Cover image of Wattled Starling by Ryan Tippett – Carnarvon District

Starlings belong to the family STURNIDAE. All members of the family, which also includes Mynas, are collectively known as starlings. They are small to medium-sized passerine birds known for their often iridescent plumage, complex vocalisations, and their distinctive, swarming behaviour, known as murmurations. Most have strong bills of medium length that are arched on the culmen. They have moderately long and strong legs with large, strong feet. Wing and tail shape are variable.

Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been widely introduced around the world. The family contains 125 species from 36 genera.

Identification

The Wattled Starling is a distinctive and easily recognisable species with a slender, compact body and marked sexual dimorphism.

Breeding males have featherless black and yellow heads with variable black wattles on the crown and throat. The overall body colouration is pale greyish-white with contrasting black flight feathers and a conspicuous white rump.

Non-breeding males have completely feathered, pale grey heads and a small triangular patch of bare yellow skin behind the eye. The lores are black and they have a short, black malar stripe starting at the base of the bill.

Females resemble non-breeding males, but have dark brown wing and tail feathers. Some old females resemble breeding males in terms of plumage coloration, and can even develop bald pigmented areas and small wattles. The bill of both sexes is pale horn-grey.

Juveniles are similar to the females, but recently fledged birds have yellow bills.

Status and Distribution

The Wattled Starling is a locally common and highly nomadic species. It occurs throughout most of southern and east Africa and parts of west Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian peninsular. It has been recorded over most of southern Africa but is sporadic in many areas. Its core range is on the South African central plateau from Limpopo to the Northern and Eastern Cape.

It has been suggested that the Wattled Starling has become more common in the Western Cape, but in general neither its distribution nor abundance has changed. Past records show that the Wattled Starling has always been erratic and unpredictable in its occurrence. The Wattled Starling is considered valuable to agriculture, but is known to sometimes cause damage to vineyards. The species is not threatened and is perhaps the most numerous starling in Africa.

Habitat

The Wattled Starling is a bird of lightly wooded savannas, dry grasslands, Karoo scrub, drier fynbos and cultivated lands. It prefers fairly arid habitats with short grass and usually avoids well developed closed woodlands.

Behaviour

Wattled Starlings normally appear and disappear erratically, mostly in response to food supplies such as locust swarms and the emergence of termite alates. They are highly gregarious at all times and are almost always found in groups, and sometimes in very large flocks. They fly with rapidly beating wings, often in tight flocks and they sometimes perform murmerations in the late afternoon around breeding colonies.

They form huge roosts in reedbeds or trees, often numbering in the hundreds or thousands. Wattled Starlings often roost in association with other starling species. They bath and sunbathe frequently and anting has been recorded in captivity.

Mostly forages on the ground, walking about quickly, pecking and probing for food. The Wattled Starling is the only African starling that probes into grass matts to catch insect larvae and other burrowing animals. Occasionally forages in the rocky intertidal zone along the coast, and at abattoirs and rubbish heaps. Often associates with game and domestic stock such as cattle, sheep and rhinos to catch disturbed insects, and they have been observed removing ticks from cattle.

Wattled Starlings drink nectar from a variety of indigenous and exotic tree species. Also eats seeds, crushed maize, small fruits, grapes and figs, as well as the arils of the alien Rooikrans Acacia cyclops. They consume a wide variety of insects including locusts, termites, flies and beetles. They are erratically associated with locust swarms in some areas but large flocks and breeding colonies form around locust swarms in the Karoo.

Wattled Starlings are monogamous and highly colonial nesters. Breeding is closely synchronised within the colony. The onset of breeding is in response to abundant food, and may be suddenly abandoned at egg or chick stage if food supplies dwindle. Some breeding sites are used infrequently, while others may be used in most years.

The nest is built by both sexes and is a robust, domed mass of sticks, with a small entrance on the side or near the top. Nests can often be clustered together in a single, interlocking mass, with up to 5 separate chambers. Several nests or nest clusters may be placed in one tree. The nest floor is lined with grass and feathers. Nests are typically placed in trees, 2 to 8 m above the ground, and frequently in trees that carry thorns.

Eggs are laid from September to October in the winter rainfall region, and from January to March in the summer rainfall areas. Opportunistic breeding at other times is considered exceptional. 2 to 5, mostly plain, pale blue eggs are laid per clutch. The incubation period lasts about 11 days and incubation is shared by both sexes. Eggs hatch synchronously within the colony, however, newly hatched young are undescribed. The nestlings are able to fly after only 19 to 22 days. They are fed by both parents and are given mostly insect prey, particularly locust nymphs, crickets, earth worms, various caterpillars and also some berries.

Further Resources

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Ansie Dee Reis, Anthony Paton, Dave Rimmer, Derek Solomon, Karis Daniel, Maans Booysen, Tino Herselman and Tony Archer is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Lelspreeu (Afrikaans); iMpofazana (Zulu); Unowambu, Uwambu (Xhosa); Étourneau caronculé (French); Lappenstar (German); Lelspreeuw (Dutch); Estorninho-carunculado (Portuguese)

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Wattled Starling Creatophora cinerea. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2023/11/24/wattled-starling-creatophora-cinerea/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Kittlitz’s Plover by Malcolm Robinson – Albert Falls Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal – BirdPix No. 261565

Identification

Kittlitz’s Plover is one of the smaller plover species with separate breeding and non-breeding plumage. The sexes are similar and differ only slightly in breeding plumage with females having a narrower black bar across the forehead and a marginally paler breast.

Breeding birds have distinctively patterned heads. They have a white forehead with black lores and a black frontal bar across the forehead. This frontal bar is separated from the dusky-brown crown by a narrow white line. There is a further black band that runs from each eye, down the sides of the neck and around to join on the hind neck. The supercilium is white and broad, extending from above the eye and reaching around the head to form a white collar. The rest of the upper parts are sooty-brown with pale, sandy feather margins. The chin and upper throat are white and the breast and upper belly range in colour from pale buff, to yellowish-brown, to pale chestnut, fading to white on the lower belly and flanks.

Non-breeding birds lack the black head markings which are instead replaced with sooty-brown, and they have a buffy-yellow supercilium and collar. The underparts are also paler and less extensively buff.

Regardless of season the bill and legs are black (legs can have a greenish hue) and the eyes are dark brown.

Juveniles resemble the non-breeding adults but are paler and have less defined head markings.

Kittlitz’s Plover could be mistaken for other small plover species, especially in non-breeding plumage but the combination of greenish-black legs and pale nuchal collar distinguish it from all but the White-fronted Plover (Charadrius marginatus). The White-fronted Plover lacks the distinctive black-and-white head markings, and has dark shoulder patches. Non-breeding and juvenile White-fronted Plovers have white, not buffy, nuchal collars.

Status and Distribution

The Kittlitz’s Plover is a locally common resident, local nomad and intra-African migrant. Its movements, however, are poorly understood.

It occurs from the delta of the Nile River southwards, throughout sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is only absent from the equatorial rain forests. It is widespread in southern Africa but is scarce in the arid regions of Botswana, Namibia and the north-western parts of the Northern Cape province. In these areas it is restricted to ephemeral or seasonal pans.

Away from the coast, Kittlitz’s Plover was historically restricted to natural pans and floodplains, but the construction of dams has enabled it to expand its range and increase its numbers substantially. It is not considered threatened.

Habitat

Kittlitz’s Plover favours open habitats with wet or dry mud or sand, and short vegetation, usually close to water.

Along the coast it occurs at estuaries, salt-marshes and seaweed-strewn beaches. Inland it inhabits natural pans and river flood plains and has adapted well to artificial water bodies, including farm dams, sewage works and commercial saltpans. It occurs less often on airfields, golf courses, overgrazed pastures and ploughed fields. For breeding, Kittlitz’s Plover prefers waterbodies with wide, gently sloping, and exposed shorelines. It avoids mountainous regions, forest and other well wooded habitats.

Along the coast, birds move onto estuarine mudflats during winter, possibly because of reduced competition from Palaearctic migrants, but possibly also to avoid harsh interior winters and associated food shortages.

Behaviour

During the non-breeding season Kittlitz’s Plover is usually found in groups of 2 to 5 birds but flocks can occasionally number into the hundreds. Roosts communally at night on wide, bare and open shorelines. They often roost in a hoof print or other similar hollow. They sometimes roost in mixed flocks with White-fronted, Common Ringed and Three-banded Plovers.

Kittlitz’s Plover locates food visually, foraging in the typical plover ‘run-stop-start’ manner. It feeds both day and night, and often forages in mixed-species flocks with other small waders. It is aggressive towards conspecifics and other species with similar diets such as the Curlew Sandpiper and Common Ringed Plover, but is also chased by other larger wader species like the Grey Plover, Blacksmith Lapwing and White-fronted Plover.

The diet of Kittlitz’s Plover consists of small terrestrial and marine invertebrates. These include small beetles, crickets, insect larvae, spiders, bristle worms, molluscs, crabs and other crustaceans, and occasionally seeds.

Breeding occurs at various times across southern Africa. In the winter rainfall region breeding takes place after the rains from August through to March with an October to January peak. In the rest of southern Africa they breed opportunistically throughout the year with a distinct peak from July to October prior to the start of the summer rains.

Kittlitz’s Plovers are monogamous and territorial. Initial courtship and pair formation takes place 3 to 4 weeks before the pair establishes a breeding territory. They nest solitarily or in loose groups. Males are responsible for maintaining territories which they only defend during the day.

The nest is a simple scrape in bare, dry ground, or sometimes on a raised mound. The nest scrape is left bare or variably lined with sand, pebbles, mud, shell pieces, animal dung or fragments of vegetation. 1 to 3 eggs are laid per clutch. and eggs are laid at 1 or 2 day intervals. The eggs are buff coloured with variable dark brown or black mottling. Incubation begins upon clutch completion and lasts from 22 to 28 days. Incubation duties are shared by both sexes, the females by day, and males at night.

If the incubating bird leaves the nest during the day they will partially cover the exposed eggs and hatchlings by kicking sand or other loose material over the nest, and uncovers them upon returning. During hot weather the incubating bird may crouch over the eggs and hatchlings to shade them, sometimes first soaking the belly feathers in water to further cool the eggs.

