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Michael´s Year


michael-ibk

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233/S81.) Purple Roller (Coracias naevius) / Strichelracke

 

Kgalagadi, 28/05/2016

 

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234/S82.) African Grey Hornbill (Tockus nasutus) / Grautoko

 

Kgalagadi, 24/05/2016

 

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235/S83.) Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) / Südlicher Gelbschnabeltoko

 

Kgalagadi, 28/05/2016 - ebc (not a good trip for Hornbills)

 

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Edited by michael-ibk
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236/S84.) Green (Red-Billed) Wood-Hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus) / Baumhopf

 

Kgalagadi, 25/05/2016 - an interesting bird to see here, this is out of its range according to my birdbook.

 

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237/S85.) African Hoopoe (Upupa africana) / Afrikanischer Wiedehopf

 

A different bird than the European Hoopoe (Upupa epops, already in the count), though some sources treat them both as subspecies of Upupa epops. The European version has some white under the black tips of the crest.

 

My favourite bird - unfortunately not very cooperative this time.

 

Kgalagadi, 28/05/2016

 

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238/S86.) Acacia Pied Barbet (Tricholaema leucomelas) / Rotstirn-Bartvogel

 

Augrabies Falls, 20/05/2016

 

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Peter Connan

Wow Michael! Some fantastic shots here, and nearly 240 already!

 

You have worked hard, and your efforts have been rewarded.

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239/S87.) Cardinal Woodpecker (Cendropicos fuscescens) / Kardinalspecht

 

Kgalagadi, 24/05-2016 - ebcebc, I swear it is a Woodpecker!

 

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Thank you, @@Peter Connan , it´s a good thing I posted the Woodpecker after your very kind comments - some shots are not so fantastic! ;)

 

I have to stop now - God help me, the Larks are up next... :wacko::(:wacko::ph34r:

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Peter Connan

There's more? Goodness gracious.

 

Over the last few months, my photos are all terrible. Your "EBC"'s are few in comparison.

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There´s a bit more, yes - I´m slowly working my way through my "Birds of Southern Africa" (the Princeton field guide).

 

And please - I would be happy with your kind of "terrible". :)

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What a collection, @@michael-ibk ! A lot of beautiful shots, too. You saw quite a variety in owls, I noticed. Good luck with the larks, can't wait to see them and thanks for the clarification on some id's. Good to know!

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Larks are really, really tricky for a novice like me. Even in my birdbook they pretty much all look the same, and many species show marked geographic variaton in plumage colour, so the drawings in the birdbook are not that reliable. And I will never really get the differences between "tawny", "buff", "fawn", "rufous" and "buffy" (the Vampire Slayer?). What´s worse, to me Pipits look exactly like Larks, and all Pipits look the same too. :wacko:

I´ve spent quite some time trying to find out what birds I have. I hope to be correct about at least most of them, but probably am wrong about all of them. So here we go:

 

240/S88.) Spike-Heeled Lark (Chersomanes albofasciata) / Zirplerche

 

Cammspannen, 21/05/2016

 

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Fairly certain about this one. Fairly small, white-tipped tail, bill long and slightly decurved, coloration variable (sigh!), white throat contrasts with a rufous or buffy breast and belly, upperparts scaled due to buff fringes to feathers (no pic from the upperparts). Almost invariably in small groups, one bird often stands sentry on a low bush while the others forage." I think I remember that there were more of these, and that the others were on the ground. Then again, maybe I want to think that because it fits so neatly with the description. Cammspannen is within its main range.

Edited by michael-ibk
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241/S89.) Sabota Lark (Calendulauda sabota) / Sabotalerche

 

One of the two common Larks, I remember Dantes always saying Sabota or Fawn-Coloured. (Of course I don´t remember which ones he called what unfortunately.)

 

For Sabota it says:

 

Medium-sized, more compact and heavily straked than Fawn-Coloured. Differs in having malar stripes and lacking rufous wing panel. Prominent white supercilium extends from frons to nape, giving it a capped appearance. Breast boldly streaked, contrasting with pale throat and panel. Upperpart colour varies, but always lacks rufous in the wing. Bill size varies considerably. Juv. is darker above with feather tips, appearing spotted. Drawing in the book shows a distinctive crest. Arid savanna and Nama-Karoo.

 

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Everything looking quite good for this one, Augrabies Falls, 20/05/2016

 

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Also Augrabies Falls, same day. Is this the same bird? Not many streaks on the breast but apparently there are faintly streaked ones, especially those with larger bills. No rufous in the wing (as Fawn-Coloured). A Large-Billed Lark would have a heavily-streaked breast. A Red-Capped Lark would have ... you can guess. The bill is not really decurved enough for a Spike-Heeled (which can be paler than in the picture from the last post). Eastern and Cape Clapper should be more rufuous. Bill not long enough for a Karoo Long-Billed. Not a very short bill like a Pink-Billed. A Sclater´s should have a "teardrop" below eye.

 

Stark´s Lark, maybe. Small, compact with an erectile crest, stubby, pale bill and whitish eye-ring. Streaked upperparts. Stony desert scrub, gravel plains and grassland. (Which fits) Streaked breast is not mentioned and not shown in my book.

