Wilkinson's World

In flight the Southern pale chanting goshawk, when seen from below, appears to be white (it is in fact very pale grey) with black primary flight feathers.

The Southern pale chanting goshawk, near-endemic to the southern African region, prefers open semi-desert areas, where the bushes and thorn trees are fairly low. It is usually a somewhat quiet bird, but it has a melodious whistling chant “kleeu-kleeu-kleeu”  that has given it both its common name and its scientific name.

This little raptor eats mainly small mammals, lizards and insects, but will also take small birds or small reptiles. It may hunt from a perch, but is often seen on the ground and may run after its prey. Sometimes it will follow smaller mammals, like jackals, to feed on the insects and other suitable prey that is flushed by their passing.

The female Southern pale chanting goshawk might pair up with a single male, or two males and a female may form a polyandrous trio. They build a relatively small cup-shaped nest of sticks, usually well above the ground in an acacia tree, and the female lays a clutch of one or two pale blue or pale green eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 35 days. It is common for only one youngster to be raised even if two eggs are laid.

The scientific binomial for the Southern pale chanting goshawk is Melierax canorus; Melierax from the Greek for a “melodious hawk”; and canorus from the Latin meaning “to sing”. Someone was certainly impressed with this birds vocalizations!

The bill of the Greater flamingo is a distinctive shape, curving downwards, and is pink with a black tip. In flight their long necks are stretched out in front and their long legs trail behind, once again rendering them very distinctive. Young birds lack the pink or red of their elders and are a rather dull grey and white.

Greater flamingoes have a very extensive range, being found in Africa, Asia and parts of southern Europe. Their preferred habitat is shallow coastal lagoons and mudflats, where they use their feet to stir up the mud. They suck water into their bills, using their tongues as a pump, and have filters to retain the shrimps, worms, algae and other tiny organisms on which they feed. They feed with their heads submerged and upside down and sweep their heads from side to side, presenting a very odd picture.

They are very sociable birds and, where feeding conditions are suitable, may be found in very large groups of up to hundreds or even thousands of birds. They often stand on one leg, with the other well tucked up against the body, but the reason for this is not clearly understood. They have a loud honking call, not unlike that of a goose, but may also call much more softly when they are feeding.

Greater flamingoes are monogamous and their nest is a simple mound of mud scraped together in shallow water. The females lay a single chalky-white egg that hatches after an incubation period of about 30 days.

The scientific binomial for the Greater flamingo is Phoenicopterus ruber; Phoenicopterus from the Greek for “bright red wings”; and ruber from the Latin for “red”. Thus a bird with bright red wings. With a bird as exotically shaped as a flamingo (used as a live croquet stick in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”),  you would think they could have done better than that!

They are medium sized birds, with a length of about 24 cm and derive their name from the plumage on their head and breast, which is brownish-grey with white tips to the feathers that give the characteristic “arrow-marked” effect. The back and tail are a darker brown and the belly lighter. The bill, legs and feet are black and the eyes are two-toned, having a red outer rim and a yellow centre. The males and females are alike in both size and plumage.

Arrow-marked babblers are common throughout large parts of Africa, but within the southern African region they are largely limited to the north-east, their preferred habitat being semi arid woodland and moist shrublands.

They are quite social birds and are usually found in small groups of four to twelve birds. They forage low down in the undergrowth or on the ground and feed mainly on insects, spiders and small reptiles; also taking some fruit and seeds.

Arrow-marked babblers are monogamous and co-operative breeders, building an untidy cup-shaped nest of twigs and dry grass lined with finer material. This is usually placed in thick vegetation well above the ground. The female lays a clutch of three to five blue eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 15 days. The nest may be parasitized by the Levaillant’s cuckoo (Clamator levaillantii).

The scientific binomial for the Arrow-marked babbler is Turdoides jardineii; Turdoides from the Latin for “like a thrush”; and jardineii after the naturalist Sir William Jardine. Not a very descriptive name without a mention of the distinctive plumage or the two-tone eyes!

Previously called the Melba finch, the Green-winged pytilia is a popular cage bird.

The males and females are similar in size, but are quite different in their plumage. The male has a red forehead, throat and cheeks; grey head, face and nape of the neck. The rump is red; the tail brown with red edging; the breast is a greeny-gold colour and the balance of the under-parts are white barred with black, The female lacks the red on the head, the entire head being grey, and the throat and breast are white barred with black. Both sexes have orange-red bills and grey-brown legs and feet.

Green-winged pytilias feed mainly on seeds and insects, particularly termites. They generally forage on fairly open ground or in low vegetation, in pairs or in small groups. They are quite shy and retiring by nature and in spite of their bright colouring are often overlooked.

Green-winged pytilias are monogamous and build a nest that is an untidy ball of dry grass with a side entrance, and is generally located in a thorny bush just one to two metres above the ground. The females usually lay a clutch of four or five white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 14 days. The nest may be parasitized by the Long-tailed paradise whydah (Vidua paradisaea).

The scientific binomial for the Green-winged pytilia is Pytilia melba; Pytilia from the Greek for the diminutive form of the grosbeak genus Pitylus; and melba which was the name used by Linnaeus, apparently without explanation and the derivation of which is unknown.

The flightless Common ostrich is a member of the same large family as other flightless birds such as the kiwi and the emu. It is able to run faster than any other bird, with a top speed approaching 95 km per hour. The males are slightly larger than the females, and the sexes differ in plumage, with the males having predominantly black feathers, with some white on the wings and tail. The females are a drab grey. Both sexes have bare legs and necks. Bills are broad and flat.

The Common ostrich is one of the very few species of birds that is farmed on a large scale; for its feathers that are used in fashion and also for feather dusters, for its meat and for its skin which is used for a variety of leather goods. The feathers differ from those of most other birds in that they lack the tiny hooks that lock them together, and so the feathers of the Common ostrich are quite fluffy.

Although Common ostriches are generally fairly common, the wild population is quite small, and is limited to the arid regions of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. They are quite nomadic, and form flocks of up to fifty or more birds as they move through the drier areas of southern Africa, feeding mainly on vegetable matter, but also on insects and other invertebrates, If threatened they will usually run away, but if cornered they can defend themselves very ably with powerful kicks.

Common ostriches are polygamous and make a nest that is just a scraped hollow in the ground. Several females may lay their eggs in the same nest, until the clutch reaches twenty or more eggs. The eggs are the largest eggs of any bird, and they hatch after an incubation period of approximately 40 days. They make good use of their dimorphic colouring as camouflage during incubation, with the grey females incubating the eggs during the day and the black males during the night.

The scientific binomial for the Common ostrich is Struthio camelus; Struthio from the Latin for an “ostrich”; and camelus from the Latin for “pertaining to a camel”. So “Struthio” makes sense, but I have no idea about “pertaining to a camel”!