Complex Sexual Signals in the Mutual Courtship Display of Blue Waxbills
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Avifaunal Impact Assessment: Scoping
AVIFAUNAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT: SCOPING Proposed construction and operation of the 100MW Rondavel Solar Photovoltaic Facility, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and associated infrastructure located near Kroonstad in the Free State Province November 2020 Page | 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY South Africa Mainstream Renewable Power Developments (Pty) Ltd is proposing the construction and operation of the 100 MW Rondavel Photovoltaic (PV) Solar Energy Facility (SEF) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), near the town of Kroonstad in the Moqhaka Local Municipality (Fezile Dabi District) of the Free State Province of South Africa. The proposed PV facility will be connecting to the grid via a 132kV grid connection, which is the subject of a separate EA. This bird scoping assessment report deals only with the proposed 100 MW Rondavel Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Facility, and the associated infrastructure thereof. 1. Impacts The anticipated impacts were summarized, and a comparison made between pre-and post-mitigation phases as shown in the Table below. The rating of environmental issues associated with different parameters prior to and post mitigation of a proposed activity was averaged. A comparison was then made to determine the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation measures. The comparison identified critical issues related to the environmental parameters. Environmental Issues Anticipated rating prior to Anticipated rating post parameter mitigation mitigation Avifauna Displacement of 40 medium 30 medium priority species due to disturbance associated -
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. -
(Solitary) Birdsong in Female and Male Blue- Capped Cordon-Bleus (Uraeginthus Cyanocephalus) and Its Endocrine Correlates
Undirected (Solitary) Birdsong in Female and Male Blue- Capped Cordon-Bleus (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus) and Its Endocrine Correlates Nicole Geberzahn*¤, Manfred Gahr Department of Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany Abstract Background: Birdsong is a popular model system in research areas such as vocal communication, neuroethology or neuroendocrinology of behaviour. As most research has been conducted on species with male-only song production, the hormone-dependency of male song is well established. However, female singing and its mechanisms are poorly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: We characterised the song and its endocrine correlates of blue-capped cordon-bleus (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus), a species in which both sexes sing. Like other estrildids, they produce directed song during courtship and undirected (or solitary) song in isolation, i.e. when the mate is not visible or absent. We compare solitary song of blue-capped cordon-bleus to published descriptions of the song of its relative, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Solitary song of cordon-bleus shared some overall song features with that of zebra finches but differed in spectro-temporal song features, sequential stereotypy and sequential organisation. The song of cordon-bleus was dimorphic with respect to the larger size of syllable repertoires, the higher song duration and the lower variability of pitch goodness (measuring the pureness of harmonic sounds) in males. However, in both sexes the overall plasma testosterone concentrations were low (ca. 300 pg/ml) and did not correlate with the sexually dimorphic song motor pattern. Despite such low concentrations, the increase in the rate of solitary song coincided with an increase in the level of testosterone. -
Birders Checklist for the Mapungubwe National Park and Area
Birders Checklist for the Mapungubwe National Park and area Reproduced with kind permission of Etienne Marais of Indicator Birding Visit www.birding.co.za for more info and details of birding tours and events Endemic birds KEY: SA = South African Endemic, SnA = Endemic to Southern Africa, NE = Near endemic (Birders endemic) to the Southern African Region. RAR = Rarity Status KEY: cr = common resident; nr = nomadic breeding resident; unc = uncommon resident; rr = rare; ? = status uncertain; s = summer visitor; w = winter visitor r Endemicity Numbe Sasol English Status All Scientific p 30 Little Grebe cr Tachybaptus ruficollis p 30 Black-necked Grebe nr Podiceps nigricollis p 56 African Darter cr Anhinga rufa p 56 Reed Cormorant cr Phalacrocorax africanus p 56 White-breasted Cormorant cr Phalacrocorax lucidus p 58 Great White Pelican nr Pelecanus onocrotalus p 58 Pink-backed Pelican ? Pelecanus rufescens p 60 Grey Heron cr Ardea cinerea p 60 Black-headed Heron cr Ardea melanocephala p 60 Goliath Heron cr Ardea goliath p 60 Purple Heron uncr Ardea purpurea p 62 Little Egret uncr Egretta garzetta p 62 Yellow-billed Egret uncr Egretta intermedia p 62 Great Egret cr Egretta alba p 62 Cattle Egret cr Bubulcus ibis p 62 Squacco Heron cr Ardeola ralloides p 64 Black Heron uncs Egretta ardesiaca p 64 Rufous-bellied Heron ? Ardeola rufiventris RA p 64 White-backed Night-Heron rr Gorsachius leuconotus RA p 64 Slaty Egret ? Egretta vinaceigula p 66 Green-backed Heron cr Butorides striata p 66 Black-crowned Night-Heron uncr Nycticorax nycticorax p -
