Wilkinson's World

The adult male has a black crown; white supercilium and a black eye-stripe; the back is black with a tawny stripe, the rump is black but with a white tip and white edges to the outer feathers. The under parts are white and it has rufous flanks. The female, which is similar in size, has duller black upperparts and less rufous colouring on the flanks.

The Brubru is insectivorous and gleans insects from the leaves and twigs in the upper and mid canopy of large trees. It will occasionally hawk insects in mid-air. The call of the male, usually made from a perch high up in a tree, is a loud “preeeeee“, and pairs may call in duet, with the female responding to the male’s call with a softer “eeeu“.

Brubrus are monogamous and build a cup nest of twigs and grass in the forked branches of a tree and hide it well, often camouflaging it with clumps of lichen. The female lays a clutch of two or three greenish eggs that are blotched with green or brown, and which hatch after an incubation period of approximately 19 days.

The scientific binomial for the Brubru is Nilaus afer;  Nilaus has a rather odd derivation – it is an anagram of Lanius, the genus of true shrikes, and afer is from the Latin for “from Africa”. Thus a shrike from Africa, which is an apt description for dozens of species!

Be that as it may, they are interesting animals to observe.  Chacma baboons move around in troops of fifty or more, lead by both an alpha male and female.  The large alpha male, weighing in at about 32 kgs, does most of the mating in the troop and his existence revolves around maintaining his dominance.  Fights break out when young males try to mate with females or usurp the alpha male’s position.  They have a strict behavioural and dominance code, even when it comes to troop movements.

The lifespan of a baboon is between eighteen to thirty years.  They mate throughout the year and females give birth to a single offspring after a gestation period of six months.  Young babies cling to the underside of their mothers initially and as they grow older, they move onto her back where they are supported by her tail.

The weaning period is between six and eight months.  Although there is a very close bond between mother and baby, all babies are protected by the other females in the group.  Females have babies every two years.

Their diet consists of fruit, roots, bulbs, insects and sometimes very young buck.  They can be domesticated, (see our story on Bobby the baboon at Namibgrens, who thinks he is a goat), but it should be remembered that they are wild animals and can be extremely aggressive towards humans, especially if there is food around or mothers feel that their babies are threatened.

In their troops they are very sociable and spend hours grooming and playing with each other.

The Latin name for the Chacma baboon is Papio cynocephalus ursinus.

They are fairly large birds, with a length of approximately 56 cm and are very distinctive with their round bodies which are black and heavily spotted with white; their heads are small, with red facial skin and a red or yellow bony casque contrasting with the blue skin of the upper neck and cheeks. Wings are short and rounded and the tail is also short. Legs and feet are black; eyes brown and the bill yellow. The females and males are alike in plumage colouration and the males are slightly larger than the females.

Helmeted guineafowl are found throughout large parts of Africa south of the Sahara, and have been introduced into a number of other countries as diverse as France and Brazil. In southern Africa they are widespread, inhabiting areas from those of semi-desert to those of heavy rainfall.

They are omnivorous, feeding on insects as well as grain, seeds, roots and berries.

Helmeted guineafowl can be quite noisy, with a loud staccato call “kek-kek-kek-kek” and often with many birds calling at the same time.

Helmeted guineafowl are monogamous  and their nests are just shallow scrapes in the ground, usually well concealed in patches of grass or in thickets of bushes. The female lays a clutch of six to twelve eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 28 days.

The scientific binomial for the Helmeted guineafowl is Numida meleagris; Numida from the Latin for Nubia, an ancient region is northern Sudan and southern Egypt, and meleagris from Meleager, a hero venerated in Greek mythology, Thus a Greek mythological hero from the ancient region of Nubia. Just what this description has to do with a spotted fowl-like bird escapes me entirely!

 

The farm Weener, where we planned to camp overnight, is about 17 kms off the main gravel road (the C26) and getting there is an adventure in itself.  Just before reaching the farm, the road passes through a narrow gap in the mountain and runs alongside a deep gorge.  Going over the edge is not an option!  We were given the campsite aptly named “Panorama” with stunning views over the hills and folds on the low-lying Namib desert in the west.  What a magnificent campsite – highly recommended.  The bird-life and walks on the farm are worth going back for in the future.

But this weekend was mainly about climbing the Gamsberg.  We left early on Sunday morning and drove the 4×4 track through the farm Dradiwawal to the base of the mountain.  It was a beautiful day and Gamsberg loomed above us in all its splendour.

The steep track was relentless from the word go.  An hour and a half later, after gasping my way up numerous switchbacks, I joined (a much fitter) Rob at the top and we marvelled at the views of the Hakos Mountains in the north.  Wow!  The views alone were worth the effort.

There were some buildings at the top, probably part of the observatory established in 1970 by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy when this area was identified as a top site in the southern hemisphere for astronomical observations.  The clear Namibian skies are exceptional for star-gazing and the desert conditions add to the suitability of the site.  It would have been useful to have had a guide to enlighten us more on this.

We spent some time at the top, looking at the views and the plants and just getting our breath back for the descent.  The walk down, although much quicker, was harsh on the knees, but we made it back safely, happy with our morning’s excursion and exertion.  The beautiful unspoilt scenery and the privilege of having shared the mountain with no-one but its animal and feathered inhabitants was a rare treat.

A fairly small, dumpy bird with a length of about 15 cm, the females and males are similar in plumage colouration and the females are slightly bigger than the males.  They are rather drab birds, with brown to dark brown upper parts and under parts that are off-white to grey-brown.  The rump and outer tail feathers are orange while the central tail feathers and the tip of the tail are dark brown.  Bill, legs and feet are black; eyes are brown.

 

The Familiar chat is usually fairly tame and often approaches campsites and other habitation.  They are most often found on rocky hillsides, rocky outcrops and sparsely vegetated areas.  It often sits out in the open, perching on any raised stone, tree or fence post and has a habit of flicking its wings every time it moves.  It may be seen singly or in small groups.

The song of the Familiar chat is a soft garbled collection of peeps and chirps, while the alarm call is a much louder and harsher “chak-chak-chak”.

 

The Familiar chat hunts by flying down from its perch and taking its prey on the ground or may hawk flying insects from the air.  It also gleans insects from leaves and picks spiders from their webs.  It feeds mainly on insects, spiders, centipedes, and, when close to human habitation, food scraps and even pet food.

The Familiar chat is monogamous and builds a cup-shaped nest of soft plant material, feathers, wool or other soft material.  The nest may be placed in a variety of sites such as on the ground, in a tree, in old bird’s nests or in nesting boxes provided by obliging humans.  The female lays a clutch of two to four bright greenish-blue eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 15 days.

 

The scientific binomial for the Familiar chat is Cercomela familiaris; Cercomela from the Greek for “black tail” and familiaris from the Latin for “familiar”.  Thus a familiar bird with a black tail, which describes any number of birds, including this one.