 

This is the same bird, from another angle.

 

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Clearly streaked here, points for Sabota. But no distinctive supercilium, no capped appearance, points for Stark´s. What do you think?

 

And what about this one, also Augrabies, same day:

 

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Sabota or Fawn-Coloured? Breast looks "redder" than that of the previous birds, would you say buffy with brown streaks? In that case, Fawn-Coloured it is.

 

One more, also from Augrabies, same day:

 

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Very "capped", which is why I labelled it Sabota. Also has a malar stripe, so I´m reasonably sure it is one.

 

A last one from Kgalagadi, 22/05/2016

 

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Bill looks very small for this one in comparison to the others. Others seem to have more prominent facial markings. Maybe a Monotonous Lark? Stout-billed, lacking a strong supercilium. Out of its range according to my birdbook, but just a bit. No white edges to outer tail like a Stark´s.

Edited by michael-ibk
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242/S90.) Fawn-Coloured Lark (Calendulauda africanoides) / Steppenlerche

 

Medium-sized, fairly long tail, broad, white supercilium and white throat, lacks malar stripes of Sabota and Red Larks, usually found on sandy soils. Upperpart feathers dark brown with broad, buff margins, wing with rufous panel. Underparts mainly white, breast buffy with brown streaks. Fairly common resident in Kalahari scrub, broadleafed woodland, savanna and thornveld.

 

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Almost happy with this one, though the underparts are not "mainly white". Other than that it is a pretty good fit, I think. Between Upington and Augrabies Falls, 19/05/2016

 

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Same time same place. Clearly visible rufous wing panel. But I don´t like those blackish things on the breast. Which don´t fit any Lark in my book btw.

 

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Augrabies Falls, 20/05/2016. Looks like a Fawn-Coloured to me.

 

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Very unsure about this one, same time same place. No supercilium to speak of.

 

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More like it, from Cammspannen, 22/05/2016.

 

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Cammspannen again, same day. The one on the right looks right, but what about the other one? Is it even a Lark?

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243/S91.) Karoo Long-Billed Lark (Certhilauda subcoronata) / Karoo-Langschnabellerche

 

Most widespread and abundant long-billed lark. Upperparts vary from dark chocolate-brown in south to reddish in north, hindneck greyer. Streaking decreases in north, but belly and flanks always largely unstreaked. Long, slender and decurved bill, no rufous in the wings. Karoo scrub and grasslands, typically in rocky area.

 

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Yup, I think that´s one. Augrabies Falls, 20/05/2016

 

No more Larks! I have more pictures, but all main contenders have been mentioned somewhere. I´m quite confident that I have at least four different species but really too unsure to include anything more than that in the count.

Edited by michael-ibk
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@@michael-ibk I am also rubbish with larks.

In post #265 I am pretty sure that you have about 4 different ones!

I am also not convinced about the fawn-coloured lark....here is one from Tswalu which was positively id'd by a guide

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and here is a Sabota

 

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Hopefully a lark expert will be along shortly!

Edited by Tdgraves
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@@Tdgraves

 

Let's hope for those Lark experts! Hello proper birders, any help, @@janzin , @@inyathi , @@Galana , @@kittykat23uk , anybody?

 

The only thing I'm certain is that I don't have more than 7 different Larks in #265. ;-)

 

Your Sabota and at least my first one look at least reasonably similar. The Fawn is lighter, but then the plumage in sandy Tswalu could be quite different from rocky Augrabies. The one thing I'm sure about is that my guide idntified a lot of the Larks as Fawns.

 

Just found this link, quite helpful:

 

http://www.philipfry.net/larks.html

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Ah thank you, @@janzin , that one makes a lot of sense. At least it is a "lark-like" bird.

 

Any thoughts on the other (maybe) Larks?

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Ah thank you, @@janzin , that one makes a lot of sense. At least it is a "lark-like" bird.

 

Any thoughts on the other (maybe) Larks?

@@michael-ibk which ones in particular are you not sure of? I'm no lark expert, that's for sure!

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@@janzin

 

Particularly unsure about photos 2, 3 (both show the same bird), 4 and 5 in #264.

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Ok, post#265 should be Lark-Like Bunting (Emberiza impetuani) / Lerchenammer instead of Fawn-Coloured Lark.

 

Could be I do have a Fawn-Coloured Lark in one of the Lark posts (and/or maybe another species as well), but too unsure so I´ll leave the count at 243.

Edited by michael-ibk
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244/S92.) Grey-Backed Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix verticalis) / Damara-Graurückenlerche

 

Kgalagadi, 24/05/2016

 

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245/S93.) Rock Martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula) / Steinschwalbe

 

Kgalagadi, 29/05/2016

 

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I was unsure about this identification because my book says it has creamy-white spots near the tail tip. None here. But going throught my pictures of this bird I found this photo:

 

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There are the spots. Only visible when the tail is fanned.

 

Another one from Augrabies Falls, 20/05/2016

 

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