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 -
The Birds of the Dar Es Salaam Area, Tanzania
Le Gerfaut, 77 : 205–258 (1987) BIRDS OF THE DAR ES SALAAM AREA, TANZANIA W.G. Harvey and KM. Howell INTRODUCTION Although the birds of other areas in Tanzania have been studied in detail, those of the coast near Dar es Salaam have received relatively little recent attention. Ruggles-Brise (1927) published a popular account of some species from Dar es Salaam, and Fuggles-Couchman (1939,1951, 1953, 1954, 1962) included the area in a series of papers of a wider scope. More recently there have been a few other stu dies dealing with particular localities (Gardiner and Gardiner 1971), habitats (Stuart and van der Willigen 1979; Howell 1981), or with individual species or groups (Harvey 1971–1975; Howell 1973, 1977). Britton (1978, 1981) has docu mented specimens collected in the area previous to 1967 by Anderson and others. The purpose of this paper is to draw together data from published reports, unpu blished records, museum specimens and our own observations on the frequency, habitat, distribution and breeding of the birds of the Dar es Salaam area, here defi ned as the portion of the mainland within a 64-km radius of Dar es Salaam, inclu ding the small islands just offshore (Fig. 1). It includes Dar es Salaam District and portions of two others, Kisarawe and Bagamoyo. Zanzibar has been omitted because its unusual avifauna has been reviewed (Pakenham 1979). Most of the mainland areas are readily accessible from Dar es Salaam by road and the small islands may be reached by boat. The geography of the area is described in Sutton (1970). -
The Characters and Range of Uraeginthus Angolensis Natalensis
VOL. X, PART 7 ISSUED 15TH AUGUST, 1974 MISCELLANEOUS TAXONOMIC NOTES ON AFRICAN BIRDS XXXIX b y P. A. CLANCEY (Director, Durban Museum, Durban) ON THE RACES OF THE COMMON TERN - STERNA H I RUN DO L I N N A E U S OCCURRING IN SOUTH AFRICAN WATERS In a note to Sterna hirundo Linnaeus in my “Catalogue of Birds of the South African Sub-Region” in Durban M us.Novit., vol. vii, 1965, p. 313, I showed that more than one race of the Com mon Tern oc curred seasonally along the coasts of southern Africa. In addition to the nominate race, one of the shorter billed and rather darker central and eastern Palaearctic races also occurs r egularly, mainly in the east from Durban northwards. Recent re-examination of the now larger Durban Muse u m se r ie s of South African-taken S .h ir u n d o enables me to take the question of the races occurring in South Africa a stage further. Thirty-six specimens from the eastern Cape (from Cape Receife a n d P o r t Elizabeth), north-east to Natal and Zululand obtain e d a lm o s t throughout the year reveal little or no colour variation consonant with the subspecific variation defined in standard works on the basis of m aterial obtained on the Palaearctic breeding gr ounds, and owing to the abraded and moulting condition of the wings and tails of most skins no variation of moment is discernible in the measure Reproduced by Sabinet Gateway under licence granted bythe Publisher (dated .) by P. -
Special Scientific Report--Wildlife
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 9999 06317 694 3 birds imported /W into the united states in 1970 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUREAU OF SPORT FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE Special Scientific Report—Wildlife No. 164 DEPOSITORY UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ROGERS C. B. MORTON, SECRETARY Nathaniel P. Reed, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Fish and Wildlife Service Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, Spencer H. Smith, Director BIRDS IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES IN 1970 By Roger B. Clapp and Richard C. Banks Bird and Mammal Laboratories Division of Wildlife Research Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife Special Scientific Report —Wildlife No. 164 Washington, D.C. February 1973 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402-Price $1.25 domestic postpaid, or $1 GPO Bookstore Stock Number 2410-00345 ABSTRACT Birds imported into the United States in 1970 are tabulated by species and the numbers are compared to those for 1968 and 1969. The accuracy of this report is believed to be substantially greater than for the previous years. The number of birds imported in 1970 increased by about 45 percent over 1969, but much of that increase results from more extensive declarations of domestic canaries. Importation of birds other than canaries increased by about 11 percent, with more than half of that increase accounted for by psittacine birds. More than 937,000 individuals of 745 species were imported in 1970. This report tallies imported birds by the country of origin. Eleven nations account for over 95 percent of all birds imported. -