In defence of their young the adults will perform distraction displays such as ‘false brooding’ and ‘injury feigning’, to draw the predators attention away from the young or eggs.

Newly hatched young are precocial and are covered in down. They are partly brooded for the first 24 hours and do not feed, they then leave the nest and forage for themselves under parental supervision. The young are fully grown at around 60 days or so.

Further Resources

Species text from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Colin Summersgill, Desire Darling, Gerald Wingate, Johan Heyns, John Todd, Keir Lynch, Kevin Nel, Malcolm Robinson, Tino Herselman and Tony Archer is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Geelborsstrandkiewiet (Afrikaans); Herdersplevier (Dutch); Pluvier pâtre (French); Hirtenregenpfeifer (German); Borrelho-do-gado (Portuguese)

A list of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Kittlitz’s Plover Charadrius pecuarius. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2023/11/20/kittlitzs-plover-charadrius-pecuarius/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Three-banded Plover by Ansie Dee Reis – Dikhololo Resort, North West – BirdPix No. 265474

Identification

The Three-banded Plover is distinctive and easily recognisable, and is the only plover in the region with a double black breast band.

The undersides are white, broken only by the aforementioned double black breast bands on the upper breast and lower throat. The chin and throat is greyish-white and the remainder of the face and neck is greyish-brown. The upperparts and crown are dark greyish-brown. There is a white head-band stretching from the forehead and supercilium to meet on the lower hind neck. In flight the Three-banded Plover is seen to have white underwings and a wedge-shaped tail.

The bill is coral-red with a black tip. The eyes are yellow-brown with a red eye ring and the legs and feet are reddish-pink. The sexes are alike.

Juveniles resemble adults but are duller and the feathers on the upper parts and breast bands are edged in pale brown and they have less distinct facial markings. They also have duller, more orange coloured legs and eye-rings.

Status and Distribution

The Three-banded Plover is a common to very common resident and local migrant.

It is widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, ranging almost continuously from Ethiopia across to Gabon and down to South Africa and is also widespread on Madagascar. It is found throughout southern Africa except the very driest parts of Botswana, Namibia and the Northern Cape. It is scarce in high mountainous and heavily wooded or forested regions, but is liable to turn up almost anywhere there is suitable habitat.

The Three-banded Plover has expanded its distribution greatly since the advent of dam building throughout Southern Africa. Previously its range would have been notably more fragmented. The Three-banded Plover has a healthy conservation status and is not threatened.

Habitat

The Three-banded Plover occurs in the widest range of aquatic habitats of any wader in Southern Africa. It makes extensive use of artificial waterbodies, especially farm dams and even visits puddles formed by leaking pipes in arid areas. Its choice of wetland habitat is almost independent of vegetation type.

It is frequent along the open mud or sand shores of any freshwater habitat, favouring pools, streams and seeps, as well as sandbanks along larger rivers, farm dams and sewage works. It is sometimes found along the coast where it visits rock and tidal pools, estuaries and lagoons, but is rare along open coastlines.

Behaviour

The Three-banded Plover is typically encountered singly, in pairs, or in groups of up to 10 or so birds. It is less gregarious than other small plovers but occurs in loose flocks of varying sizes when not breeding. It is found in pairs during the breeding season.

Three-banded Plovers are partial intra-African migrants in response to seasonal rainfall but its movements are poorly understood. It is largely sedentary in areas of higher rainfall.

The Three-banded Plover bobs its head and body up and down when disturbed. It is alert but is often fairly confiding. The flight is rocking and erratic and it raises and lowers its tail repeatedly upon landing.

They are active both day and night, foraging with the typical plover ‘stop-start’ running action. Prey is located visually and pecked from the substrate. The Three-banded Plover consumes a variety of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, including insects, crustaceans, small molluscs and worms.

Breeding occurs in southern Africa throughout the year. At the onset of the breeding season males perform courtship displays with the breast touching the ground and the tail raised and sometimes fanned.

Three-banded Plovers are monogamous, territorial and solitary nesters and territories are maintained throughout the breeding cycle. Breeding territories are established along 80-150 m of shoreline and are defended from rivals by flying or running at conspecifics with a crouched posture, and with flank feathers fluffed out, frequently while emitting a rattling call.

The nest is a simple scrape in the substrate and is usually situated close to water. Nests are lined with bits of vegetation, dried mud or pebbles. 1 to 2 (rarely 3) eggs are laid per clutch and are laid at 1 or 2 day intervals. Incubation likely begins once the final egg has been laid and incubation duties are shared by both sexes. Females incubate the eggs during the day, whilst males spend their days defending the territory. Males then take their turn to incubate at night, when females head off to feed. The incubating bird sits tight, sometimes allowing intruder to within 3 m before running away.

On hot days the incubating female sometimes crouches over the eggs and occasionally soaks her belly feathers with water to cool down the eggs.

Newly hatched young are precocial and covered in down. They are brooded frequently by both parents, usually in response to intruders, rain or low temperatures. The adults Parent crouch up and down to encourage chicks to be brooded. The young are fully fledged at around 31 days, but may remain with their parents for a further 10 days or so.

