Bulletin 340 - South Africa #17 - Part 1 - Vultures, Cuckoos, Secretarybird, Mousebirds

I had an amazing 2 week trip to South Africa and scored almost 280 new species of birds as well as fantastic mammals and a few reptiles. My guide Casper Badenhorst was outstanding. You can see his web site here. He can be contacted through the web site or if you want his email it is info@birdingandwildlifesafaris.com. I recommend him highly as he showed me so many rare birds and animals. I will use him again when I go to Southern Africa.

The 55" Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a unique long-legged raptor in its own family. It has long plumes on the back of the head and very long tail feathers.

Secretarybird

Secretarybird

The Old Word vultures are included in the same family as hawks and eagles, unlike the New World vultures which are a separate family. I saw 6 species for the trip. The smallest is the 24" Palm-nut Vulture (Gypohierax angolensis). It is always associated with raphia palms as about 2/3 of its diet is the nuts of this tree. It is very rare in South Africa because that tree is not native there, but has been planted. The birds have followed.  This was another stroke of luck to see this bird. The guides 17 year old son, who is also a birder, has never seen this species. Here he is on top of that palm tree.

Palm-nut Vulture

The next larger is the 30" Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) It is a brown vulture with a white face, that turns red when excited.

Hooded Vulture

The 38" White-headed Vulture (Trigonoceps occipitalis) is black above, white below and a white head. This one has his crop full after gorging on a carcass, we will see later.

White-headed Vulture

The next larger is the 40" White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus). It is beige or brown backed with a gray neck and black face and bill.

White-backed Vulture

The 46" Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres) is a huge white headed vulture that I only saw overhead.

Cape Vulture

 The 46" Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus) is a huge brown vulture with a pink head. Because of its size, it is able to tear open some larger carcasses when the smaller vultures cannot. The locals call it the 'can opener'.

Lappet-faced Vulture

I am sure everyone has seen nature shows of vultures fighting over a carcass. We saw this spectacle once. Here is a dead hyena and the vultures are swarming around trying to get at it.

Vultures

And in this one, some jackals are trying to get in as well.

 Vultures and jackal

Most cuckoos in the Old World are parasitic which means they lay their eggs in other birds nests (like our cowbirds here in Americas). 

The 12" Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius) has a gray head and back and a brick red chest.

Red-chested Cuckoo

The 7" male Klaas's Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas) is bright green above and white below.

Klaas's Cuckoo - male

The 8" male Diederik Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius) is dark green on the back and wings with white spots on the wings and tail. It is snow white below and has a red eye.

Diederik Cuckoo - male

But the most beautiful is the 8" male African Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) It is glossy green with a bright yellow breast and belly.

African Emerald Cuckoo - male

Continued on Part 2