PC's Better year

[Peter Connan]

34) Laughing Dove

 

Rooiborsduifie

Streptopelia senegalensis

 

 

Home, 25 February

[Peter Connan]

35) Red-eyed Dove

 

Grootringduif

Streptopelia semitorquata

 

 

Home, 25 February

[Dave Williams]

Some quality images there Peter, love the Zebra Egret and the Cape Sparrow is a stunning bird too.

[Peter Connan]

Thank you very much @Dave Williams

[TonyQ]

@Peter Connan

Beautiful photos of the Cape Sparrow - it is interesting to compare it to "our" House and Tree Sparrows. Is it very common?

[Elsa Hoffmann]

@Peter Connan The images in this thread are truly beautiful! 

 

@TonyQ  I grew up with the House Sparrow being the most common bird around - it's like the default of all birds where I come from. Where ever you turn - they are there. Yet this is one of my most favourite birds - not only to photograph - I just simply love them 

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @TonyQ and @Elsa Hoffmann.

 

Tony, looking at the distribution maps here:

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/passeridae/passer_melanurus.htm

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/passeridae/passer_domesticus.htm

it would appear the Cape Sparrow is about 40% more common than the house sparrow in most of South Africa.

 

I had thought the difference was much bigger, but it's possible that I have been mis-identifying House Sparrows as juvenile Cape Sparrows.

The site linked to, byt the way, uses the results of the South African Bird Atlassing Project to generate it's distribution maps, and may consequently be the most accurate and up-to-date of all such maps for Southern Africa. I find it immensely useful, although it is not particularly user-friendly...

[TonyQ]

Thank you for those links - it looks like an interesting site.

[PeterHG]

Great additions again, @Peter Connan ! And I do like the African names.

[Peter Connan]

Pleasure @TonyQ and thank you @PeterHG

 

36) Common Fiscal

 

Fiskaallaksman

Lanius collaris

 

 

Kgalagadi, 30 May

[Peter Connan]

37) Grey Go-away bird

 

Kwevoel

Corythaixoides concolor

 

 

Aba Huab, 14 May

[Peter Connan]

38) Rose-ringed Parakeet

 

Ringnekparkiet

Psittacula krameri

 

 

 

This is an introduced species, but to my mind far preferable to the Common Mynah. There is a small park in front of my house. In one corner is a cellphone tower, which has been built to look like a palm tree. The teaves are thick plastick mouldings, but the large flock of Parakeets living in this area for part of the year don't really care, and are ripping this tee to shreds. In areas, only the bare wooden staves remain.

 

Home, 25 and 29 March

[Peter Connan]

39) African Olive Pigeon

 

Geelbekbosduif

Columba arquatrix

 

 

Home, 29 March

[Peter Connan]

40) Hadeda Ibis

 

Hadeda

Bostrychia hagedash

 

 

Home, 29 March

[Peter Connan]

41) Karoo Thrush

 

Geelbeklyster

Tardus Smithi

 

 

Home, 1 July

[Peter Connan]

42) Cape Robin

 

Gewone Janfrederik

Cossypha caffra

 

 

 

Home, 1 July

[Peter Connan]

43) Red-billed Buffalo-weaver

 

Aba-huab

 

 

Etosha

April

[Peter Connan]

44) Red-billed Woodhoopoe

 

Rooibekkakelaar

Phoeniculus purpureus

 

 

Home, 25 March

[Peter Connan]

45) African Cuckoo

 

Afrikaanse Koekoek

Cuculus gularis

 

I am inordinately happy with this photo. I have always battled with Cuckoos, and this is my only sighting of African Cuckoo. I was standing around the campsite at Eldorado B&B, just outside Etosha, taking photos of the buffalo-weaver above when a turtle dove came flying by, persued by another bird. I managed to get off three shots before they were both gone, and I only made the identification later...

 

 

11 April, Etosha

Edited July 8, 2017 by Peter Connan

[PeterHG]

Wow, @Peter Connan, incredible flight shots, both the Cuckoo and the Woodhoopoe. You're more than living up to your promise at the start of the thread! (Might I make a modest suggestion that you lift the shadows of the cuckoo in processing? At such low iso the photo could easily handle that and it would yield more detail in the striped underside. Mind you, I've never come close to a cuckoo shot like yours...!)

Edited July 8, 2017 by PeterHG

[Peter Connan]

Thanks @PeterHG . I have already lifted the shadows some. Will have a look at lifting them some more...

[lmSA84]

Great additions! 

 

The woodhoopoe and Cape Robin are real standout photos for me. I too was lucky earlier this year seeing my first African Cuckoo at Mata Mata

[Peter Connan]

Thank you @ImSA84

 

Edited July 8, 2017 by Peter Connan

[Peter Connan]

46) Crested Barbett

 

Kuifkophoutkapper

Trachyphonus vaillantii

 

 

Home, 3 June

[Peter Connan]

47) African Harrier-hawk (previously Gymnogene)

 

Kaalwangvalk

Polyboroides typus

 

 

Etosha, 11 April