Three-banded Plovers are often double, or sometimes even triple-brooded, meaning they attempt to breed more than once during the breeding season. Female are sometimes known to lay a second clutch well before the first brood is fully fledged.

Further Resources

Species text from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Andre Kok, Ansie Dee Reis, Attie van Aarde, Graham Bull, Janet du Plooy, Josu Meléndez, Karis Daniel, Neels Putter, Richard Johnstone and Terry Terblanche is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Driebandstrandkiewiet (Afrikaans); Inqatha (Xhosa); N’wantshekutsheku, Xitsekutseku (Tswana); Driebandplevier (Dutch); Pluvier à triple collier (French); Dreiband-Regenpfeifer (German); Borrelho-de-três-golas (Portuguese)

A list of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Three-banded Plover Charadrius tricollaris. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available Online at https://thebdi.org/2023/11/14/three-banded-plover-charadrius-tricollaris/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image by Colin Summersgill – Bisley Valley Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal – BirdPix No. 248466

Identification

Guineafowl are quintessentially African birds, easy to identify and familiar to many.

The Helmeted Guineafowl is a distinctive and easily recognisable species. It has an unusual body-shape which is laterally compressed with a disproportionately small head. Adults have a large, horn-like, bony casque or ‘helmet’ on the head, and long, pendulous blue wattles with red tips on the sides of the face.

The base of the casque is surrounded by bare red skin extending to the cere and hind crown. The rest of the head and upper neck is powder-blue and un-feathered. The entire plumage on the body is black, with dense white spotting. The bill is horn-grey, the eyes are brown and the legs and feet are dark brown to blackish.

The sexes are alike in plumage colouration, but differ in that males have a larger casque. Juveniles have browner bodies with a reduced casque and the upper neck and throat are feathered.

Distribution and Status

The Helmeted Guineafowl is locally common to abundant throughout its range. It is probably Africa’s most widespread and well-known gamebird, occurring virtually throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It is found across most of southern Africa and the only extensive areas where it is absent are in some of the arid and semi-arid regions of southern Namibia, south-western Botswana and parts of the Northern Cape province. In these areas it is probably limited by the availability of drinking water and safe elevated roosts.

The Helmeted Guineafowl is particularly common in savannas interspersed with agricultural fields. Habitat modification due to cultivation, has dramatically increased its range. The Helmeted Guineafowl has become commensal with humans and now inhabits most agricultural regions as well as suburban parks and gardens.

The range of the Helmeted Guineafowl increased dramatically during the 20th century. The reasons are likely a combination of natural expansions, translocations, increased artificial water points in dry regions, and the availability of telephone poles in treeless areas for roosting on. Prior to this the Helmeted Guineafowl was not found south of the Orange River or west of Graaf-Reinet.

The species has, however, undergone dramatic local extinctions in Lesotho and parts of the eastern Cape due to heavy hunting pressure from humans and domestic predators, as well as from severe habitat degradation. An additional treat to the Helmeted Guineafowl is the introduction of domesticated guineafowl from West Africa, which could lead to wild populations becoming less viable in the future.

Habitat

The Helmeted Guineafowl’s natural habitat includes grassland and savannas, particularly along rivers and around wetlands, but occupies most open-country terrain, from semi-desert to the base of high mountains, forest edges, thicket and fynbos.

Behaviour

Adults occur in pairs or small groups during the breeding season and in small to large flocks during the remainder of the year. The Helmeted Guineafowl is mostly resident but the formation of large non-breeding flocks throughout its range implies some degree of seasonal movement.

They are reluctant to fly and only take flight if alarmed or to reach the roost. Helmeted Guineafowl roost in trees, and on telephone poles in arid, treeless areas. Some roost sites are used continuously for many years. Flocks descend from the roost at first light, before heading to drinking water. During the hottest part of the day, flocks move into thick vegetation or dense grass where they remain until it cools down in the late afternoon. Flocks drink mostly in the early morning and late afternoon. They return to the roost site just before sunset.

Forages by scratching or digging at the soil surface or leaf litter with its feet, in much the same way a chicken would. Helmeted Guineafowl are omnivorous, feeding on a wide range of insects (including pest species) and other invertebrates, as well as seeds, grain, bulbs, weeds, tubers and berries. They are largely vegetarian during the non-breeding season but as the breeding season approaches their diet shifts to invertebrates, especially grasshoppers, termites and other insects. Helmeted Guineafowl also consume large numbers of ticks and are very effective in helping to control tick numbers.

Before the onset of the breeding season flock sizes begin to decreases steadily as pairs split away from the flock. The urge to pair-up is stimulated by the first heavy rains.

Helmeted Guineafowl are monogamous once a mate has been chosen. Evidence shows that pairs can remain together for as long as 4 years. Males are alert and will defend their mate aggressively. Males lose around 15% of their body weight through the early stages of the breeding season as they spend far less time feeding themselves, rather engaging in courtship-feeding where they catch and drop food in front of the female, while giving a Humpback display and courting call. Females on the other hand increase in weight as they spend most of their time feeding and preening.

The female selects a suitable nest site site, most often in tall grass or under a bush, typically in thick bush near the edge of open areas. The nest is well hidden and is a simple scrape in the ground, thinly lined with feathers and grass stems. The female adds additional material during incubation.

The laying dates of the Helmeted Guineafowl vary from region to region. Eggs are laid from January to March in Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and from October to March in Eastern South Africa. In the winter-rainfall regions of the Western and Eastern Cape, most egg-laying takes place from September to December to take advantage of food abundance following the winter rains.

6 to 12 eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs are pale brown to white with speckles and are among the thickest-shelled of all eggs relative to size. This is thought to provide some protection from veld fires and predation by small carnivores. Incubation starts only once the full clutch has been laid and the incubation period lasts up to 27 days. All incubation is performed by the female. She leaves the nest to forage only for short periods during day. Males abandon the females during incubation and begin to associate and mate with unpaired females. Males usually return to the female and young soon after hatching. The males then become very involved in parental care, guiding chicks to food during the day and brooding them at night. The females spend this time regaining their condition. Although most eggs hatch, chicks may die of starvation, exposure or predation if the male does not return to help the female with brooding.

Freshly hatched chicks are covered in down, their faces are striped pale brown and buff and there is a single dark brown stripe on the crown. The back is mottled brown and grey, with a central brown stripe, bordered by two black-edged, buffy stripes. The throat is whitish, and the belly is buff coloured. Their legs and bill are reddish brown. Helmeted Guineafowl chicks are precocial, and able to self-feed within 24 hours. The young are able to fly well enough to join their parents at the roost from around 3 weeks old.

Both parents are very aggressive towards potential predators of their young, and will drive off animals as large as jackals, baboons and even humans. Before attacking, the wings are arched and spread while the bird emits a growling call.

Further Resources

This species text is adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Cobus Elstadt, Colin Summersgill, Dane Paijmans, Desire Darling, Dewald du Plessis, Dieter Oschadleus, Fanie Rautenbach, Len de Beer, Lia Steen, Malcolm Robinson, Neels Putter and Sybrand Venter is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Gewone tarentaal (Afrikaans); iMpangele (Zulu) Impangele (Xhosa); Helmparelhoen (Dutch); Pintade de Numidie (French); Helmperlhuhn (German); Pintada da Guiné (Portuguese).

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2023/11/08/helmeted-guineafowl-numida-meleagris/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Namaqua Dove by Neels Jackson – Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo – BirdPix No. 170565

Identification

The Namaqua Dove is a distinctive, small and slender dove. It is in fact the smallest dove in Africa and the only one with a long tail. The Namaqua Dove is sexually dimorphic and the sexes have strikingly different plumage colouration.

Males have a conspicuous and distinctive black face, throat and upper breast, the remainder of the head and neck is grey. The upperparts from the hind neck to the rump is pale brownish-grey. There are two black bands across the upper rump with a white band between. The tail is long and tapered with white outer tail feathers. The wing coverts pale grey to brownish-grey, with 3-5 metallic purple spots , that often appear black from a distance or in poor light. The lower breast, belly and vent are white, and the under tail coverts are black. The bill is yellow-orange with a purplish base. The eyes are dark brown and the feet are purple-brown. In flight both sexes show rufous wings.

Females are similar to the males, but have a blackish bill and lack the black face, throat and upper breast. Juveniles are heavily spotted with buff coloured feathers and dark brown barring.

The Namaqua Dove is not easily mistaken for another species.

Distribution and Status

The Namaqua Dove is widespread in the Afrotropical region, and is also found in south-western Arabia, and on Socotra and Madagascar. While clearly favouring the dry interior, the Namaqua Dove is found virtually throughout southern Africa. It is fairly common to common in the drier regions and sedentary in the more mesic parts of its range. They are highly nomadic in arid zones, where they can be locally abundant at times.

The provision of watering points in drier regions has probably been beneficial to the species. It seems to have declined in Lesotho and possibly in the Eastern Cape and other east coast areas, probably because of high human population densities.

Habitat

The Namaqua Dove has a clear preference for dry to semi-arid open woodlands and savanna. It is also common in Karoo shrublands and dry grasslands where patches of scrub or trees provide nest sites. They are commonly found around farmsteads in arid and semi-arid regions. Of the dove species in southern Africa, the Namaqua Dove is the one least associated with human habitation.

Behaviour

The Namaqua Dove is usually encountered solitarily or in pairs, but larger groups come together when drinking. Perches in the open, on leafless or dead branches. The flight is fast and direct, and fairly low to the ground. Upon landing, raises the tail then lowers it slowly.

Forages on open ground, often along the edges of roads and other open spaces. Walks about with short steps pecking items from surface. Eats almost exclusively tiny seeds, especially of grasses, sedges and annual shrubs. Drinks water mostly during the heat of the day.

The Namaqua dove is a monogamous, solitary nester. Breeding has been recorded throughout the year with a spring peak in the summer rainfall regions and a spring peak in the winter rainfall zone. Breeding is more opportunistic in arid areas with erratic rainfall. The nest is built by both sexes and is a flimsy saucer made of twigs, and fine pliable plant fibres, and is usually placed low down in shrub or thorn tree, typically around 1m above the ground. 1 to 2 unmarked yellowish-brown eggs are laid per clutch. Oval. Incubation usually starts once the first egg has been laid and incubation is performed by both sexes.

