Monthly Archives: April 2018

Speckled Mousebird

MousebirdColius striatus

Mousebirds are a uniquely African order of six species, named for their habit of clambering around the branches of trees and shrubs in a very rodent-like manner. Speckled Mousebirds, both the largest and the most widely distributed of the family, inhabits thickets, moist savannas, woodlands and forests, and particularly the edges of these, as well as well-wooded drainage lines, exotic plantations and suburban parks and gardens in otherwise unsuitable areas (such as the grasslands of our Highveld). They feed on fruit, berries, seeds, leaves, buds, flowers and nectar. Adults are around 35cm long (their tail making up roughly half of this) and weigh about 55g.

Speckled Mousebirds congregate in small flocks of 5 to 20 birds, moving around from tree to tree one after the other, and often in association with other kinds of mousebirds. Breeding in Speckled Mousebirds have been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in spring and summer. Nests are untidy cups of grass lined with fine material built in trees or shrubs. Clutches of 1 to 7 eggs are incubated by both parents for a period of two weeks. Some males may have active nests with more than one female. Chicks start leaving the nest to clamber around the branches when they’re about 10 days old, and become independent at only three weeks of age. Breeding pairs may have as many as 6 helpers assisting to raise their latest brood.

The IUCN describes the Speckled Mousebird as common and widespread with an increasing population and distribution, listing it as being of least concern. They occur from Cameroon in the west to Ethiopia in the east and then southwards to South Africa, being absent from the equatorial forests and arid south-west of the continent. In South Africa they can be found in all our provinces, excluding the driest parts of the Free State, Northern Cape and North West Province.

Speckled mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird raiding apricots

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds in a bare tree

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird at Jack’s Picnic Spot

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird sharing on the spoils of a monkey raid

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Southern Tree Agama

25 Replies

Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis

As their name would suggest, the Southern Tree Agama is a mainly arboreal lizard, coming to ground only to move from one tree to another and to feed on ground-living insects. They inhabit open savanna landscapes, especially those dominated by thorn and miombo (Brachystegia) trees, and feed on ants, termites, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles and other invertebrates. Adults grow to between 12 and 15cm long, excluding the tail. Breeding males are very colourful and not nearly as well camouflaged as the females, non-breeding males and young.

Southern Tree Agamas are diurnal, sleeping at night in hollow trunks or under loose bark. Males are territorial and will fight each other viciously. Their breeding season spans spring and summer, when females dig a hole in moist soil in which they lay between 5 and 14 eggs that hatch in about 3 months.

The Southern Tree Agama occurs patchily from eastern Africa southwards to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The IUCN considers this species of least concern. In South Africa they are commonly encountered in the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and nothern Kwazulu-Natal. They are very tolerant of humans and is a common sight in the rest camps of the Kruger National Park.

Female Tree Agama

Well camouflaged agama

Well camouflaged Agama

Notice the ant on this agama’s leg?

Expertly camouflaged tree agama

Tree living agama lizard

Tree Agama in Crocodile Bridge

Tree Agama

Tree Agama female

Tree Agama (female)

Tree Agama

Tree Agama female

Tree Agama male with beetle prey

Tree Agama males displaying

Tree Agama male (photo by Erlo van Aswegen)

Tree Agama female

Southern Tree Agama (photo by Joubert)

Tree Agama female

Male Tree Agama

Female Tree Agama

Red-eyed Dove

19 Replies

Streptopelia semitorquata

The Red-eyed Dove is a denizen of well wooded habitats (both naturally occurring and plantations), and is quite closely associated with watercourses. They are also a well-known garden bird in many of our towns and cities and have actually enlarged their distribution range in association with human settlements. They feed primarily on seeds but also takes some fruits, flowers and insects. Adults of these large doves weigh around 250g and grow to 35cm in length.

Unlike many other species of pigeons, Red-eyed Doves are not particularly gregarious and are usually seen singly or in pairs, with larger congregations of 50 to 100 birds being very rare. Pairs are monogamous and breed throughout the year. Their nests are flimsy stick platforms built in tall trees or reedbeds, and clutches usually consist of 2 eggs that are incubated for 2 weeks. The chicks leave the nest when they are around 3 weeks old.

