Kit & Herman Year 2

[Kitsafari]

thanks @Zim Girl and @Dave Williams

 

211/BW94: Cape Glossy Starling, CKGR

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

222/BW95: Burchell's Starling, CKGR/Khwai

223/BW96: Meve's Starling, Khwa

 

I kept confusing these two starling species which  look almost like each other except for the tail (meve's tail is longer) .it's hard to differentiate when they are not side by side. We saw burchell's definitely in central Kalahari but only started seeing Meve's Starling in Khwai, especially around camp. 

 

Please correct me if I've got the birds confused: 

 

Burchell's

 

 

Meve's

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

224/BW97: Violet-backed Starling, Nxai Pans

 

I was very annoyed with myself for rushing this shot. the guide was startled to see the a couple of dark-backed starlings on a bush and took a while before he excitedly confirmed they were violet-backed starlings. he had not seen them for almost a year, which means they aren't regularly sighted. I had to stand up and I was on the wrong side of the vehicle (the story of my life on the trip). Also known as the plum-coloured starling or amethyst starling, the bird is fairly all of 17 cm, generally smaller than the other starling species. found in woodlands and savannah forest edges in sub saharan Africa. 

 

[Kitsafari]

225/BW98: Wattled Starling, CKGR

 

The only time we saw this species was when they were huddled on a tree enjoying the warmth and drying their wings in the sun after heavy downpours during the night. This is a nomadic bird in eastern and southern Africa, and the only African starling who are like Asian starlings with its bare face patches and ability to open-bill feed in grassland, says Wikipedia. 

 

[Kitsafari]

226/BW99: Black-winged Stilts, Baines Baobab pans

 

The group of black-winged stilts were far out in the pans but their long red legs were unmistakable. It was the smaller waders/shorebirds around their legs that I couldn't ID. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

227/BW100: Abdim's Stork, CKGR

 

Lots of them along the road from Maun to CKGR, but finding a good one to photograph while we were rushing to get to Meno A Kwena wasn't easy. A very pretty stork that I don't often see, the Abdim's stork is also known as the white-bellied stork and distributed in Ethiopia through eastern Africa and southern Africa. It is one of the smallest storks and local Africans believe that it is a harbinger of rain and good luck, which is an interesting tidbit - When we arrived in Maun, we were told there was a drought and the rains hadn't arrived and we were worried that we would not see the zebra migration. After a couple of days in central kalahari (and a lot of songs sung in the vehicle and camp about rain!) the rains finally arrived and we were blessed with the zebra migrations in Nxai Pans where we saw the zebras arrive, and in Makgadikgadi Pans where a few thousands were spread out as far as the eye could see. so Hooray for the Abdim's storks.

 

[Kitsafari]

228/BW101: African Open-Bill, Khwai

 

A fair number of them, each time 2-4,  seen in Khwai which was wetter than the other areas we were at. well distributed in Africa south of Sahara desert. It is listed on IUCN as least concerned but it is also losing out on the habitat struggle. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

229/BW102: White Stork, Nxai Pans

 

seen at a distance in Nxai Pans. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

230/BW103:  Red-billed Teal, Khwai 

 

Also called the red-billed duck, the red-billed teal is a resident bird which is willing to fly long distances for good water holes. it's a highly gregarious duck, outside breeding season.

photos were taken on different days, hence the different light on the teals. 

 

[Kitsafari]

231/BW104, Water Thick-knee, Nxai Pans

 

Also called water dikkop. 

 

[Kitsafari]

232/BW105:  White-headed Vulture, CKGR

233/BW106: White-backed Vulture, Nxai Pans

 

We saw very few vultures and even then, these few were mainly solitary birds. No flocks of them seen at all in all the four areas we visited. I'm not sure what that meant - whether there were few carcasses or whether the numbers of vultures have declined in these areas. 

