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True Shrikes), Including 31 Specieswithin Genera Are Coveredin Singlepage Overviews.Line Lanius, Coruinella and Eurocephalus
Books SHRIKES. Norbert Lefranc. 1997. Yale University Some species have bright rufous or sandy caps Press, New Haven, Connecticut. Hard cover, 192 and backs. A few, such as the Long-tailedShrike, pp. $35.00 U.S. have strikinggeographic plumage variations. Some shrikesare as small as House Sparrows. The recentflood of world-wideidentification guides for specific groups of birds, such as seabirds, In 35 pages of introductorymaterial, the author waterfowl and shorebirds, has now reached presents informationon: taxonomy,overviews of passerine groupings, and the treatment has the genera, and a brief guide to the features of the expanded to include life history information.This species accounts. The overview of the genus is a welcome addition, as many bird enthusiasts Laniuscovers: names; morphology,plumages and have expanded their interests, and wish to learn molts; origins, present distribution,migration 'and more about the birds they see. Many of these wintering areas; habitat; social organization and guides are being written in Europe and cover general behavior;food habits,larders and foraging groupswhich occur primarilyin the Old World. behavior; nests, eggs and breeding behavior; population dynamics; population changes and Shrikes covers the three genera of the family presumedcauses; and conservation.The othertwo Laniidae(true shrikes), including 31 specieswithin genera are coveredin singlepage overviews.Line Lanius, Coruinella and Eurocephalus. Twenty- drawings in the introduction supplerbent the color sevenof thesespecies are in the firstgenus, whose plates. name is the Latin word for butcher, perhaps referringto their habit of hangingprey on spines. Species accounts average three pages (range 1- 9), and include a clear range map (1/4 to 1 page), Scientistsbelieve that the family Laniidae evolved identification details, measurements, distribution in Australia as part of a great radiation that and status, molt, voice, habitat, habits, food, produced the corvids, a number of Australian breeding and references. -
South Africa: Magoebaskloof and Kruger National Park Custom Tour Trip Report
SOUTH AFRICA: MAGOEBASKLOOF AND KRUGER NATIONAL PARK CUSTOM TOUR TRIP REPORT 24 February – 2 March 2019 By Jason Boyce This Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl showed nicely one late afternoon, puffing up his throat and neck when calling www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | TRIP REPORT South Africa: Magoebaskloof and Kruger National Park February 2019 Overview It’s common knowledge that South Africa has very much to offer as a birding destination, and the memory of this trip echoes those sentiments. With an itinerary set in one of South Africa’s premier birding provinces, the Limpopo Province, we were getting ready for a birding extravaganza. The forests of Magoebaskloof would be our first stop, spending a day and a half in the area and targeting forest special after forest special as well as tricky range-restricted species such as Short-clawed Lark and Gurney’s Sugarbird. Afterwards we would descend the eastern escarpment and head into Kruger National Park, where we would make our way to the northern sections. These included Punda Maria, Pafuri, and the Makuleke Concession – a mouthwatering birding itinerary that was sure to deliver. A pair of Woodland Kingfishers in the fever tree forest along the Limpopo River Detailed Report Day 1, 24th February 2019 – Transfer to Magoebaskloof We set out from Johannesburg after breakfast on a clear Sunday morning. The drive to Polokwane took us just over three hours. A number of birds along the way started our trip list; these included Hadada Ibis, Yellow-billed Kite, Southern Black Flycatcher, Village Weaver, and a few brilliant European Bee-eaters. -
Tanzania 16 - 27 April 2018 Tour Leader Tertius Gous Photographs by Tertius Gous Taken on This Tour
