Sunday, 16 June 2019
Saturday, 15 June 2019
5-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - EAST AFRICAN HARRIER HAWK (Polyboroides typus ssp. typus)
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The East African Harrier-hawk is an opportunistic raptor with a unique "double-jointed" leg structure that allows it to climb and probe for prey in crevices, unlike other hawks. It has a distinctive pale grey body, black and white tail, and a bare red or yellow facial patch. Its diet includes mammals, frogs, lizards, insects, and particularly eggs and nestlings raided from other birds' nests.
Key facts
Physical characteristics:
Size: 51–68 cm (20–26.7 in) body length and a wingspan of 118–152 cm (46.5–59.8 in).
Plumage: Pale grey upper parts, white belly with dark barring, and a black tail with a single broad white band.
Face: A bare patch of skin around the eyes that is yellow or red.
Juveniles: Blotchy brown instead of grey.
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Unique adaptations:
"Double-jointed" legs: A special intertarsal joint allows the legs to bend backward, enabling the bird to climb awkwardly on tree trunks and rock faces, and probe into tight spaces like nests.
Behavior and diet:
Diet: Opportunistic, including small mammals, frogs, lizards, insects, and even fish, fruit, and carrion. It is particularly known for raiding nests for eggs and nestlings.
Foraging: Unlike most raptors, it actively climbs on branches and tree trunks to find food, sometimes hanging upside down.
Vocalization: Makes a "wah... wah... wah" call, and a whistling sound in flight, according to Birds of the World and Kids encyclopedia facts.
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Breeding:
Nest: Pairs build stick nests in trees or on cliffs.
Eggs: Females lay 1–3 eggs, and both parents incubate them for about 35 days.
Chicks: Siblings often compete fiercely, and older chicks may kill younger ones.
Habitat and distribution:
Habitat: Adaptable, found in a range of habitats including savannah woodlands, forest edges, rocky cliffs, and even urban gardens.
Distribution: Common across much of sub-Saharan Africa, from the tropical west to East and South Africa.
Conservation status:
Global: Listed as "least concern" (LC) by the IUCN Red List.
Regional variations: Some populations, especially in parts of West Africa, show declines due to habitat loss.
5-6-2019 KHWAI CAMP, BOTSWANA - PEARL SPOTTED OWLET (Glaucidium perlatum)
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The pearl-spotted owlet (Glaucidium perlatum) is a small bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa. They belong to the Strigidae family, otherwise known as the typical owls or the true owls, which contains most species of owl. As part of the genus Glaucidium, or pygmy owls, they are commonly referred to as 'owlets' due to their diminutive size. Pearl-spotted owlets are brownish and heavily spotted white, with two distinct black false 'eyes' at the back of their head. They are often confused with an African barred owlet.
The pearl-spotted owlet is one of the smallest owls in Africa with a length of 17 to 21 cm. The females are slightly larger and heavier (100g) than the males (65g). Both males and females have similar plumage colouration. The facial disc is off-white and the eyes are yellow. At the back of the head there are two striking false black 'eyes' with a white outline. The upper parts are cinnamon-brown with white spots. The tail and flight feathers are brown, with large white spots forming bars in flight. The bill and cere are pale greenish yellow, the legs are feathered white and feet are yellow. Juveniles are similar to adults but the head and back spots may be lacking or much reduced and the false 'face' is very obvious.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - WHITE FRONTED BEE-EATER (Merops bullockoides)
The White-fronted Bee-eater is a colorful bird from Africa with a white forehead, red throat, and green upperparts. It has complex social structures, nests in large colonies in cliffs or earthen banks, and feeds primarily on flying insects like bees and wasps, which it carefully removes the sting from before eating. They are found in woodlands and savannas, often near rivers.
Appearance
Size: Around 23 cm (9 inches) long.
Color: Green upperparts, a red throat, and a distinctive white forehead. It has a black line through its eyes and blue thighs.
Tail: Has a square-ended tail.
