Archive for the ‘Bird of the week’ Category
Bird of the week – Week 35 : Abdim’s stork
August 29th, 2010 | 
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Posted in Let’s be honest. The Abdim’s stork is not a beautiful bird. Not as immediately repulsive as the Marabou stork, perhaps, but still not a beautiful bird. It is quite graceful in flight, but on the ground it looks quite clumsy and its red eye patch set into blue cheeks gives the impression that its eyes are terribly bloodshot. But perhaps I’m just being unkind. In some African countries it is considered to bring good luck, especially in the form of rain, which is not surprising really, as its migratory pattern follows the rains. Rather usefully (from the stork’s point of view), superstition requires that the bird is left undisturbed.
The Abdim’s stork is a visitor to Southern Africa, most arriving from its breeding grounds in East and West Africa during November and departing again in April. They are gregarious birds, usually found in large flocks, especially where there are plenty of insects. They are quite large birds, although they are the smallest of the storks, about 75 cm in length, and are mainly black, with a purple sheen to their feathers. The belly and rump are white and the bare skin on their cheeks is blue, although this is somewhat duller when they are not breeding. There is a red patch in front of the eyes. The bill and legs are olive green and their toes and knees are red. Sexes are similar, although the males are a little larger than the females.
During the months that they spend in Southern Africa, the Abdim’s storks remain in the more Northerly parts of the region, restricting themselves to the highveld grasslands and parts of the Kalahari. During this time they are largely silent although there is some bill clattering that takes place.
Abdim’s storks feed mainly on insects, lizards, frogs, and army worms. They seem to be especially fond of locusts, grasshoppers and crickets and for this reason in some areas they are known as “grasshopper birds”. Like several other stork species, Abdim’s Storks defecate on their legs to assist with cooling in the hot weather.
The scientific name for the Absdim’s stork is Ciconia abdimii; Ciconia from the Latin for a stork and abdimii being derived from the name of the governor of Wadi Halfa in the Sudan, Bey El-Arnaut Abdim(1780-1827).
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Bird of the week – Week 34 : Rosy-faced lovebird
I think that many people will agree that the Rosy-faced lovebird is one of the most beautiful birds to be found in Namibia. Unfortunately, as with many small birds, their beauty has resulted in them becoming very popular cage birds. It is a fairly small bird, about 15 cm in length, and is very colourful. It is largely bright green, with a face, throat and breast that is rose-pink. The forehead and eyebrow are bright red and the rump is bright blue; legs and feet are grey; the bill yellowish and the eyes brown. It has a short tail, which adds to its dumpy appearance. Sexes are alike, although the red on the head of the males is brighter than that on the females.
It is classified as a “near-endemic” in the Southern African region, and its range lies almost totally within Namibia, overflowing a little in the north into Southern Angola and a little in the south into the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They are locally common, preferring dry woodland areas and the woodlands that follow the watercourses in the dry countryside.
Lovebirds are very gregarious and occur in small flocks. Their flight is fast and for a reason that I can’t explain they remind me of a Spitfire! They drink regularly and several of the photos shown here were taken near waterholes.
Their diet consists of seeds and berries, and they can often be seen foraging through trees seeking out berries and even flowers. They are quite noisy birds that are often heard before they are seen as they fly past, screeching a shrill “shreek” that is quite distinctive.
Rosy-faced lovebirds are monogamous and are colonial breeders, building a cup-nest out of leaves and grass. Unlike most other birds, the female lovebird does not carry the material to build the nest in her bill, but tucks it into her rump feathers for the flight. Nests are built in rock crevices or in the chambers of a Sociable weaver’s nest (cheeky!). The female lays four to six dull white eggs and the chicks hatch after an incubation period of about 23 days.
The scientific name for the Rosy-faced lovebird is Agapornis roseicollis; Agapornis from the Greek for a lovebird and roseicollis from the Latin for a rose-coloured neck. Hence a lovebird with a rose-coloured neck. Well, it is the face that is red rather than the neck, but I suppose that is close enough.
Bird of the week – Week 33 : Laughing dove
The first bird that I photographed when I got a new camera was a Laughing dove. This is not unusual as the Laughing dove is extremely common and this particular specimen was visiting a water bowl at our home. What was perhaps unusual was that when I looked at the first photograph, was that I noticed a mosquito sitting on the bird’s underside. This can be seen in the photo below.
Laughing doves are fairly small as doves go, being about 25 cms in length. The sexes are similar in plumage, the female being slightly paler than the male. They are pinkish grey in colour, and are the only doves in the Southern African region that have pinkish-grey heads, rufous breasts spotted with black and that lack the black collar on the back of the neck. The Afrikaans name for this bird is “Rooiborsduifie” or “Red-chested little dove” which fits its description pretty well. The bird’s belly is white, fading into the pale rufous of the breast. Legs and feet are purplish, the bill is black and the eyes are brown.