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WIJAS 1: 68–75 (2019) Structure of avian communities in a mosaic of built-up and semi-natural urbanised habitats in Katima Mulilo town, Namibia G. Kopij* Department of Integrated Environmental Science, Ogongo Campus, University of Namibia, Oshakati, Namibia Abstract A simplified mapping method has been employed to quantify avian assemblages in a plot with a mosaic of built-up areas (129 ha) and semi-natural or open areas (85 ha; grass, trees, shrubs) in the Katima Mulilo town, Namibia. Overall, 65 breeding bird species were recorded in the study plots (51 in the built-up areas, and 50 in the ‘open’ areas). Five of them, Rock Dove Columba livia, Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer diffuses), Dark-capped Bulbul (Pycnonotus tricolor), Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis) and Blue Waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis) were classified as dominants. The cumulative dominance was 69.9% in the built-up area and 55.6 % in the ‘open’ area. The structure of the avian community in the built-up area was unexpectedly similar to that in the ‘open’ area. Almost the same number of breeding species was recorded, and almost identical diversity and evenness indices were calculated. However, the Sorensen Similarity Index was rather low (I = 0.69). Also, the overall density of all breeding birds was much lower in ‘open’ than in the built-up area. Granivorous birds were by far the most numerous feeding guild comprising in the built-up area 68.1% and in ‘open’ area 62.2 % of all breeding birds. Also, similar between the two areas compared was the proportion of granivores (17.7% vs. -
Unlocking the Black Box of Feather Louse Diversity: a Molecular Phylogeny of the Hyper-Diverse Genus Brueelia Q ⇑ Sarah E
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 94 (2016) 737–751 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev Unlocking the black box of feather louse diversity: A molecular phylogeny of the hyper-diverse genus Brueelia q ⇑ Sarah E. Bush a, , Jason D. Weckstein b,1, Daniel R. Gustafsson a, Julie Allen c, Emily DiBlasi a, Scott M. Shreve c,2, Rachel Boldt c, Heather R. Skeen b,3, Kevin P. Johnson c a Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA b Field Museum of Natural History, Science and Education, Integrative Research Center, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA c Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, 1816 South Oak Street, Champaign, IL 61820, USA article info abstract Article history: Songbirds host one of the largest, and most poorly understood, groups of lice: the Brueelia-complex. The Received 21 May 2015 Brueelia-complex contains nearly one-tenth of all known louse species (Phthiraptera), and the genus Revised 15 September 2015 Brueelia has over 300 species. To date, revisions have been confounded by extreme morphological Accepted 18 September 2015 variation, convergent evolution, and periodic movement of lice between unrelated hosts. Here we use Available online 9 October 2015 Bayesian inference based on mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (EF-1a) gene fragments to analyze the phylogenetic relationships among 333 individuals within the Brueelia-complex. We show that the genus Keywords: Brueelia, as it is currently recognized, is paraphyletic. Many well-supported and morphologically unified Brueelia clades within our phylogenetic reconstruction of Brueelia were previously described as genera. -
Tanzania, 30 November to 21 December 2020
Tanzania, 30 November to 21 December 2020 Thomas Pettersson This tour was organized by Tanzania Birding and Beyond Safaris and unfortunately, I was the only participant as my friend was prevented from going as was planned. The flights from Stockholm via Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam and back with Ethiopian Airlines were uneventful. The only differences from my previous flights were that wearing face masks on the aircrafts was mandatory, and recommended at the airports, and that they checked my body temperature at both arrival and departure. I am not sure what the consequences would have been in case of fever. You must also complete a health declaration both for transfer and arrival. The outbound flight from Stockholm to Addis Ababa was about half empty and on the return perhaps only 25 % of the seats were occupied, which meant good nights sleep on three seats both ways. The flights between Addis Ababa and Dar es Salaam were fully booked both ways. The domestic flights with Coastal Aviation from Dar es Salaam via Zanzibar (Unguja) to Pemba and on to Tanga were also smooth, with the same regulations as above. The aircrafts were painfully small though, 12 seats. Not much space for legs and hand luggage. On the other hand, the distances are short. All in all, the tour was a big success. Accommodation was generally good, although basic at some places, but nothing to complain about. Food was excellent and plentiful, and I had no issues with the stomach. The drivers and the guides were excellent, in particular the outstanding Anthony, who guided most of the tour. -
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.