Tanzania 16 - 27 April 2018 Tour Leader Tertius Gous Photographs by Tertius Gous taken on this tour www.birdingafrica.com Day 0: The first day was spent birding and relaxing at our lodge near Kilimanjaro International Airport while we waited for everyone to arrive. The open Acacia savanna surrounding the lodge always provides a very productive start to the tour and notable sightings included Speckled and Blue- naped Mousebird, White-browed Coucal, Mourning Collared Dove, Little and African Palm Swift, European Roller, Grey-headed Kingfisher, African Hoopoe, Red-backed Shrike, Long-tailed Fiscal, Dark-capped Bulbul (the first of many!), Northern and Red-faced Crombec, Willow Warbler, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Buff-bellied Warbler, Garden Warbler, Winding Cisticola, Spotted Flycatcher, Spotted Palm Thrush, Superb and Violet-backed Starling, Scarlet- chested and Variable Sunbird, Red-billed Firefinch, Blue-capped Cordon-bleu, Crimson-rumped Waxbill and Reichenow’s Seedeater, while Yellow-winged Bat showed well at the lodge. As a bonus, our lodge was perfectly situated for spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain and the highest free-standing mountain in the world. Days 1- 2: We spent two full days exploring the grasslands, lakes, woodlands and forests of Arusha National Park. Close to the entrance of the Park we found a breeding colony of Taveta Weavers supported by a few Golden-backed Weavers and an obliging Brown-breasted Barbet. Soon after we entered the Park an open grassy meadow produced good numbers of African Buffalo with numerous Red- billed Oxpeckers in attendance, as well as Bushbuck. Other mammals found in the grasslands and woodlands included Common Zebra, Giraffe, Warthog, Waterbuck, Kirk’s Dik-dik and numerous troops of Olive Baboons, while the forests held Harvey’s Duiker and the diminutive Suni. -
South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6Th to 30Th January 2018 (25 Days) Trip Report
South Africa Mega Birding Tour I 6th to 30th January 2018 (25 days) Trip Report Aardvark by Mike Bacon Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Wayne Jones Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to South Africa Trip Report – RBT South Africa - Mega I 2018 2 Tour Summary The beauty of South Africa lies in its richness of habitats, from the coastal forests in the east, through subalpine mountain ranges and the arid Karoo to fynbos in the south. We explored all of these and more during our 25-day adventure across the country. Highlights were many and included Orange River Francolin, thousands of Cape Gannets, multiple Secretarybirds, stunning Knysna Turaco, Ground Woodpecker, Botha’s Lark, Bush Blackcap, Cape Parrot, Aardvark, Aardwolf, Caracal, Oribi and Giant Bullfrog, along with spectacular scenery, great food and excellent accommodation throughout. ___________________________________________________________________________________ Despite havoc-wreaking weather that delayed flights on the other side of the world, everyone managed to arrive (just!) in South Africa for the start of our keenly-awaited tour. We began our 25-day cross-country exploration with a drive along Zaagkuildrift Road. This unassuming stretch of dirt road is well-known in local birding circles and can offer up a wide range of species thanks to its variety of habitats – which include open grassland, acacia woodland, wetlands and a seasonal floodplain. After locating a handsome male Northern Black Korhaan and African Wattled Lapwings, a Northern Black Korhaan by Glen Valentine -
Namibia & the Okavango
Pel’s Fishing Owl - a pair was found on a wooded island south of Shakawe (Jan-Ake Alvarsson) NAMIBIA & THE OKAVANGO 21 SEPTEMBER – 8 OCTOBER 2017 LEADER: STEVE BRAINE For most of the country the previous three years drought had been broken and although too early for the mi- grants we did however do very well with birding generally. We searched and found all the near endemics as well as the endemic Dune Lark. Besides these we also had a new write-in for the trip! In the floodplains after observing a wonderful Pel’s Fishing Owl we travelled down a side channel of the Okavango River to look for Pygmy Geese, we were lucky and came across several pairs before reaching a dried-out floodplain. Four birds flew out of the reedbeds and looked rather different to the normal weavers of which there were many, a closer look at the two remaining birds revealed a beautiful pair of Cuckoo Finches. These we all enjoyed for a brief period before they followed the other birds which had now disappeared into the reedbeds. Very strong winds on three of the birding days made birding a huge challenge to say the least after not finding the rare and difficult Herero Chat we had to make alternate arrangements at another locality later in the trip. The entire tour from the Hosea Kutako International Airport outside the capital Windhoek and returning there nineteen days later delivered 375 species. Out of these, four birds were seen only by the leader, a further three species were heard but not seen. -
South Africa Mega Birding III 5Th to 27Th October 2019 (23 Days) Trip Report
South Africa Mega Birding III 5th to 27th October 2019 (23 days) Trip Report The near-endemic Gorgeous Bushshrike by Daniel Keith Danckwerts Tour leader: Daniel Keith Danckwerts Trip Report – RBT South Africa – Mega Birding III 2019 2 Tour Summary South Africa supports the highest number of endemic species of any African country and is therefore of obvious appeal to birders. This South Africa mega tour covered virtually the entire country in little over a month – amounting to an estimated 10 000km – and targeted every single endemic and near-endemic species! We were successful in finding virtually all of the targets and some of our highlights included a pair of mythical Hottentot Buttonquails, the critically endangered Rudd’s Lark, both Cape, and Drakensburg Rockjumpers, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Pink-throated Twinspot, Southern Tchagra, the scarce Knysna Woodpecker, both Northern and Southern Black Korhaans, and Bush Blackcap. We additionally enjoyed better-than-ever sightings of the tricky Barratt’s Warbler, aptly named Gorgeous Bushshrike, Crested Guineafowl, and Eastern Nicator to just name a few. Any trip to South Africa would be incomplete without mammals and our tally of 60 species included such difficult animals as the Aardvark, Aardwolf, Southern African Hedgehog, Bat-eared Fox, Smith’s Red Rock Hare and both Sable and Roan Antelopes. This really was a trip like no other! ____________________________________________________________________________________ Tour in Detail Our first full day of the tour began with a short walk through the gardens of our quaint guesthouse in Johannesburg. Here we enjoyed sightings of the delightful Red-headed Finch, small numbers of Southern Red Bishops including several males that were busy moulting into their summer breeding plumage, the near-endemic Karoo Thrush, Cape White-eye, Grey-headed Gull, Hadada Ibis, Southern Masked Weaver, Speckled Mousebird, African Palm Swift and the Laughing, Ring-necked and Red-eyed Doves. -
Zimbabwe & Botswana TRIP REPORT Nov 2017 Summary
ZIMBABWE & BOTSWANA WILDLIFE SAFARI November 3-15, 2017 TRIP REPORT Summary by Adrian Binns Mana Pools, Zimbabwe Our 12-day African safari began on the eastern edge of Mana Pools National Park in northern Zimbabwe. From our bush camps at Ruckomechi and neighbouring Little Ruckomechi, we enjoyed exploring a range of habitats teeming with wonderful wildlife. Elephants were among the first to greet us, as they roamed freely near the tents, even venturing next to the swimming pool! We kept a watchful eye and careful distance, in awe of the giant pachyderms. What a welcome treat! Our camps overlooked the mighty Zambezi river towards Zambia’s Rift Valley escarpment, providing excellent opportunity for relaxing afternoon boat rides. We drifted slowly up to wallowing pods of hippos, basking crocodiles, and African Skimmers loafing on exposed narrow sand strips. In steeply-eroded river banks, White- fronted and Southern Carmine Bee-eaters excavated their tunnel nests. The location helps keep predators at bay, but not all of them! On two consecutive afternoons we watched a Nile Water Monitor dig into the tunnels with its long sharp claws, and come out with a youngster, much to the chagrin of the parents. We watched elephants trek through tall grasses of river islands, and cross channels to reach the opposite bank. We cheered when one struggling baby elephant finally made it across. One evening we were moored on a riverbank enjoying sundowners, when an inquisitive elephant approached to within feet of Jane who was seated at the front of the boat. It was a heart-stopping moment to be face-to-face with such a huge animal – so close we could count the eyelashes – but we had nowhere to go. -
KZN Birds 57.Cdr
KZN BIRDS NO 57 Iron Lady survives two hail storms in 12 days THIS female Amur Falcon was one of hundreds of falcons rescued after a hail storm struck their roost in Mooi River in March. She was ringed and released after treatment at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Howick, but was caught up in another storm at Newcastle barely 12 days later. The picture on the left, showing Amur Falcons arriving at the Mooi River roost , was taken on 4 March 2019, just five days before the storm hit the town (article on page 2). Another falcon, Survivor Queen, which was ringed by Rina Pretorius after surviving the Newcastle storm, was trapped by two boys in a jungle in India. Their parents noticed the ring and delivered the bird to forest officials who kept her for two days before releasing her near Jonai town in Assam on 19 May 2019. https://bit.ly/2VRzz0p PHOTOS: Rina Pretorius, Crystelle Wilson KZN BIRDS is a newsletter for bird clubs in KwaZulu-Natal affiliated to BirdLife South Africa. Any member of the public, whether members of a club or not, are invited to submit articles for publication. Views expressed in KZN BIRDS are not necessarily those of the editor, the clubs or BLSA. All national rarities are subject to acceptance by the National Rarities Committee. Submissions are used at the discretion of the editor and may be held back for future editions. Contributions can be sent to the Editor, Crystelle Wilson, at [email protected] or posted to Crystelle at Unit 18, Amber Lee, Private Bag X11, Howick 3290. -
CWE Bird List
602 White-throated Robin-chat Cossypha humeralis 766 Miombo Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis elisabeth 613 White-browed Scrub-robin Cercotrichas leucophrys 769 Red-winged Starling Onychognathus morio 617 Bearded Scrub-robin Cercotrichas quadrivirgata 779 Marico Sunbird Cinnyris mariquensis 625 Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina 787 White-bellied Sunbird Cinnyris talatala 631 African Reed-warbler Acrocephalus baeticatus 791 Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis 643 Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus 798 Red-billed Buffalo-weaver Bubalornis niger Sylvietta rufescens 651 Long-billed Crombec 799 White-browed Sparrow-weaver Plocepasser mahali 653 Yellow-bellied Eremomela Eremomela icteropygialis 801 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 657.1 Grey-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brevicaudata 804 Southern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer diffusus 664 Fantailed Cisticola Cisticola juncidis 805 Yellow-throated Petronia Petronia superciliaris 672 Rattling Cisticola Cisticola chinianus 806 Scaly-feathered Finch Sporopipes squamifrons 679 Lazy Cisticola Cisticola aberrans 811 Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus 681 Neddicky Cisticola fulvicapillus 814 Southern Masked-weaver Ploceus velatus 683 Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava 819 Red-headed Weaver Anaplectes rubriceps 689 Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata 821 Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea 691 Ashy Flycather Muscicapa caerulescens 829 White-winged Widowbird Euplectes albonotatus 694 Southern Black Flycatcher Melaenornis pammelaina 834 Green-winged Pytilia Pytilia melba 695 Marico Flycatcher -
Namibia & Botswana
Namibia & Botswana: From the NAMIB to the OKAVANGO A Tropical Birding Set Departure September 5–20, 2015 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken by Ken Behrens during this trip TOUR SUMMARY Our Namibia and northern Botswana tour has long been one of our most popular, and for good reason. The Namib escarpment and desert hold a suite of endemic birds that is shared only with adjacent Angola. These include the handsome Hartlaub’s Francolin, taxonomic oddity Rockrunner, boldly pied White-tailed Shrike, and cryptic Dune Lark. Farther north and east, the Okavango system holds a great wealth of birds, including two of the continent’s most wanted species: White-backed Night-Heron and Pel’s Fishing-Owl. There is no better spot in Africa for these scarce and shy birds. Although they expect the special birds, birders are often also surprised by this tour’s richness of mammals. Etosha National Park is one of Africa’s great parks, and is at its best during the late dry season timing of this tour. The spectacle of thousands of big mammals crowding together for precious mouthfuls of water while trying to avoid the big predators that await in ambush, ranks among Earth’s great natural spectacles. And Etosha is just one of several sites on this trip that always have lots of mammals. But the real thing that makes tours in Namibia and Botswana special is not the specific birds and mammals that these countries hold, Namibia & Botswana September 5 – 20, 2015 but rather a magical quality to the landscapes of this part of the world. -
Namibia Birding and Nature Tour September 13-25, 2014 Tour Species List
P.O. Box 16545 Portal, AZ. 85632 PH: (866) 900-1146 www.caligo.com [email protected] [email protected] www.naturalistjourneys.com Naturalist Journeys: Namibia Birding and Nature Tour September 13-25, 2014 Tour Species List Dalton Gibbs of Birding Africa and Peg Abbott of Naturalist Journeys, with five participants: Andrea, Alex, Ty, Mimi, and Penny BIRDS Common Ostrich – Seen regularly in the first days of the trip in open terrain, strutting through just amazing landscapes with colorful escarpments amid seas of arid grassland. Numerous at Etosha, we could view their dominance behaviors and also some courting display, some of the males were starting to get very red necks and legs as they came into prime condition. Helmeted Guineafowl – Widespread and regularly seen throughout the journeys. The most tame were at Weltevrede where they posed on the gate, strutted about the farm and serenaded us at the end of each day. They came into the waterholes of Etosha in large groups, 20-50 at a time, vocal and jumpy, always alert. One by the roadside on the last day made this an everyday species for the trip. Red-billed Spurfowl – first seen in a wash as we approached Remhoogte Pass, coming off the escarpment onto the coastal plain on the first day from Windhoek. Widespread – seen on seven days of the trip, in all but our most arid locations. Saw some on the Dik Dik Drive of Etosha. And at the Waterberg they were abundant, at dawn their calls were deafening! Swainson’s Spurfowl – recognized by different calling, Peg spotted a family group as we entered the fort area of Namutoni in Etosha, active at the road margin. -
SOUTH AFRICA: LAND of the ZULU 26Th October – 5Th November 2015
Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: October/November 2015 A Tropical Birding CUSTOM tour SOUTH AFRICA: LAND OF THE ZULU th th 26 October – 5 November 2015 Drakensberg Siskin is a small, attractive, saffron-dusted endemic that is quite common on our day trip up the Sani Pass Tour Leader: Lisle Gwynn All photos in this report were taken by Lisle Gwynn. Species pictured are highlighted RED. 1 www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-0514 [email protected] Page Tropical Birding Trip Report South Africa: October/November 2015 INTRODUCTION The beauty of Tropical Birding custom tours is that people with limited time but who still want to experience somewhere as mind-blowing and birdy as South Africa can explore the parts of the country that interest them most, in a short time frame. South Africa is, without doubt, one of the most diverse countries on the planet. Nowhere else can you go from seeing Wandering Albatross and penguins to seeing Leopards and Elephants in a matter of hours, and with countless world-class national parks and reserves the options were endless when it came to planning an itinerary. Winding its way through the lush, leafy, dry, dusty, wet and swampy oxymoronic province of KwaZulu-Natal (herein known as KZN), this short tour followed much the same route as the extension of our South Africa set departure tour, albeit in reverse, with an additional focus on seeing birds at the very edge of their range in semi-Karoo and dry semi-Kalahari habitats to add maximum diversity. KwaZulu-Natal is an oft-underrated birding route within South Africa, featuring a wide range of habitats and an astonishing diversity of birds.