Habitat and Diet
Habitat: Found in wooded savannas, grasslands, and open scrub, particularly in areas with riverbanks.
Diet: Feeds on flying insects, with a diet consisting heavily of bees and wasps.
Hunting: Hunts insects in flight by darting from a perch, catching prey, and returning to its perch to eat.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - VERREAUX'S EAGLE OWL (Bubo lacteus)
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Verreaux's eagle-owl (Ketupa lactea), also commonly known as the milky eagle owl or giant eagle owl, is a member of the family Strigidae. This species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. A member of the genus Ketupa, it is the largest African owl, measuring up to 66 cm (26 in) in total length. This eagle-owl is a resident primarily of dry, wooded savanna. Verreaux's eagle-owl is mainly grey in color and is distinguishable from other large owls by its bright pink eyelids, a feature shared with no other owl species in the world.
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Verreaux's eagle-owl is a highly opportunistic predator equipped with powerful talons. Just over half of its known diet is composed of mammals but equal or even greater numbers of birds and even insects may be hunted locally, along with any other appropriately sized prey that is encountered. This species is considered of Least Concern by IUCN as it occurs over a wide range and has shown some adaptability to human-based alterations and destruction of habitat and adaptability to diverse prey when a primary prey species declines in a region. As a large, highly territorial species of owl, it does, however, occur at fairly low densities and some regional declines have been reported.
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Verreaux's eagle-owl is found through most of sub-Saharan Africa, though it is absent from most of the deep rainforests. The species is found at the highest densities in eastern and southern Africa. As this species avoids primary forests, it is found very spottily in west Africa. Their western distribution includes The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Eastward from those countries to the Central African Republic, the species is distributed in a narrow transitional zone between the Sahara and rainforests. Seemingly isolated populations occur in central Nigeria and central Mali. In south-western Africa, they range up to as far north as the southern parts of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, through most of Namibia (excluding the coastal regions) and northern South Africa. In east Africa, their distribution is more or less continuous from southern Sudan, Eritrea and inland Somalia down to South Africa as far as the region of the city of Durban.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - SOUTHERN WHITE FACED OWL (Ptilopsis granti)
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The Southern white-faced owl (Ptilopsis granti) is a fairly small owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to the southern half of Africa. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the northern white-faced owl (P. leucopsis) but the two are now commonly treated as separate species.
It is 22–28 cm (8.7–11.0 in) long and weighs 185–220 g (6.5–7.8 oz). The upperparts are grey with dark streaks and there are white spots on the scapular feathers. The underparts are whitish with dark streaks. The face is white with a black border and black around the large orange eyes. The head has two short ear-tufts with black tips. Juvenile birds have a greyish face. The northern white-faced owl is usually paler and browner with reduced streaking below.
Their call is a series of fast, bubbling hoots, uttered at night and frequently repeated. These fast, staccato notes followed by a longer and higher-pitched 'hoot' are extensively used during breeding season and pairs of owls often sing together. The Northern white-faced owl has a very different two-note call.
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Southern white-faced owls occur patchily in the western regions central and southern Africa, including Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. They seem to be more common in regions such as Uganda, southern Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini and the northern regions of South Africa.
It inhabits savanna and dry woodland. It is usually seen alone or in pairs. It mainly hunts large insects, as well as occasional small mammals, birds and reptiles.
The eggs are usually laid in the old nest of another bird. The clutch contains two or three eggs which are incubated for about 30 days. The young birds leave the nest about a month after hatching.
After the summer, southern white-faced owls increase their resting metabolic rate by approximately 45% to adjust to the climate changes. Furthermore, the owls do this to increase cold temperature tolerance which is unusual for these creatures. Not only that, but the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) of the owl is lower than what is expected of other birds of a similar size to help them when there is a lack of food. This is unusual considering the lack of food and other survival resources during the winter.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - WHITE BROWED ROBIN CHAT (Cossypha heuglini)
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The white-browed robin-chat (Cossypha heuglini), also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.
