Bulletin 356 - South Africa 2020 #10 - finishing up

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 17" Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maximus) is the largest kingfisher in Africa. It is similar to our Belted Kingfisher in North America. The male has and all rufous chest and belly. The female here has a blue chest and rufous belly. There is a huge bill and shaggy crest.

Giant Kingfisher - female

The 8" Alpine Swift (Tachymarptis melba) is dark above and all white below except for a dark throat band and tail.

Alpine Swift

Mousebirds are a 6 species African family of long tailed crested usually brown or gray birds. The 12" Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus) is brown bodied with a whitish crest, black mask, and bicolored bill.

Speckled Mousebird

The 12" White-backed Mousebird (Colius colius) is all gray with a white bill with black tip. This was a life bird for me.

White-backed Mousebird

The 16" Cape Spurfowl (Pternistis capensis) is a dark brown spurfowl with a red bill and black tip to the upper mandible.

Cape Spurfowl

I finally saw a breeding plumaged Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis).. It is attractive with a black and mahogany head and neck, white cheek spot and white tip to the bill.

Little Grebe - breeding

The 5" Brown-throated Martin (Riparia paliducola) is a gray-brown martin with a white belly.

Brown-throated Martin

The 5" Gray-backed Cisiticola (Cisticola subruficapilla) is a gray cisticola with a streaked back and rusty crown. It is almost endemic to the fynbos area.

Gray-backed Cisiticola

Another small bird in the fynbos is the 5.5" Karoo Prinia (Prinia maculosa). It is a brown-backed bird with streaked breast and long tail.

Karoo Prinia

The 4" Orange River White-eye (Zosterops pallidus) is a typical white eye, but he has pinkish flanks.

Orange River White-eye

Lastly is the 3.5" Swee Waxbill (Coccopygia melanotis). Waxbills are colorful and popular as cage birds. The male has a black face, bicolored bill, olive back, and red rump.

Swee Waxbill - male

This completes the birds in the Capetown area. Next week we will visit a new country.

One thing that has interested me for a long time are national birds. Now that I have done photography on several continents, I decided to look up national or official territorial birds. Some places do not have designated birds, so if they have the bird on their coat-of-arms, I used that bird. Despite the fact I have I have photographed in just a dozen countries, I have photos of the birds of 83 countries or territories. 

I did the same for the USA states and territories as well as the Canadian provinces. You can see them here.

I put the different bird/mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 18 of the 113 species of kingfishers

I have photos of 8 of the 106 species of  swifts

I have photos of 4 of the 6 species of  mousebirds

I have photos of 19 of the 182 species of pheasants, grouse

I have photos of 10 of the 22 species of grebes


I have photos of 26 of the 88 species of  swallows and martins

I have photos of 29 of the 160 species of cisticiolas, prinias 

I have photos of 4 of the 129 species of white-eyes


I have photos of 23 of the 141 species of  waxbills, munias 

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

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Bulletin 311 - China #11 - Gulls, tern, grebes

I had an 8 day birding to trip in eastern China with a wonderful guide Lin Zhang based in Shanghai. He is perfectly fluent in English. We visited 5 different locales. His website is here. FYI making contact within China by email is a problem as the government blocks some email accounts coming in including gmail.  So I had to contact him using MS Outlook. His email is zhanglinas@hotmail.com.

The lumping and splitting of gulls makes them a difficult family of birds and the multiple plumages as they progress form juvenile to adult over 3 or 4 years is challenging so I always use a guide. 

The small 12" Saunder's Gull (Choriocephalus saundersi) is listed as vulnerable with a very small range in eastern China. It is a black-headed gull in breeding plumage. It also has a distinctive underwing pattern.

Saunder's Gull - breeding adult

The 23" Heuglin's Gull (Larus fuscus) is now lumped within Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Heuglin's Gull (lumped with Lesser Black-backed Gull)

The 24" Mongolian Gull (Larus vegae) is currently lumped in with Vega Gull which itself was split from Herring Gull

Mongolian Gull (lumped with Vega Gull)

The 19" Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) is a white-headed gull with a black tail tipped in white. It is endemic to east Asia.

Black-tailed Gull

 The winter 16" Black-headed Gull  (Choriocephalus ridibundus) has a black spot behind the eye, red and black bill and black tips to primary wing feathers.

Black-headed Gull - adult winter

I also saw the Relict Gull another rare East Asian species and in my excitement to get closer to the bird, I forgot to take a photo before approaching the flock and they flew away. Live and learn - ugh.

The only tern I photographed was the 11" Whiskered Tern (Childonias hybrida). It is a small gray tern with a black whisker behind the bill. It is visible on a larger photo.

Whiskered Tern

The winter 11" Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) is mostly brown with a yellow eye. In summer he has a red throat and breast. We saw many of these cute birds in Poyang Lake area and I finally got some nice close-up photos.

Little Grebe - winter

The huge 19" Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) has a black and white neck and white face and rufous behind the eye and chin. The bushy crest is just visible.

Great Crested Grebe - breeding

I have put the different bird families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 33 of the 101 species of gulls and terns.

I have photos of 11 of the 22 species of grebes.

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald
dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2018 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe