Bulletin 354 - South Africa 2020 #8 - Larks and other passerines

I was enchanted with my first visit to Africa in November 2018 and so I scheduled another trip with the same guide Casper Badenhorst. As we had done the eastern part of the country from Durban to Kruger NP, we went to the Capetown area and the famous fynbos habitat.

The larks are a family of brown-streaked ground dwelling songbirds. There are 98 species mostly in Africa and just a single member in North America. I found 3 new ones on this trip. The 8" Agulhas Long-billed Lark (Certhilauda brevirosris) is one of the 5 species in the split of "Long-billed Lark" complex about 20 years ago. This one has the smallest range along the coast east of Capetown. It is dark brown, but is best IDed by voice.

Agulhas Long-billed Lark

The 7.5" Large-billed Lark (Galerida magnirostris) is a heavily streaked lark with buffy eyeline.

Large-billed Lark

The only one identified by color is the 6" Red-capped Lark (Calandrealla cinerea). He has a red cap and shoulder and the breast is not streaked.

Red-capped Lark

The 10" Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) is glossy black with a forked tail. For some reason I just like the name drongo, so I like to find these birds!

Fork-tailed Drongo

The 11" Pied Starling (Lamprotornis bicolor) is a brown-black bird with white vent and white eye. The bill is mostly yellow.

Pied Starling

The 9" Bokmakierie (Telophorus zeylonus) is a member of the bushshrike family. These birds are often brightly colored. This one has a gray head, yellow breast with a black bib. He reminds me of our meadowlarks in the USA. This cooperative bird was 15 feet from the car.

Bokmakierie

The 9" Olive Thrush (Turdus olivaceous) is similar to our American Robin.

Olive Thrush

I saw my first male Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus). The males weigh up to 100 lb. Only the males have the corkscrew horns. Animals in the south are much darker then further north. For comparison, here is a reddish-brown female from Kruger Park.

Bushbuck - male

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

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