The Laughing dove is very widespread, being found throughout Southern Africa and northwards through the rest of Africa as well as parts of Central Asia. It may occur in pairs or small flocks, although solitary birds are not uncommon. It adapts well to the presence of people and is found in most towns and built up areas, where it frequently visits bird feeders. When it forages on the ground it adopts a hunched posture and bobs its bead frequently as it walks with forward with small steps. It feeds mainly on seeds and fallen grain, but will also take insects and snails.
Its bubbling call gives the bird its common name, as the multiple notes “koo-koo-kuRUkuku-koo”, has a distinctive laughing quality about it.
Laughing doves are monogamous and the nest that they build is a small platform of twigs in the fork of a tree or bush. The female lays a clutch of two white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 14 days.
The scientific name of the Laughing dove is Streptopelia senegalensis; Streptopelia from the Greek words for “collar” and “dove”, and senegalensis from the African country of Senegal. Thus a collared dove from Senegal, which is not apt at all as the Laughing dove does not have a collar.
Bird of the week – Week 32: Blue-cheeked bee-eater
It was a rather strange sight to see. A group of Blue-cheeked bee-eaters sitting on a very sandy stretch of road in northern Namibia, and scratching in the sand so like puppies. They didn’t appear to be looking for food as they kicked the sand up behind them, so why they were doing it is a bit of a mystery.
As bee-eaters go, the Blue-cheeked bee-eater is farily large, being about 30 cm in length, the male being slightly larger than the female. The sexes are alike in plumage, being mainly green with light blue eyebrow and brown throat that fades into yellow under the chin. The blue cheeks that give the bird its name become faded as the plumage becomes worn and may not be very noticeable in the field. Legs and feet are brownish in colour and the long, slightly decurved bill is black; the eyes are bright red.
The Blue-cheeked bee-eater is a non-breeding visitor to Southern Africa, where it is limited to the more northerly areas. The birds usually arrive from West or North Africa, where they breed, in mid-October and depart again in April. They are gregarious birds and are often found in large flocks. The roost in groups, shoulder to shoulder along branches in thorny trees or along convenient telephone wires. They prefer moist woodlands, or the edges of lakes, pans, vleis and rivers and are not found in the more arid regions.
These birds feed mainly on insects such as dragonflies, bees and wasps which they hunt over open areas. They often perch on telephone or other wires and swoop down on their prey that the catch in flight, with great success.
The call is a musical “chirirup” that is often made while the birds are in flight.
The scientific binomial for the Blue-cheeked bee-eater is Merops persicus; Merops from the Latin for a bee-eater, and persicus from the Latin for Persia (which is now Iran). Hence a bee-eater from Iran. As the birds breed in the Middle East (among other places) this would seem to be quite appropriate.
Bird of the week – Week 31 : Marico sunbird
The first indication that you are in the presence of a Marico sunbird is often the fairly harsh “chip-chip” or “tjik-tjik,-tjik” as the pair of birds maintain contact with each other. They also have a more pleasant warbling, almost canary-like song, but this is less likely to attract your notice. If there are flowering plants nearby, that is where they are likely to be, moving briskly from flower to flower, probing for nectar through their long, well-adapted, down-curved bills.
As with many of the sunbirds, the male is a very attractive individual, while the female is somewhat drab. They are fairly small birds, about 14 cm in length, and the male is slightly larger than the female. The male is distinguished by a metallic green head, breast and back, with a broad breastband of metallic purple that shades to violet at its upper edge. The belly and the rest of the under parts are black. The female is olive grey above, the under parts pale yellow quite heavily streaked with black. Both sexes have black legs, feet and bills, and dark brown eyes.
They are fairly common residents in the central and northern parts of South Africa and Namibia and then northwards all the way to Ethiopia, preferring the drier areas of Acacias and riparian woodlands. They are also frequent visitors to gardens and parks.
Marico sunbirds are usually solitary or in pairs, although larger numbers may be found together at really good sources of food. In addition to probing for nectar in flowers, these sunbirds feed on many types of insects and spiders which they may glean from plants or catch while in flight.
They are monogamous birds, building an oval nest of grass and other plant material bound with spider webs and with a side entrance. It is usually attached to a thin branch, well above the ground in the canopy. The female lays a clutch of two cream-coloured eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 14 days.
The Marico sunbird was featured on one of the postage stamps issued in Namibia.
The scientific name of the Marico sunbird is Cinnyris mariquensis; Cinnyris from the Greek meaning “shining”, and mariquensis meaning “from the Marico”, the Marico being a district in the North West Province of South Africa. Hence a shining bird from the Marico. Not a bad description, really.