Further Resources

This species text is adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Andrew Hodgson, Ansie Dee Reis, Dave Rimmer, David McCarthy, Johan and Estelle van Rooyen, Karis Daniel, Mark Stanton, Neels Jackson, Philip Nieuwoudt, Richard Johnstone and Sybrand Venter is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Namakwaduifie (Afrikaans); isiKhombazane-senkangala (Zulu); Maskerduif (Dutch); Tourterelle masquée, Tourtelette masquée (French); Kaptäubchen (German); Rola-rabilonga (Portuguese)

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Namaqua Dove Oena capensis. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available Online at https://thebdi.org/2023/10/31/namaqua-dove-oena-capensis/

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Pale-winged Starling by Desire Darling – Erongo Wilderness lodge, Namibia

Starlings belong to the family STURNIDAE. All members of the family, which also includes Mynas, are collectively known as starlings. They are small to medium-sized passerine birds known for their often iridescent plumage, complex vocalisations, and their distinctive, swarming behaviour, known as murmurations. Most have strong bills of medium length that are arched on the culmen. They have moderately long and strong legs with large, strong feet. Wing and tail shape are variable.

Starlings are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as northern Australia and the islands of the tropical Pacific. Several European and Asian species have been widely introduced around the world. The family contains 125 species from 36 genera.

Identification

The Pale-winged Starling is a conspicuous and easily recognisable species of arid, mountainous environments.

The plumage is glossy black overall. The two most distinguishing features of the Pale-winged Starling are the bright orange eyes and the pale creamy-white patches in its primaries, which are very striking in flight. The outer edges of the primary feathers are more rufous-brown and this is visible as a rufous edge in the folded wing.

The sexes are alike. Juveniles have brown eyes and are duller than the adults.

The Pale-winged Starling is only likely to be mistaken for the Red-winged Starling (Onychognathus morio). The Red-winged Starling has dark red-brown eyes (not bright orange), rust-red (not creamy white) wing patches, and a longer tail. Female Red-winged starlings also have greyish heads. The distributions of the two species are largely allopatric, except for a broad area of overlap in the southern Free State, Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provinces. The Pale-winged Starling typically prefers drier environments than the Red-winged Starling.

Status and Distribution

The Pale-winged Starling is a locally common resident and nomad. It is near-endemic to southern Africa, extending beyond the sub-region only into south-western Angola. It is widespread in coastal and central Namibia, south to the Northern Cape and the interior of the Western Cape, and eastwards to the southern Free State and adjoining uplands of the Eastern Cape. It is very occasionally recorded in extreme south-western Botswana.

It is rather patchily distributed across its range, as evidenced in the distribution map above. This is due to its preference for rugged hilly and mountainous terrain and its general avoidance of vast, flat plains between suitable habitat.

There is no evidence to suggest any recent changes to its distribution. The Pale-winged Starling’s preferred habitat is subject to little human pressure. It is well represented in conservation areas and is not considered threatened.

Habitat

The Pale-winged Starling frequents rocky outcrops, hills, escarpments, and mountain ranges in arid regions. It is dependent on cliffs and rock-faces for breeding and roosting sites. It visits farmyards and orchards, and enters towns for food, but generally avoids man-modified areas.

Behaviour

The Pale-winged Starling is gregarious and almost always found in flocks or small groups. Roosts on cliffs, seldom roosting in trees or on buildings. In the morning flocks fly out to forage in surrounding areas. Occasionally forms mixed flocks with Red-winged and Wattled Starlings. It is shy and wary in its natural habitat but can become tame and confiding around human habitation.

It is both a resident and seasonal nomad and its movements are likely forced by scarce food resources in arid areas, particularly during winter.

Forages on the ground, or in trees and regularly hawks insects in flight. The Pale-winged Starling’s diet consists primarily of insects like grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies and termite alates. They are known to perch on Klipspringers (Oreotragus oreotragus), as well as other antelope and zebras in order to feed on ticks and other ectoparasites.

Pale-winged Starlings are attracted to flowering aloes for nectar and pollen. Fruit is also an important component of their diet and they are frequently drawn to fruiting trees such as wild figs (Ficus spp.) and Bluebush (Diospyros lycioides). They regularly visit picnic sites for food scraps like bread, cheese and maize pap, and they often pick bits of fat and meat off of braai grids. The Pale-winged Starling drinks and bathes regularly.

Breeding takes place from spring to late summer (October to April). Pale-winged Starlings are monogamous, semi-colonial nesters. Pairs defend small territories around the nest, but commonly breed near conspecifics on the same cliff. They are known to sometimes displace other species at nest sites like the Mocking Cliff-Chat (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris) and Cape Rock Thrush (Monticola rupestris), but are subordinate to Red-winged Starlings (Onychognathus morio)

The nest is constructed by both sexes and consists of a bowl or cup made from grass, typically placed deep inside a crevice or recess in a rock face, and is then packed with sticks and dry grass stems. They very rarely build nests on buildings.

