalking prey along the waters edge.

birds
Little Egret

Little Egret in the Berg River Estuary

Afrikaans name: Kleinwitreier

Pairs make their nest out of sticks. It may be placed in a tree or bush, or even in a reedbed. They normally nest in colonies, often in close proximity to other species. Between 3 and 5 eggs are laid and are tended to by both adults.

Bird of the week #65: Pied kingfisher

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Bird of the week

The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species of water kingfisher widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single broken breast band. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail.

The pied kingfisher is the largest bird in the world that is able to hover without using air currents. This means it doesn’t need a perch to hunt for fish, but can do so from the middle of a lake.

The Pied Kingfisher, (Afrikaans name, Bontvisvanger) is a common resident at freshwater wetlands, coastal lagoons and tidal pools.

Permission granted to use this photo  by Andriette Pretorius Photography

Bird of the week #63: Hoopoe

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Bird of the week

birds
Hoepoe in Afrikaans

Hoopoes are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive “crown” of feathers which can be raised or lowered at will. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single species—Upupa epops. In fact, some taxonomists still consider all three species conspecific. Some authorities also keep the African and Eurasian hoopoe together but split the Madagascar hoopoe. The Eurasian hoopoe is common in its range and has a large population, so it is evaluated as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, their numbers are declining in Western Europe. Conversely, the hoopoe has been increasing in numbers at the tip of the South Sinai, Sharm el-Sheikh. There are dozens of nesting pairs that remain resident all year round.

Formerly considered a single species, the hoopoe has been split into three separate species: the Eurasian hoopoe, Madagascar hoopoe and the resident African hoopoe. One accepted separate species, the Saint Helena hoopoe, lived on the island of St Helena but became extinct in the 16th century, presumably due to introduced species, Wikipedia

Bird of the week #62: Cape Wagtail

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Birds of the week

Other common names: Gewone Kwikkie (Afrikaans); Umcelu (Xhosa); umVemve (Zulu); Bergeronnette du Cap (French); Kapstelze (German).

The Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis), also known as Wells’s wagtail, is a small insectivorous bird which is widespread in southern Africa. It frequents water’s edge, lawns and gardens. It is a mostly resident, territorial species, but has been known to undertake limited altitudinal migration or form flocks outside of the breeding season. Like other wagtails they are passerinebirds of the family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits and longclaws. Wikipedia

Cape Wagtail in my garden

Cape wagtails are found in eastern and southern Africa from Uganda, the eastern DRCongo and Kenya, through Zambia and Angola to southern Africa, south to the Western Cape and the Cape of Good Hope.

Cape wagtails can be found in almost any habitat that has open ground adjacent to water, and also along the rocky coastline, in farms, villages, cultivated land, parks, gardens and urban centres.

Kwikkie (Cape wagtail) -Don’t look at me!

The Cape wagtail is a monogamous, territorial solitary nester, and breeding pairs stay together over a number of breeding seasons. Like many territorial birds, the males will fiercely attack their own reflection when seen in mirrors or windows. The nest is built by both sexes and consists of a cup made of a wide range of materials, both natural and artificial, which is lined with hair, rootlets, wool and feathers. The nest is situated in a recess within a steep bank, tree, or bush, or in a man-made location such as a hole in a wall, a pot plant, or a bridge. It breeds all year round but, egg-laying peaks from July until December (mid-winter to early summer). Between one and five eggs are laid, which both parents take turns incubating for 13–15 days. Once hatched, the chicks are fed by both parents, until they leave the nest after 14–18 days. Once fledged, the adults continue to feed them for another 20–25 days, and the young become fully independent around 44 days – 60 days after fledging.