The white-browed robin-chat is 19–20 cm (7.5–7.9 in) long and weighs 29–51 g (1.0–1.8 oz). The crown and face are black, and there is a white supercilium over the dark brown eye. The back is olive grey-brown, and the rump is rufous. The two central tail feathers are olive-brown, and the other feathers are orange-rufous. The flight feathers and wing coverts are grey-brown, and the underwing coverts are rufous. The underparts are bright orange-rufous. The beak is black, and the legs are pinkish-brown, brownish grey, or dark brown. The female is a little smaller than the male. The juvenile bird has a brown head and rufous-brown marks on its back. Its throat is pale, its breast is pale orange-buff, and its belly is pale orange.
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The range includes Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its habitats include riverine forests, thickets, and also gardens. In East Africa it can be found up to 2,200 m (7,200 ft) above sea level, but in the part of its range south of the Limpopo River, it generally occurs at elevations below 1,000 m (3,280 ft). In South Africa, its range in KwaZulu-Natal expanded south from the 1950s to the 1970s, but the damage caused by a tropical cyclone in 1987 may have stopped the expansion.
The diet consists of ants, termites, beetles, some other insects and arthropods, frogs, and fruits. It bathes in water.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - RED LECHWE (MALE) (Kobus leche ssp. leche)
The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa.
The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands. The species is fairly common in zoos and wild animal farms.
Adult lechwe typically stand 90 to 100 cm (35 to 39 in) at the shoulder and generally weigh from 50 to 120 kg (110 to 260 lb), with males being larger than females. They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but exact hue and amount of blackish on the front legs, chest and body varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral horns are vaguely lyre-shaped and borne only by males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes to ease long-distance running on marshy soil.
Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they are an important herbivore of aquatic plants, as well as grasses that are found in flooded meadows. They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance which allows them to run quite fast in knee-deep water. Lechwe are diurnal. They gather in herds which can include many thousands of individuals. Herds are usually all of one sex, but during mating season they mix.
Lechwe mate during rain seasons of November to February. They have a gestation period of seven to eight months so a majority of calves are born from July to September.
Although rare, hybrids between lechwe and waterbuck have been observed.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - RED LECHWE (FEMALE) (Kobus leche ssp. leche)
The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa.
The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands. The species is fairly common in zoos and wild animal farms.
Adult lechwe typically stand 90 to 100 cm (35 to 39 in) at the shoulder and generally weigh from 50 to 120 kg (110 to 260 lb), with males being larger than females. They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but exact hue and amount of blackish on the front legs, chest and body varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral horns are vaguely lyre-shaped and borne only by males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes to ease long-distance running on marshy soil.
Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they are an important herbivore of aquatic plants, as well as grasses that are found in flooded meadows. They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance which allows them to run quite fast in knee-deep water. Lechwe are diurnal. They gather in herds which can include many thousands of individuals. Herds are usually all of one sex, but during mating season they mix.
5-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - RED EYED DOVE (Streptopelia semitorquata)
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The red-eyed dove (Streptopelia semitorquata) is a dove that is widespread and common in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004.
The red-eyed dove's pale bluish gray forehead merges into a darker hue on the crown. The neck, breast, and underparts, are dark mauve-pink to wine-red, upperparts are grayish brown, and primaries are black. Outer wing-coverts are dark slaty blue. Flanks, sides of rump, and underwing-coverts are bluish gray. Rectrices are dark gray basally, light brownish gray on the terminal half. Neck has a black half-collar. Iris varies from yellowish to orange to red or orange-brown. Orbital skin is purplish red. Bill is black. Legs are purplish red. Most of the feathers have reddish buff or reddish brown edges and indistinct dark subterminal bars. Neck collar is indistinct and restricted to the sides of neck. Legs, orbital skin, and iris are dull. Sexes are alike. Juveniles are duller and browner. It is typically 30 cm (12 in) in length and 162–310 g (5.7–10.9 oz). It is the largest of the "ringneck" species of dove. The red-eyed dove in the Ethiopian Highlands are larger than those in West Africa and coastal Kenya.