2 to 5 eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs are pale greenish in colour with brownish-red markings. The incubation period lasts for approximately 20 days and all incubation is done by the female. The male remains nearby. The newly hatched young are undescribed. Chicks are fed and cared for by both parents. Nestlings are ready to leave the nest from around 25 days after hatching. Pale-winged Starlings are sometimes double-brooded, breeding more than once in a season, especially during years of good rainfall. Broods are sometimes parasitised by the Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandularis) which specialises in parasitising the nests of various crows and starlings.

Further Resources

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Alan Manson, Carel van der Merwe, Craig Peter, Desire Darling, Johan and Estelle van Rooyen, John Fincham, Lance Robinson, Philip Nieuwoudt and Tino Herselman is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Bleekvlerkspreeu (Afrikaans); Rufipenne nabouroup (French); Bergstar (German); Vaalvleugelspreeuw (Dutch); Estorninho-d’asa-pálida (Portuguese)

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Pale-winged Starling Onychognathus nabouroup. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2023/10/23/pale-winged-starling-onychognathus-nabouroup/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Namaqua Sandgrouse by Tino Herselman – Middelburg, Eastern Cape – BirdPix No. 264328

Identification

Sandgrous are short-legged terrestrial birds with attractive plumage patterns. They somewhat resemble pigeons but are more closely related to wading birds.

The Namaqua Sandgrouse is sexually dimorphic in terms of plumage colouration. Males have a plain yellow-brown, unmarked head and neck area, extending down to the lower breast. The face and throat have a buffy orange wash and there is a narrow, yellow ring of bare skin around the eye. There are two bands across the lower breast, the top band is white while the lower band is dark purplish-brown. The belly is dark greyish-brown and unmarked. The back and folded wings are dark brown with beautiful buffy-yellow and blue-grey spots.

Females are buffy-yellow overall with intricate black-brown barring, streaks and mottling over the whole body. The upper breast shows vertical streaking that changes to horizontal barring on the lower breast and belly.

Juveniles resemble females but are more rufous above with some white-tipped feathers.

In flight the Namaqua Sandgrouse shows a relatively long and narrow pointed tail. This is diagnostic as all other southern African sandgrouse species have shorter, more broadly pointed tails.

The Namaqua Sandgrouse may be mistaken for other sandgrouse species. The female lacks the chestnut belly of female Yellow-throated Sandgrouse (Pterocles gutturalis), and the female Double-banded Sandgrouse (Pterocles bicinctus) has barring (not streaks) on the upper breast. Males are best distinguished from the male Double-banded Sandgrouse by its plain yellowish-brown head which lacks the latter’s black crown streaks and black and white forehead bands.

Distribution

The Namaqua Sandgrouse is a common nomad and partial migrant. It is near-endemic to southern Africa and well adapted to life in arid regions. It occurs from extreme south-western Angola to Namibia, Botswana and western South Africa, from the west coast to the eastern Free State and Eastern Cape interior, and as far south as the wheatlands of the south Western Cape. It is a Vagrant to Zimbabwe, Lesotho, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape coastal regions. The Namaqua Sandgrouse has population centres in the Karoo, southern Kalahari and the Etosha depression in Namibia.

Habitat

The Namaqua Sandgrouse inhabits open stone and gravel desert and semi-desert with a sparse scattering of low shrubs or grass tufts. Often favours drainage lines where food is more abundant and shade may be found during the heat of the day. Sometimes also inhabits arid, sandy savanna with denser vegetation, but generally where the average rainfall is less than 300mm.

Behaviour

The Namaqua Sandgrouse is a gregarious species that is most often found in small flocks and in pairs during the breeding season.

Spends the majority of its time on the ground, moving about with a shuffling gait on short legs.

Forages mostly during early morning and late afternoon and rests up in the shade of a bush during the midday heat. Crouches when disturbed, flushing suddenly before flying fast and straight.

Drinks water daily with large aggregations forming at suitable water sources. Mostly visits water a couple hours after sunrise with smaller numbers arriving to drink in the late afternoon. Flocks may travel up to 60 km each day to visit water. They fly quite fast with an estimated cruising speed of 60-70 km/hr. They prefer exposed water holes with little surrounding vegetation, and are able to drink fairly saline water but prefer fresh water when available. Sandgrouse are equipped with a salt gland to remove excess salt from their bodies. They are unable to perch, so cannot drink from troughs or reservoirs, unless they are leaking.

Flocks roost in stony areas and at the roost site, each bird makes a shallow roosting scrape in which it spends the night. Roosting birds huddle tightly together in cold weather, with adjacent birds facing alternate directions. Dustbathes frequently, but never bathes in water.

Forages during daylight, singly, in pairs or in small groups. Walks slowly with a crouched posture and with the head bent low, making quick pecks at the ground. Does not scratch with the feet, but will flick sand with its bill. Feeds almost exclusively on seeds, mostly small, hard seeds of ephemeral plants, with occasional fresh leaves, flowers and small fruits. Prefers protein-rich legume seeds. Seldom consumes seeds of grasses and daisies. Gravel and pebbles are swallowed intentionally to assist in grinding up seeds in the gizzard.

