Wilkinson's World

A large bird with a length of approximately 53 cm, the males and females are similar in plumage colouration and the males are a little larger than the females.  Crown and neck are blue-grey and the rest of the upperparts are sandy-brown.  Under parts are whitish.  Eyes are brown, legs yellow and the bill is black with yellowish-pink base.

 Ruppell’s korhaans are usually found in pairs or small family groups and are omnivorous feeders, eating insects, small reptiles and vegetable matter.  They feed while walking slowly forward and peck at the ground ahead of their feet.  Their call is a deep, frog-like croak, usually taking the form of a duet.

 Ruppell’s korhaans are monogamous and one to three cream or buff eggs are laid directly on the rocky ground without the benefit of a nest, although a shallow scrape may be prepared to contain the eggs.

The scientific binomial for the Ruppell’s korhaan is Eupodotis rueppellii; Eupodotis from the Greek for a “small bustard” and rueppellii after the German explorer Wilhelm Ruppell.  Thus Ruppell’s small bustard, which is not very descriptive, but an accurate name nevertheless.

Milestones like this give us a chance to reflect on the places we’ve been to and the things we’ve been privileged to have seen on our various trips.  A few places have been revisited, but Rob’s meticulous records show that we have been to sixty-six different campsites over the last five years.  Some have been chosen for the birds that are endemic to the area, whilst others have been picked for their hiking opportunities, remoteness, beauty and convenience as stop-overs en route to exciting destinations.  The campsites in Namibia and Botswana never disappopint us and we come away from every camp-out with wonderful memories and great experiences.  Most campsites have resident birds and animals with their own peculiar quirks and they just make each place extra special!

If anyone had to ask us which has been our favourite campsite, we would be hard-pressed to come up with an outright winner, although I’ve made it clear over the years that Ameib Ranch in the Erongo Mountains has a very special place in my heart.  Camping in the Central Kalahari and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in Botswana is an unparalleled experience, with entertainment put on every day by the wild animals and birds.  Where else can you watch a lion kill in solitude, or have lions walking past you as you sit around a campfire talking about the day’s events?

We’ve seen African sunsets, the Milky Way in magnificent starry splendour and heard the haunting cry of the Fish Eagle when we’ve camped on river banks and lakes.  And how about seeing the early morning sun hitting a hunting cheetah!  Magic stuff!

We stay in lodges sometimes – some luxurious and others very basic – and our consensus is always that they cannot compete with the outdoor experience.  Camping is still our absolute favourite form of accommodation!  Here’s looking forward to the next one hundred and fifty nights and all the wonderful nature experiences that await us!

The Burchell’s coucal is near endemic to the southern African region, being limited to the east and south of the region – the regions with higher rainfall – and generally preferring areas with dense vegetation, such as thickets and reed beds.  Although often heard, they are less often seen as they mostly remain hidden in the thick vegetation.  They are generally found in pairs.

Burchell’s coucals are fairly large birds, with a length of approximately 41 cm.  Males and females are alike in plumage colouration, and the females are slightly larger than the males.  They have black heads and tails; back and wings are rufous-brown and underparts are white.  Eyes are red; bills, legs and feet are black.

They are voracious when feeding, hunting small mammals such as mice and rats, reptiles such as lizards and chameleons, small birds such as doves and sparrows, a variety of insects and amphibians such frogs and toads.  Unusually for a bird, when hunting they may stalk after mice in the manner of a domestic cat.  Occasionally they will also eat fruit.

Burchell’s coucals are monogamous, and the males build an untidy deep cup-shaped nest of grass and leaves, usually in dense vegetation.  The females lay a clutch of two to five chalky-white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 15 days.

 

The scientific binomial for the Burchell’s coucal is Centropus burchellii; Centropus from the Greek for “spiked foot”, referring to the hallux claw possessed by most coucals, and burchellii after the naturalist William Burchell.  Thus Burchell’s bird with a spiked foot, which is a strange description to say the least.

 

Horned Adders are not that big as snakes go, being between 250 and 400 mm in length.  Our latest find was a very young snake, we could hardly discern its little horns.

The venom of Horned Adders is mildly cytotoxic, causing necrosis, pain and swelling.  Their fangs are situated in the front of their mouths and are quite large.  Interestingly enough, small snakes are purported to be more poisonous than large snakes of their own species, the reason being that small venomous snakes inject all their poison at once when biting a victim, as opposed to adult snakes that limit the venom delivered with each bite so that they can strike more than once.  So it’s not the potency of the venom that counts here, but the amount of venom delivered in each bite that causes the damage.

Their skin colours and patterns vary according to their geographical situation.  We’ve noticed differences in snakes found in various locations in Namibia.  The specimens found here are much lighter than those found in the central Cape, which are greyer and a dark olive brown colour.

We were worried that this snake would be run over by a passing car, so Rob tried to coax it of the road with a stick.  It immediately coiled up and faced him, hissing loudly.  Eventually he managed to persuade it to move off and it slid away – looking very much like a side-winder the way it shuffled away.

These snakes eat small rodents, birds, lizards and frogs.  They breed in summer and normally have up to eight young ones (and sometimes a lot more).  They’re easy to recognize as their heads are triangular with a single horn over each eye.

Acknowledgements :  A Guide to the Reptiles of Southern Africa – Graham Alexander & Johan Marais

 

 

 

Little bee-eaters are fairly common and are found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, although in the southern African region they are found predominantly in the north and east.  As suggested by its name, bee-eaters eat bees (surprise!) but they also eat wasps, hornets and other flying insects.  They generally hunt from an open perch, often less than a metre above the ground, flying out briefly to seize a passing insect while in flight.  Prey in bill, the bird returns to its perch and hits its prey repeatedly on a branch or other hard surface in order to remove the sting before swallowing the morsel.

Generally found in pairs or small family groups, the Little bee-eater calls with a soft “seep-seep”. Within their range they are fairly common birds and they are often to be seen perched close together on a branch or telephone wire.

They are monogamous and are solitary nesters, constructing an unlined nest at the end of a tunnel burrowed into a sandy bank, or into the sand above an Aardvark hole.  The length of the tunnel varies but may be well over a metre long.  The female lays a clutch of four to six eggs that hatch after an incubation period of around 20 days.  The nest may be parasitized by the Greater honeyguide (Indicator indicator).

The scientific binomial for the Little bee-eater is Merops pusillus; Merops from the Greek for “a bee-eater” and pusillus from the Latin for “very small”.  Thus a very small bee-eater.  Can’t say better than that.