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - KALAHARI FORK TAILED DRONGO (Dicrurus adsimilis ssp. apivorus)
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The Kalahari fork-tailed drongo is a clever, glossy black bird known for its deceptive and thieving nature, particularly its ability to mimic other birds' alarm calls to steal their food. These birds are also known for their fearless behavior, sometimes joining other animals like meerkats and babblers for foraging or even to protect their territory. They have a narrow, forked tail, red-brownish eyes, and a diet of insects, with other small prey also included.
Deceptive behaviors
Food theft: The drongo will use fake alarm calls to scare other animals, like meerkats, away from their food, and then steal it for itself.
Mimicry: It can mimic the sounds of various predators or other birds to deceive others. Once the other animals flee, the drongo follows up with an "all clear" call to keep them around for future tricks.
Learning: The drongo's mimicry is a learned behavior, which it adapts based on feedback from other animals.
Friday, 14 June 2019
4-6-2019 LINYANTI CAMP, BOTSWANA - AFRICAN HAWK EAGLE (Aquila spilogaster)
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The African hawk-eagle (Aquila spilogaster) is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. This species' feathered legs mark it as a member of the Aquilinae subfamily. The African hawk-eagle breeds in tropical Sub-Saharan Africa. It is a bird of assorted woodland, including both savanna and hilly areas, but they tend to occur in woodland that is typically dry. The species tends to be rare in areas where their preferred habitat type is absent. This species builds a stick nest of around 1 m (3.3 ft) across in a large tree. The clutch is generally one or two eggs. The African hawk-eagle is powerfully built and hunts small to medium-sized mammals and birds predominantly, occasionally taking reptiles and other prey as well. The call is a shrill kluu-kluu-kluu. The African hawk-eagle is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, but a study in 2024 showed that this species is experiencing a severe population decline of ~91%, suggesting it be listed as critically endangered.
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The African hawk-eagle has a somewhat small head but one that protrudes quite well due its quite long neck and relatively prominent beak. Furthermore, the species possesses a longish tail, with long and somewhat slender feathered legs and has large, robust feet. Although African hawk-eagles occasionally take to perching in the open, they usually are somewhat obscured for much of the day within the cover of foliage and often perch relatively low down in tall trees. The wing tips tend to fall a bit short of the tail tip. The adult African hawk-eagle evidences a fairly pied look with slate black-grey coloration above and whitish coloration below. At a distance, they may appear purely black-and-white but at close range they show sparse but extensive white flecks on the mantle and wing coverts. Occasionally, a greyer patch may be apparent on the folded secondaries of perched or sitting birds. The tail of an adult is grey with thin dark bars, a broad subterminal band and a white tail tip.
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The adult hawk-eagle's underside is white with bold but small and sparse drop-like blackish streaks. As was noted in a 2010 study, in a usual instance of plumage sexual dimorphism for an Aquilinae eagle, the underside tends to more sparsely marked on adult males and more densely marked on adult females to such a degree that an experienced observer may be able to sex individual African hawk-eagles despite the two sexes being similar in size. The adult African hawk-eagles has whitish coloring on the thighs and the crissum. The juvenile of the species is highly distinct from older hawk-eagles. Juveniles are moderately dark brown above with some pale edging, a slightly black-streaked head and a more clearly barred tail than adult hawk-eagles. The underside has a tawny-rufous base colour. When juvenile African hawk-eagles present black shaft streaks below they are usually only obvious on the flanks and they can border on being absent. Once developing as an immature at two to four years old, the upperside becomes progressively darker, the underside paler and more streaked and a subterminal tail band forms. At four years of age, as in related species, the African hawk-eagle becomes fully mature. The eyes of adult hawk-eagles are rich yellow while those of juveniles are hazel-brown while the cere and feet at all ages range from dull to somewhat brighter yellow.
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