UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Specimen of Steppe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus alboaxillaris (Lowe, 1921) in the collection of the Museu de Historia Natural, Maputo
Get PDFExamination of 11 specimens of Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Maputo Museu de Historia Natural, Maputo, Mozambique on 19th May 2016 revealed a single specimen showing the characters of the distinctive taxon ?Steppe? Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus alboaxillaris (Lowe 1921). A description of the specimen is given and illustrative photographs presented. The exact collecting locality is not known, but suspected to be Maputo Bay. This is the fifth record for Mozambique and the tenth record in Africa
Black-headed Herons preying on weavers
Get PDFHerons occasionally prey on birds, both adults and nestlings, in an opportunistic manner. This short note reports on a Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala that killed a Cape Weaver Ploceus capensis in a mist-net, but did not manage to extract it from the net. This is the first confirmed report of a Black-headed Heron killing a Cape Weaver. Other records of this heron preying on weavers are listed
Overview of the discovery of the weavers
Get PDFThere are 117 living species of weavers in the Ploceidae family. These were formally described over the period 1758 to 1990, but some weavers were known long before Linnaeus. The largest number of weaver species described per decade was in the 1880s (n=13) and 1890s (n=11). Most weaver species were described from Angola and South Africa (n=15 for both). Most weavers were described by Reichenow (n=10) and by Linnaeus (n=9). Where the collector is known, most weaver types were collected by Sir Andrew Smith (n=6) and Jean Perrein (both n=5). Most collectors were British (28) or German (n=17). Most weaver descriptions appeared in Ibis (n=10)
Water Thick-knees deterring a Water Monitor
Get PDFOn 19 May 2015, an infra-red camera trap (automated digital camera that gets triggered as soon as an animal is detected by the infra-red sensor) was tied to a tree ... three videos ... By using the open-winged display, the Thick-knees are probably trying to keep the water monitor close to the water and away from their inland territory. Water Monitors often feed on bird eggs and are here perceived as a predator by the Water Thick-knees ..
Hovering by Common Fiscal Lanius collaris as a strategy to locate prey
Get PDFThere is an enormous energetic contrast between being a sit-and-wait predator, a characteristic of all shrike species, and hunting by hovering, as is done by some kingfishers and some raptors. It therefore seems unlikely that hovering by Common Fiscals can be a regular foraging strategy, and that the two recorded observations made of this behaviour must be exceptional foraging events
Wilson's Storm Petrels mating and resting on Antarctic ice-breaker
Get PDFWilson's Storm Petrels mating and resting on Antarctic ice-breaker in December 2015
Internet searching of bird-bird associations: A case of bee-eaters hitchhiking large African birds
Get PDFAlthough the African continent still harbours many large-bodied bird species, thus potentially offering an opportunity for similar interactions between birds, only little attention has been paid to bird-bird sitting associations. The aim of this note is to report the results of a study of the spatial and taxonomic distribution of sitting associations between bee-eaters and other African birds collected from recently published photos available on public internet sources
Oxpeckers and hosts in northern Kruger National Park: January - February 2016
Get PDFWhile visiting northern Kruger National Park (KNP) in January 2016 it became apparent that Yellow-billed Oxpeckers Buphagus africanus were unexpectantly abundant. This inspired a study of this species in comparison with Red-billed Oxpeckers Buphagus erythrorhyncus with respect to their occurrence (fairly similar in the area) and host preference (clearly different
Records of feral Common Peacock Pavo cristatus in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
No full textRecords have been maintained of a feral Common Peacock population at the Amanzimtoti Bird Sanctuary, Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa since June 2002
Unusual foraging behaviour of two introduced mammals following degradation of their island habitat
Get PDFThis paper reports opportunistic observations of novel foraging behaviour by European fallow deer and European rabbit on Robben Island during 2008. The reported behaviours are believed to have occurred in response to a reduced availability of natural browse and graze, caused at least in part by a substantial increase in herbivore density in the late 2000