UCT Open Access Journals (Univ. of Cape Town)
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Observations of the courtship display of a White-Backed Night Heron from South Africa
Get PDFThe White-backed Night Heron (Gorsachius leuconotus) is a rare, nocturnal and secretive species which inhabits slow-flowing perennial rivers with sufficient overhanging vegetation. Throughout southern Africa it occurs mostly along the east coast as far south as Knysna, Western Cape (Hockey et al. 2005). It is known from a number of localities in northern South Africa and occurs along most major rivers in the Kruger National Park (Chittenden and Whyte 2009). However due to its secretive and nocturnal habits, very little is known of the biology of this species. An exhaustive search of the literature could not produce any formal description of its courtship display and thus our observations from Marloth Park, Mpumalanga are described here
Butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) on Robben Island: Preliminary results from LepiMAP
Get PDFSome aspects of the biodiversity of Robben Island, in Table Bay, South Africa, have been well studied, while others have been neglected; the bibliography of publications relating to the biodiversity of Robben Island was dominated by birds, especially seabirds. This paper aims to help fill the gap in knowledge of the invertebrates of Robben Island, by searching the LepiMAP database for records from the island. Its objective is to provide an initial list of the butterflies and moths recorded from Robben Island
Range changes among bird species in the far Northern Cape
Get PDFOrnithologically, the Northern Cape is the most poorly known part of South Africa. This paper provides insights into how the ranges of bird species have changed in a study area in the far Northern Cape in the two-decade interval between the First and Second Bird Atlas Projects in Southern Africa (SABAP1 and SABAP2)
Parental care by a honey badger Mellivora capensis in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Get PDFThis paper contains an observation of parental care between a honey badger and her cu
Is Namibia on the brink of being invaded by Common Starling Sturnus vulgaris?
Get PDFOn 11 September 2016, on a farm approximately 70 km south of Granau in southern Namibia, I observed a Common Starling ... This sighting near Granau of a starling in breeding plumage is disconcerting because it probably indicates that the species could move northwards through the inhospitable dry barrier of southern Namibia and colonise the more fertile inland areas with associated dire consequences to the local avifauna
Shoot the Dragons Week, Round 1: OdonataMAP grows by 1,200 records
Get PDFThe first "Shoot the Dragons Week" was held from Saturday 26 November to Sunday 4 December. 1,200 records were submitted by 61 participants. The database increased from 25,120 records at the beginning of Shoot the Dragons Week to 26,320 records at the end, an increase in the size of the database of 4.8%. 1,158 of the 1,200 submissions had confirmed identifications by 27 December. 1,101 records were identified to species level, and there were representatives of 116 species. There were more than 50 records for three species: Red-veined Dropwing Trithemis arteriosa had 103 records, Broad Scarlet Croceothemis erythraea had 68 and the Tropical Bluetail Ischnura senegalensis had 55. The report highlights some of the interesting records, and discusses the impact of the drought on the first Shoot the Dragons Week
Cooperative breeding in the African Paradise Flycatcher
Get PDFAlthough this could be an isolated observation and a rather anecdotal one, it unequivocally shows the involvement of a second male, strongly suggesting that cooperative breeding in the African Paradise Flycatcher takes place
Distribution record of a xanthic Zambezi Flap-shelled Terrapin Cycloderma frenatum at the Rufiji River, Tanzania
Get PDFThis paper reports the discovery of the Zambezi Flap-shelled Terrapin Cycloderma frenatum in the Selous Game Reserve along the Rufiji River, Tanzania. The animal photographed was xanthic (yellow) in colouration
Pentad-scale distribution maps for bird atlas data
Get PDFThe inference from these considerations is that maps on a pentad scale are desirable, and that reporting rates should be shown to represent approximate relative abundance, but reporting rates should only be shown for pentads which meet some minimum threshold for coverage, currently taken as four full-protocol checklists
Courtship displays and mating behaviour of a pair of Cape Parrots in the Hogsback area, South Africa
Get PDFIn this note, I describe the courting and mating behaviour exhibited by a pair of Cape Parrots recorded on video, copulating in the wild