20-3-2018 EL RETIRO PARQUE, MADRID - LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKER (Dryobates minor)

The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor) is a member of the woodpecker family Picidae. It was formerly assigned to the genus Dendrocopos (sometimes incorrectly spelt as Dendrocopus). Some taxonomic authorities continue to list the species there.

The range of the lesser spotted woodpecker is the Palearctic region, but several subspecies are recognised.

Its habits are very similar to those of the great spotted woodpecker, and it has the same stumpy appearance, almost triangular, when bounding from tree to tree. Its note is a repeated "keek", loud for so small a bird, and its vibrating rattle can with experience be distinguished from that of the larger species. This substitute for a song may be heard at all times, but most frequently when courtship begins early in the year.

Its insect food is similar to that of the great spotted woodpecker. When hunting for wood-boring larvae it chips away at the rotten wood, and the litter at the foot of a tree is often the first indication that insects are attacking upper branches. From autumn to spring it hunts mainly on wood-living insect larvae, frequently from thin dead branches in living trees. Through the breeding season, surface-living insects from the foliage and bark of trees make up an increased amount of the diet. Nestlings are mainly fed with surface-living insects, such as aphids and larval insects. At night it roosts in old holes.

 

27-3-2018 FERNKLOOF, SOUTH AFRICA - CAPE SUGARBIRD (Promerops cafer)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13442-Promerops-cafer

27-3-2018 FERNKLOOF LAKE, SOUTH AFRICA - THREE BANDED PLOVER (Charadrias tricollaris)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4805-Charadrius-tricollaris

27-3-2018 FERNKLOOF, SOUTH AFRICA - ORANGE BREASTED SUNBIRD (Antohobaphes violacea)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-breasted_sunbird

27-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - AFRICAN OYSTERCATCHER (Haematopus maquini)

The African oystercatcher or African black oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini), is a large charismatic wader resident to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of southern Africa. This near-threatened oystercatcher has a population of over 6,000 adults, which breed between November and April. The scientific name moquini commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Moquin-Tandon who discovered and named this species before Bonaparte.

The African oystercatcher is native to the mainland coasts and offshore islands of Southern Africa sometimes occurring as a vagrant in Angola and Mozambique. Its breeding range extends from Lüderitz, Namibia to Mazeppa Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa. There are estimated to be over 6,000 adult birds in total.

Typically sedentary African oystercatchers rarely leave their territories, which include a nesting site and feeding grounds. These will usually be located on or near rocky shores where they can feed.

26-3-2018 CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - RED WINGED STARLING (Onychognathus morio)

24-3-2018 BOTANICAL GARDENS, CAPE TOWN - PROTEA (Protea roupelliae ssp roupelliae)

24-3-2018 BOTANICAL GARDENS, CAPE TOWN - CAPE SPURFOWL (Pternistis capensis)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_spurfowl

26-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - CAPE GULL (JUVENILE) (larus dominicanus ssp vetula)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/507807-Larus-dominicanus-vetula

26-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - CAPE WAGTAIL (Motacilla capensis ssp capensis)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13699-Motacilla-capensis

 

26-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTHERN FISCAL SHRIKE (lanius collaris)

26-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - SOUTHERN AMETHYST SUNBIRD (FEMALE) (Chalcomitra amethystina ssp. amethystina)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/623573-Chalcomitra-amethystina-amethystina

25-3-2018 CENTRAL PARK, CAPE TOWN - AFRICAN MONARCH BUTTERFLY (Danaus chrysippus ssp orientis)

26-3-2018 HERMANUS, SOUTH AFRICA - KELP GULL (Larus dominicanus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4388-Larus-dominicanus

 

25-3-2018 TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN - ZEBRA FINCH (Taeniopygia guttata)

The zebra finch is a small songbird from Australia known for its cheerful and social nature. Zebra finch care is not difficult, even for a beginner, making the birds popular as pets. They're relatively hardy birds, able to tolerate changes in their environment.

The zebra finch bird is soft gray, with red eyes, "tear drop" markings (small black lines running straight down under each eye), and bright orange legs and beak. The male zebra finch has a deeper reddish-orange beak, while the female's beak tends to have a lighter orange color.

The male zebra finch has black "mustache" markings, which are thin black lines running along both sides of their beak. The area between the mustache and tear-drop markings is usually white. On the outside of the tear-drop markings, the typical male finch sports rusty-orange cheeks. They have a "bib" of tiny black stripes from their beak down to their chest. Their tail has bolder black and white stripes. On their sides, they have chestnut-brown feathers with white spots.

Female zebra finches are almost entirely gray and don't sing like the males. When they're young, all zebra finches look like females, except their beaks are black instead of orange. Their adult colors appear when they're around 2 to 3 months old. Both males and females are quite small even as adults, reaching a length of about 4 inches and weighing less than a half-ounce on average.

Zebra finches are diurnal, so they're active during the day and sleep at night. In the wild, they live together in flocks of about 100 birds. During breeding, the large flock splits into groups of around 50 finches. The birds in this smaller group will allow each other to visit their nesting site but will drive away birds from other groups. They know each member by their song, which is unique to each individual male.

As they grow up, male zebra finches listen to the songs of the birds around them. They use bits of music from their relatives and other sounds they hear in the environment to create a complex song of their own. The males use songs along with a courtship dance to woo the females. Zebra finches are monogamous — they'll only mate with one partner and bond for life with their chosen mate.

25-3-2018 TABLE MOUNTAIN, CAPE TOWN - BLACK LEGGED NEPHILA (Nephila fenestrata)

23-3-2018 BOULDER BAY, CAPE TOWN - AFRICAN PENGUIN (Spheniscus demersus)