asked Rob why they do this, and he explained it’ s to show off their fitness to any pretty female birds and any potential rival males.
• Rob loves the Pygmy Falcon – so much so, he has a photo of it on his latest book. It is the smallest raptor in South Africa, and – unlike most raptors – it is adorably cute. They cohabit with Sociable Weavers, which build those huge‘ residential estates’ for birds. It’ s a mutually beneficial relationship. The Pygmy Falcon predates on any small snakes that may come by to snack on weavers, and the weavers provide a warm and cosy home for the falcons.
• I also love Secretarybirds. They are raptors but – unlike eagles, hawks, kestrels and other birds of prey – they don’ t hunt‘ red in tooth and claw’. They use their long, powerful legs to kick and stomp potential meals. How’ s this: a Secretarybird can kick a cobra to death. Beat that, Jackie Chan!
• Rob also loves Ground Woodpeckers because they are different. Unlike most woodpeckers that nest in holes in trees, the Ground Woodpecker – you’ d never guess it – nests in the ground. They‘ dig’ tunnels with their beak, working much the way a jackhammer does. Like other woodpeckers, they have a spongy, plate-like bone structure in their heads that acts as a shock absorber and protects their brains. They can be found in the mountains of the Western Cape – including the higher suburbs of Cape Town.
• Another favourite of mine are hadedas( Hadeda Ibis) because they are weird-looking, prehistoric, dinosaur-like birds with an astonishing sense of humour. They’ re relatively new to the Western Cape, having expanded their range from further east and north, but they have become an integral feature of suburban life. The thing I love most about them is how they tease dogs. They hang out in popular dog-walking spots, like the Constantia Greenbelt, and pretend to be totally preoccupied, looking the other way while some unsuspecting Jack Russel, rottweiler or Yorkie sneaks up on them. When it thinks it’ s close enough, the dog will charge, and the hadeda – at the very last moment – will casually take off vertically till it’ s just out of reach, screeching in glee,‘ Ha-ha-hahahaha-hadee-dee’ like the demented evil villain in a superhero movie. They don’ t actually have middle fingers, but you can almost see them.
• Also among Rob’ s favourites are Southern Ground Hornbills, even though they have faces that – really – one would think only a mother could love. They’ re weird, turkey-like birds that can fly but spend almost all their time on the ground. They are very, very, slow breeders. They live about as long as humans – between 60 and 70 years – and, also much like humans, reach sexual maturity in their teens. Living in groups led by an alpha
female, they are co-operative breeders with what appear to be some rather inefficient strategies. There is only one female in the group, she breeds only with the alpha male, and lays only two eggs. The alpha female incubates the eggs for about six weeks and, once they’ ve hatched, the parents will choose a favourite on which they will lavish all their attention while the lesser sibling, usually from the second-laid egg, quietly starves to death. Fledged chicks are dependent on their parents for an astonishingly long period of well over a year, sometimes two years. So each female will usually only lay eggs every three years. Do the maths: one female plus a minimum of three – maybe more – males rear one chick every three years. Not surprising they’ re classified as vulnerable – and that’ s why conservationists have a new strategy of rescuing the Cinderella sibling to bring up and release into the wild as new founder groups.
• And I just love Lilac-breasted Rollers because they are unutterably beautiful, and I can’ t help smiling whenever I see one.
See – birding can be far more interesting than just ticking off a list of birds.
Getting started
You really need a good bird guidebook, or you’ ll just go crazy trying to figure out what you are looking at. The three big names in South Africa are Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, Newman’ s Birds of Southern Africa and Sasol Birds of Southern Africa. A useful addition – especially for beginners – is Newman’ s Birds by Colour, a user-friendly book that groups birds by features any newbie can figure out.
While lots of people visit our amazing national parks to look at mammals, and just consider it a bit of a bonus if they see a pretty bird, there is an ever-growing group of people who drive past the lions and leopards in our national parks because they’ re keen to tick off a Kori Bustard or a Saddle-billed Stork. And that was the thinking behind Rob’ s latest book. Birding in South Africa’ s National Parks is written specifically for birders who have a pretty good idea what they’ re looking at, and want to explore further, but aren’ t really sure where to go or why. Birding in South Africa’ s National Parks is available in all leading bookstores and online. Images by: Maans Booysen.
Jennifer Stern
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