The Red-eyed Dove occurs over most of sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the drier desert and semi-desert areas. In South Africa they are found in every province, avoiding only the driest districts of the Northern Cape. It is considered of least concern by the IUCN.

Red-eyed Dove

Red-eyed Dove with Laughing Dove, showing size difference

Red-eyed Dove

Red-eyed Dove seen along the Dlinza Forest Aerial Boardwalk

Red-eyed Dove

Red-eyed Dove (photo by Joubert)

Red-eyed Dove

Karoo Thrush

20 Replies

Turdus smithi

The Karoo Thrush inhabits arid scrublands and grasslands, preferring the denser vegetation along drainage lines in these otherwise open areas. They’re also one of the most common garden birds all over their range, a fact that has aided an increase in both their range and population. Karoo Thrushes are usually seen singly or in pairs and follow an omnivorous diet, searching on the ground and scrounging through leaf litter for insects, worms, other invertebrates, small vertebrates and fruits and seeds. Adults are about 23cm long and weigh up to 86g.

At the start of the breeding season, which stretches through spring and summer, female Karoo Thrushes build cup-shaped nests of wet grass and other plant material in the forks of trees. They incubate clutches of 1-4 eggs for about two weeks, with the chicks becoming independent about 2-and-a-half months after hatching.

The Karoo Thrush occurs mainly in the central and western parts of South Africa, extending marginally into Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern. It was previously classified as a subspecies of the Olive Thrush, which is generally found in forests.

Karoo Thrush at Lilydale

Karoo Thrush

Karoo Thrush (juvenile)

Karoo Thrush

Juvenile Karoo Thrush searching for food in the leaf litter (Moreletakloof)

Karoo Thrush

Karoo Thrush (immature)

Karoo Thrush

Karoo Thrush drinking

Karoo Thrush

Celebrating South Africa’s wild places on Earth Day

33 Replies

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is an end to plastic pollution.

It is almost unthinkable that humans would wantonly destroy our planet through the careless manufacturing and discarding of plastic waste, and yet we are pumping tons and tons of plastic into our ecosystems on a daily basis, endangering not only the wildlife that depend on these habitats but also our own continued existence.

Celebrating South Africa’s beautiful wild places seems like a good way to spend Earth Day 2018, but isn’t it sickening to imagine landscapes like these buried under heaps of trash?

Addo Elephant National Park scenery

Sunrise over the lagoon at the main camp in Agulhas National Park

Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

Breede River in Bontebok National Park

Camdeboo National Park scenery

Leokop and a lone paperbark tree in Chelmsford Nature Reserve

Dinokeng Game Reserve Scenery

Ezemvelo Nature Reserve Scenery

Diepwalle Forest, Garden Route National Park

Rondevlei in the Garden Route National Park, seen from the hide

Tsitsikamma coast, Garden Route National Park

Golden Gate Highlands National Park

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Ithala Game Reserve

Sunrise on the Eastern Shores, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Fever trees in Umkhuze Game Reserve

Karoo National Park Landscape

The scenic route through Kgaswane Mountain Reserve

View from Ted’s Place on the Sweni Trail, Kruger National Park

Easter Sunday Sunset over Loskop Dam Nature Reserve

Mapungubwe National Park scenery

Lenong viewpoint is up there, at the towers, in Marakele National Park

Midmar Dam Nature Reserve scenery

Mokala National Park

Moreletakloof scenery

Scenery at Mountain Zebra National Park

Big herd of roan antelope on the floodplain at Vogelfonteinin Nylsvley Nature Reserve

View over the Oribi Gorge Nature Reserve from Oribi Gorge Hotel

Mankwe stream in Pilanesberg National Park

Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden

Bitter Aloes (subspecies candelabrum) in Queen Elizabeth Nature Reserve

Rietvlei Spruit in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve

Suikerbosrand scenery

Boulders scenery, Table Mountain National Park

Scenery at Cape Point, Table Mountain National Park

Giant’s Castle’s fresh mountain streams

Kamberg Nature Reserve

Reflections at Mahai, Royal Natal National Park

Mangroves lining the lagoon at Umlalazi Nature Reserve

Cardinal Woodpecker

25 Replies

Dendropicos fuscescens

The Cardinal Woodpecker is the smallest of its kind occurring in South Africa, with adults measuring around 15cm long and weighing in at about 30g. They inhabit a wide range of woody habitats, ranging from forest edges to arid savanna, where they feed mainly on insects and their larvae extracted from inside rotting wood or under bark.