Breeding is recorded in all months of the year except February with a peak during late winter and spring.

The nest is a simple scrape in the ground, usually exposed to the elements and placed close to a rock or grass tuft. 2 or 3 tawny coloured eggs with dark speckles are laid per clutch. Incubation duties are shared by both sexes and last for around 21 days. The strikingly patterned chicks usually hatch synchronously within 24 hours of each other. Hatchlings are precocial and are led away from the nest to feeding sites within 12 hours of the last chick hatching. Chicks self-feed within 24 hours, eating only seeds which are pointed out to them by the adults.

Sandgrouse have specially adapted feathers on the belly and lower breast that absorb and hold water. Males, and less often females, carry water in these soaked belly feathers, from which chicks drink daily for about 2 months.

Further Resources

This species text is adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Cobus Elstadt, Danny Kotze, Gerald Wingate, John Cox, Karis Daniel, Kyle Finn, Marius Meiring, Rick Nuttall, Tino Herselman and Zenobia van Dyk is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Kelkiewyn (Afrikaans); Lekotokobii (Tswana); Namaqua-zandhoen (Dutch); Ganga namaqua (French); Namaflughuhn (German); Cortiçol da Namáqua (Portuguese).

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available Online at https://thebdi.org/2023/10/20/namaqua-sandgrouse-pterocles-namaqua/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Rufous-eared Warbler by Lance Robinson – Biesiesvlei, Free State –  BirdPix No. 253422

Identification

The Rufous-eared Warbler is a small, Prinia-like species. It was formerly regarded as a Prinia, but is now accepted as being the only species in the genus Malcorus.

If seen clearly, it is difficult to misidentify. The face and ear coverts are bright chestnut-brown, the rest of the head and upperparts are buff-grey with black streaks. The underparts are white to off-white with buff-coloured flanks. The throat is a cleaner white with a narrow black collar separating the throat and breast. The tail is buff-brown and is long, slender and graduated.

The sexes closely resemble one another but males have a more clearly defined collar and a brighter facial patch. Juveniles are similar to adults but have a fainter, and less distinct throat collar.

Status and Distribution

The Rufous-eared Warbler is endemic to southern Africa and occurs from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State northwards into Namibia and southern Botswana. Its centre of abundance lies in the Nama Karoo. It is a common resident but may move locally in response to rain.

The Rufous-eared Warbler occurs in semi-arid vegetation which is unsuitable for agriculture and is unlikely to be impacted by present land-use practices. There is evidence of localised range contractions in parts of the Western Cape, however, the Rufous-eared Warbler is not considered threatened.

Habitat

The Rufous-eared Warbler occurs in arid and semi-arid shrubland on plains and on hill-sides, as well as shrubby vegetation in drainage lines. It also inhabits scrub around the edges of dry pans. It prefers areas of sparse scrub with grass and some taller bushes. The Rufous-eared Warbler is most frequent in Karoo and Kalahari vegetation types.

Behaviour

The Rufous-eared Warbler is an active species that moves around singly, in pairs or in loose family groups. They are conspicuous when calling from the top of bushes but can be difficult to locate when not vocalising, as they tend to forage low down or on the ground at the base of shrubs. When disturbed they bound away at ground-level to disappear between bushes and grass tufts. They move quickly over the ground and often appear quite rodent-like.

The Rufous-eared Warbler gleans stems and leaves for small insects and other invertebrates, often beginning at the base of a bush and making its way to the top before diving down to the base of the next shrub. The diet consists Eats mostly of invertebrates including many insects such as caterpillars, beetles, termites, bugs, ants and grasshoppers. They also take various small spiders and ticks. Some small fruits or berries are also consumed when available.

Breeding has been recorded in all months, but mainly September to December. Most breeding follows good rains, but breeding in the late winter and early summer period may occur regardless of rainfall.

The Rufous-eared Warbler is monogamous and territorial. During courtship display, the male sings while facing the female as he flutters his wings and jerks his body and tail.

The nest is oval-shaped and sits upright with a side-top entrance. It is rather untidy and is made of dry grass leaves and stems, or other similar fine plant fibres and is bound together with spider web and lined with fluffy plant seeds. The nest is placed around 50cm to a meter above ground in a spiny shrub or bush.

The female lays 2-7 plain white to pale bluish white eggs per clutch (It is thought that large clutches may be laid by two females). The incubation period lasts around two weeks but further details regarding incubation are unrecorded. The nestling or fledging period lasts for another two weeks during which time the young are fed and cared for by both parents.

Further Resources

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by JC van Rensburg, Johan and Estelle van Rooyen, Lance Robinson, Philip Nieuwoudt and Tino Herselman is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Rooioorlangstertjie (Afrikaans); Prinia à joues rousses (French); Roodoorprinia (Dutch); Rotbackensänger (German); Felosa-de-faces-ruivas (Portuguese).

A list of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Rufous-eared Warbler Malcorus pectoralis. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2023/10/10/rufous-eared-warbler-malcorus-pectoralis/

Bird identification, birding