The Bird of the Week – Week 103 – Dark-capped bulbul
The Dark-capped bulbul used to be known as the Black-eyed bulbul, which made a lot of sense as it is really only the colour of the eyes and the eye-rings that distinguishes it from...
Category: Birding
Bird of the Week – Week 102 – African paradise-flycatcher
The African paradise- flycatcher is one of the most striking of the flycatchers found in the southern African region, not just because of its distinctive chestnut colouring that sets it apart from the other...
The Bird of the Week – Week 101 – Meve’s starling
In the north of Namibia there are several long-tailed, glossy starlings, one of the most striking being the Meve’s starling. This impressive bird has a very long, tapered tail that distinguishes it from the...
Bird of the Week – Week 100 – African green pigeon
It is always a delight to see an African green pigeon. Not because they are particularly rare, but because they are the only green pigeons in the southern African region and their grey and...
Bird of the Week – Week 99 – Malachite kingfisher
The Malachite kingfisher is one of the smallest of the kingfishers found in the southern African region and is also one of the most beautiful. Its range includes most of Africa south of the...
The Bird of the Week – Week 98 – Shaft-tailed whydah
The Shaft-tailed whydah is near-endemic to the southern African region, its range extending only slightly into Angola to the north. Within the region, however, its range is limited to the semi-arid and arid savanna....
The Bird of the Week – Week 97 – Emerald-spotted wood-dove
The preferred habitat of the Emerald-spotted wood-dove is, as its name implies, a variety of wooded areas, and they are particularly at home in acacia woodland and riparian forests. It can be quite a...
The Bird of the Week – Week 96 – Black-backed puffback
One of the more distinctive of the bird calls heard when visiting northern Namibia or the wetter parts of the southern African region is a two-syllable “chick-weeu, chick-weeu“, where the first syllable carries a...
The Bird of the Week – Week 95 – Little grebe
Also known as the Dabchick, the Little grebe is, not unexpectedly, the smallest of the grebes found in the southern African region, and is also the most common and widespread. It is found almost...
The Bird of the Week – Week 94 – Woolly-necked stork
Within the southern African region the Woolly-necked stork is limited to the wetter northern areas, which is not surprising as its preferred habitat is wetlands and rivers. It is also found in large parts...
The Bird of the Week – Week 93 – Black-faced waxbill
Black-faced waxbills are a fairly common sight throughout most of the drier areas of the southern African region, being absent only from the wetter eastern and southern parts of the region. They are also...
The Bird of the Week – Week 92 – Red-billed firefinch
Rather sadly, the beauty of the Red-billed firefinch, and particularly the beauty of the males, has made it a very popular cage bird in large parts of the world. Sad, because I think that...
Bird of the Week – Week 91 – Hartlaub’s babbler
The Hartlaub’s babbler, previously, and quite appropriately, called the Southern white-rumped babbler, is noisy in the manner of the babbler family and is most often heard well before it is seen. Within the southern...
Bird of the Week – Week 90 – Double-banded courser
In the drier areas of southern Africa, particularly in the semi-desert of the Kalahari spreading from Namibia into Botswana and central South Africa, the Double-banded courser is not an uncommon sight. Preferring open plains...
Bird of the Week – Week 89 – Black-collared Barbet
Whenever we leave Windhoek and travel north to the wetter part of Namibia, one of the sounds that is guaranteed to bring a smile to our faces, and a flood of memories to mind,...
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