 

[Kitsafari]

234/BW107: Lappet-faced Vulture, Nxai Pans

 

[Kitsafari]

235/BW108: White-browed Sparrow Weaver, CKGR

 

a rather common bird that was in our campsite in CKGR as well. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

236/BW109: Southern Masked Weaver, CKGR

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

237/BW110, Capped Wheatear, CKGR

 

Considered as an old world flycatcher, the capped wheatear prefers open dry sandy and/or stony habitats as well as short grassland and termite mounds. 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

I do so need expert help to ID some birds from the Bots trip, which will be "pfffft" for the experts, but tough for an amateur like me to figure out if they were immature or female or just species that I just couldn't figure out. 

 

TIA!

 

1. An EBC to be sure - a black-fronted bulbul perhaps? it's the only photo i have here.  

 

 

2. 

 

3. I only have the belly to show. it didn't gel with a female batis somehow and the tail was too long. 

 

4. probably a plain-=backed pipit or a lark?

 

5. an ashy flycatcher perhaps?  

 

6. probably a white browed sparrow weaver? 

 

7. 

 

8. 

 

9. 

 

10.  A zitting cisticola perhaps? 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Kitsafari

[Kitsafari]

67/BW110: Little Grebe, Khwai

 

Already counted in the Singapore list at #67, the little grebe in Khwai was far more comfortable with our presence and was in lovely light. Finally, a chance to really admire it properly !

 

[Kitsafari]

and for some EBCs.....'

 

238/BW111: Montagu Harrier, CKGR

 

of course by the time i noticed it and put the camera to my eye, it had flown by in the very low dawn light. 

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

239/BW112, Black Heron, waterhole on the way back to Maun

 

 

[Kitsafari]

240/BW113: Meyer's Parrots, Khwai

 

a flock flew in, but it was a very cloudy day. 

 

[Kitsafari]

241/BW114: Lilac-breasted Roller,  CKGR

 

I forgot the rollers! a common, but still striking, LBR

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

242/BW115: Purple Roller, Nxai Pans

 

A less striking roller. not sure why its back came out greenish.

 

 

[Tdgraves]

@Kitsafari

 

for your mystery birds:

 

1. Agree with bulbul

2. Marico flycatcher 

3. Chestnut-vented tit-babbler

4. African pipit

5. ? Another marico

6. Grey headed sparrow?

7. I’m struggling with - where did you see it?

8. Violet eared waxbill

9. ?nedickky

10. Possibly but hard from this shot, could be the same bird as 9?

 

hope this helps...

[michael-ibk]

Agree with pretty much everything @Tdgraves said. I think the lighting is a bit misleading with 2 and 5, both should be Maricos. 6 is def. a Southern Grey-headed Sparrow. 7 should be a juvenile Pale-Chanting Goshawk, I assume this was in the CKGR? 9 and 10 are Cisticolas but I think almost impossible to ID down to a species level. With all of your mystery birds it would be helpful to know where they were seen.

 

For what it´s worth, I think you have your Burchell´s and Meve´s right but the Greater Blue-Eared is actually a Cape Glossy Starling. It´s a known fact that the Sinclair drawings for Cape Glossy is just plain wrong, that bird does have ear coverts as well, and Greater Blue-Eared is not a Kalahari bird. Similar for Village Weaver (not an arid zones bird, and the back should be more mottled) that is rather a Southern Masked Weaver you have there. Botswana Village Weavers have a more extensive black mask, it´s the subspecies "nigriceps" there.

 

About the Vultures, we saw very few as well for most of the trip but a huge number of them was gathering around an Elephant carcass in Khwai, certainly more than 100, maybe more.

 

Very nice Purple Roller photo, and very cool you saw a White-Headed Vulture! Very much enjoyed seeing these Bots birds again, thank you Kit!

[Kitsafari]

@Tdgraves and @michael-ibk Thanks so much for the invaluable ID help on the birds. 

 

On checking further on the starling and weaver, Michael, Wilderness Safaris has a bird list for Botswana that supports your argument that the greater blue-eared starling and the village weaver do no occur in CKGR. 

here's a link to the very useful bird list: https://images.wilderness-safaris.com/uploads/medium/file/3287/botswana-species-checklist.pdf

 

I've edited the changes in the posts themselves since there is still the edit function to use!

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Kitsafari