Cardinal Woodpeckers are usually seen singly or in pairs or family groups, and often associate with other bird species while foraging. The breeding season stretches through spring and summer, but the monogamous pairs stay together throughout the year. They nest in holes hammered into dead trees or branches and sometimes fence posts. Both sexes incubate the clutch of 1-3 eggs for a period of 2 weeks. The chicks fledge at around a month old and become independent about two months later.

The Cardinal Woodpecker is widely distributed over sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of some parts of the equatorial forests. In South Africa they can be found in all provinces, though they are abscent from large parts of the open and arid Northern Cape. The IUCN lists it as being of least concern.

Cardinal Woodpecker

Cardinal Woodpecker (photo by Joubert)

Cardinal Woodpecker

White-breasted Cormorant

21 Replies

Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus

The White-breasted Cormorant inhabits estuaries, lagoons, shallow and sheltered coastal waters, swamps, lakes, dams and rivers. It is the only cormorant in South Africa that is equally at home in both marine and aquatic habitats. They feed primarily on fish, but will also take molluscs, amphibians, crustaceans, and the chicks of smaller birds. At a metre in length with a wingspan of around 1.5m and a weight of up to 3.2kg, it is Africa’s largest cormorant.

Breeding in White-breasted Cormorants have been recorded throughout the year, but reaches a peak at the end of the rainy season. While they are mostly solitary when foraging, they roost and nest in colonies, numbering anywhere between 10 and 1000 monogamous pairs, and often mixed with other kinds of waterbirds. Depending on where they find themselves these colonies may be located on rocky islands, cliffs, inaccessible (for land-based predators) sandbanks, shipwrecks, or in trees and reedbeds. Nests are platforms built by the female with sticks, reeds, seaweed, feathers and litter that is provided by the male. Clutches of 2-5 eggs are incubated by both parents for around 4 weeks. The chicks are fed regurgitated fish by both parents, perform their first flight when they’re about 8 weeks old and then become independent at about 4 months old.

White-breasted Cormorants occur almost throughout South Africa, even into the arid west along the Orange River and its larger tributaries. North of our borders they occur in a wide band through central and east Africa to the Red Sea and in isolated parts of Nigeria, Chad and Senegal. Most authorities consider the White-breasted Cormorant to be a subspecies of the Great Cormorant which has a much wider global distribution (every continent except South America and Antarctica), but some specialists suggest the White-breasted Cormorant should be considered a distinct species. The IUCN estimates the Great Cormorant’s population at as many as 2-million birds and lists the species as being of least concern. They are however persecuted by the aquaculture industry in many range countries and is at risk both from oil spills and of poisonous pollution-buildup in the fish stocks they subsist on.

White-breasted cormorants in flight

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorant colony in a large tree

White-breasted Cormorant in flight

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorants

Cormorant colony at Rietvlei Dam (photo by Joubert)

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorants

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorant colony

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorants

White-breasted Cormorant

White-breasted Cormorants

White-breasted Cormorant

Cape Sparrow

31 Replies

Passer melanurus

The Cape Sparrow is widespread and common in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia, extending marginally into Zimbabwe and Angola. The Cape Sparrow’s preferred natural habitat is grasslands and semi-arid thornveld and scrubland, particularly in or near wooded areas along drainage lines. They often live in close association with human settlements, and as such is one of the most commonly seen species in suburban parks and gardens as well as on farms and vineyards, where they can become pests. It is believed that this trait has aided both in the expansion of their distribution range and an increase in the populations size. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern. Cape Sparrows feed predominantly on seeds, augmenting their diet with insects, fruit, flowers and nectar.

Adult Cape Sparrows measure about 15cm long, and weigh between 22 and 36g.

Cape Sparrows are usually seen in pairs or small family groups, but they do at times assemble in large, nomadic flocks of up to 200 outside of the peak breeding season, which stretches through summer (though breeding has been recorded throughout the year). They often associate with other seed-eating bird species while foraging. Monogamous pairs nest alone or in colonies of up to 100 pairs, and can raise several broods in a season. Their nests are untidy collections of grass, stems and other pliable plant parts and litter, hollowed out on the inside with a single side entrance and lined with soft feathers and material, built by both sexes in trees, bushes, inside disused swallow or weaver nests, or under the roofs of buildings. Clutches consist of between 2 and 6 eggs, incubated by both parents for 2 weeks. The chicks leave the nest when they’re around two weeks old, having been fed on insects (mostly caterpillars) by both parents up to that point and become fully independent at between 1 and 2 months of age.

Cape sparrows pair

Cape sparrow male

Cape Sparrow male

Cape Sparrow female

Cape Sparrow male feeding almost fully grown youngster

Cape Sparrow female feeding almost fully grown youngster

Cape Sparrow male

Cape Sparrow

Cape Sparrow female

Cape Sparrow male

Cape Sparrow (a rare sight in Kruger)

Cape Sparrow

Cape Sparrow female

Cape Sparrow male

Cape Sparrow (female)

Cape Sparrow (male)

Cape Sparrow chick

Cape Sparrow (male)

Cape Sparrow (female)

Cape Sparrow female (photo by Joubert)

Cape Sparrows

Dwarf Mongoose

24 Replies

Helogale parvula

With a weight of only 350g and growing to a maximum length of 40cm (including its tail), the Dwarf Mongoose is the smallest mammalian carnivore in South Africa. They inhabit open savannas and woodlands with an ample supply of termite mounds and fallen logs and often in or near rocky outcrops. They prey on anything from insects, spiders and scorpions to reptiles (including snakes), birds and rodents, often banding together to overpower larger prey.

Diurnal in habits, Dwarf Mongooses live in clans of up to 40 members occupying a fixed home range within which they may have as many as 20 dens (often in termite mounds, tree stumps, rocky outcrops or in tunnels dug by themselves or other animals). These clans are controlled by a dominant pair that stays together for life. The dominant female gives birth to litters of 1-7 pups after a 2 month gestation, usually in the rainy season. While the babies will only suckle from their mother, all troop members assist in raising the young. Dwarf Mongooses are exceptionally curious, and even though they flee for cover at the slightest sign of danger it doesn’t take very long before they start popping up again to check out whatever it was that disturbed them. They have a life expectancy of only about 6 years in the wild.

The IUCN considers the Dwarf Mongoose to be of least concern. It occurs from Ethiopia and Somalia southwards to Angola and South Africa. In South Africa it is to be found from northern Kwazulu-Natal through Mpumalanga and Limpopo into the north-eastern corner of the North West Province.

Dwarf mongoose in Pretoriuskop

Dwarf Mongoose

Dwarf Mongoose den

Dwarf Mongoose

Dwarf Mongoose standing sentry atop a termite mound

Dwarf Mongoose

Dwarf Mongooses

Dwarf Mongoose

Dwarf Mongooses

Dwarf Mongoose

Dwarf Mongoose on a termite mound

Troop of Dwarf Mongoose on a termite mound

Dwarf Mongoose (photo by Erlo van Aswegen)

Dwarf Mongoose

White-throated Swallow

26 Replies

Hirundo albigularis

White-throated Swallows migrate in large flocks of up to 1000 birds to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia and Botswana between July and September, in time for the breeding season, departing again for Angola, Zambia and the southern DRC around April and May. They are closely associated with rivers and open water, especially in grasslands, fynbos and mountainous areas, and feed primarily on insects caught in flight. Adults grow to a length of 15cm and weigh around 25g.

White-throated Swallows breed in our southern climes between August and March (peak between October and December). Pairs are monogamous and can raise multiple broods in a season, often returning year after year to the same nest. Their nests are small mud-cups lined with grass, fur and feathers, built against vertical surfaces (both natural and man-made) and often placed under overhanging rocks, bridges or roofs. Clutches of between 2 and 5 eggs are incubated for a little over 2 weeks, with the hatchlings fledging by about 3-4 weeks old and becoming independent about two weeks after that.

Being common with an apparently increasing population, the White-throated Swallow is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. During their breeding season they can be found in every South African province, being absent only from the driest parts of the arid Northern Cape.