Truly African Birds Found in South Africa

[nan]

Can I post some Mousebirds

Red-faced Mousebird

nan

Mousebirds drink in a special way. They can suck and swallow water without rasing their heads (as doves can).

Most birds drink like waterfowl; they walk to or through the water, move their beak down, open and close their beak several times, take some water, tip up their head and let the water run down by gravity.

thank you Klipspringer and for this explanations

[Klipspringer]

Mousebird...from Karoo

Mousebirds look ruffled and unkempt because the outer parts of the feathers on head and belly lack barbules to keep the vane together.



The typical feather consists of a central shaft (rachis), with serial paired branches (barbs) forming a flattened, usually curved surface—the vane. The barbs possess further branches —the barbules—and the barbules of adjacent barbs are attached to one another by hooks, stiffening the vane. When some or all of the feathers lack the barbules or the hooks, the plumage has a loose, hairlike appearance. The feather branches float free of each other and expose the skin.
Because of this mousebirds avoid getting wet and don't bathe in water.
Mousebirds don't have down feathers.

[Richprins]

Fascinating!

[Lisbeth]

Fascinating!

[nan]

very interesting, thank you Klipspringer

[Klipspringer]

Speckled Mousebird

Mousebirds are remarkably agile on the ground too, on which they frequently land to dust-bathe, their toes then spread out in an 'X'.
Lots of birds enjoy bathing in water, but others such as mousebirds, bee-eaters and sparrows prefer to dust bathe. They crouch down in a sandy area and fling fine soil over the feathers in order to dislodge parasites and to get rid of excess preen oil.
Mousebirds avoid water-bathing, as over-wet feathers would impair their flight.

[Klipspringer]

Woodhoopoes and Scimitarbills, family Phoeniculidae
Traditionally, the woodhoopoes (Phoeniculus) and scimitarbills (Rhinopomastus) are in one family, the Phoeniculidae, which today is confined to sub-Saharan Africa. However, based on their DNAhybridization studies, Sibley and Ahlquist (1990) determined that these two genera should be separated at the family level, the Phoeniculidae and the Rhinopomastidae.
The available evidence indicates that the species of Phoeniculus are cooperative breeders. In contrast, none of the three species of Rhinopomastus exhibit this trait. While woodhoopoes are gregarious birds which gather in flocks, the scimitarbills are usually seen alone or in pairs.


Phoeniculus bollei White-headed wood hoopoe
Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Phoeniculus castaneiceps Forest wood hoopoe
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda.

Phoeniculus damarensis Violet wood hoopoe
Angola, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania.

Phoeniculus somaliensis Black-billed wood hoopoe
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan

Phoeniculus purpureus Green wood hoopoe
Widespread

Wood-hoopoes.jpg (106.7 KiB) Viewed 102 times

Rhinopomastus aterrimus Black scimitarbill
Two populations, one extending from West Africa eastwards to Ethiopia and the other in Angola and adjacent countries.

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas Common scimitarbill
Southern and Eastern Africa

Rhinopomastus minor Abyssinian scimitarbill
from Tanzania north to Somalia.

Scimitarbills.jpg (61.47 KiB) Viewed 102 times

[Lisbeth]

Green Woodhoopoe, adult

IMG_4256.JPG (119.48 KiB) Viewed 98 times

Immature

IMG_4253.JPG (122.54 KiB) Viewed 98 times

I probably have some better photos somewhere

[Richprins]

So many different types!

[Klipspringer]

Red-billed /Green Woodhoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus

An unusual strategy
One of the Red-billed Woodhoopoe’s more unusual traits is its need to roost in cavities (usually in trees), a situation complicated by the fact that the birds cannot excavate their own holes. This reliance on other animals’ (or nature’s) handiwork places them under tremendous pressure. In many areas, there is enormous competition between several cavity-roosting species, and woodhoopoes are always on the lookout for a back-up cavity in their territory.
Woodhoopoes breed communally. In most recorded cases of breeding attempts, the alpha pair breed, and any other members of the group help in the rearing of the brood. At first glance it might not make much sense to expend a lot of time and energy helping to rear another pair’s young. Why don’t these helpers go off and breed themselves?
Firstly, some year-old birds do manage to establish territories and breed. Their success rate is, however, generally rather low. By contrast, helpers seem able to learn what to do, and when they establish themselves as breeders, they tend to do much better than others. It takes a lot of practice and skill to forage in the woodlands for oneself, let alone for a brood of highly demanding, growing chicks.
A second reason is that more often than not, helpers are ‘family’; either offspring from earlier breeding attempts or related (typically siblings) to one of the alpha pair. It makes biological sense to invest in one’s family, even if the young being cared for aren’t one’s own. Because of this ‘blood connection’ or relatedness, helpers invest their efforts in ensuring that their shared genes are passed on to the next generation.
A third reason is that in some circumstances roosting cavities and territories are hard to come by, and even harder to defend. A larger group can usually defend a cavity or maintain a large territory, and when times are tough, for example in times of drought, territories are often expanded to improve foraging. Under these circumstances, small groups run the risk of being displaced completely. This can be an utter disaster for woodhoopoes, which have to find safe roosting cavities every night. It seems that the best option, unless another territory can be found immediately, is to join another group.
The disadvantage of joining another group is that newcomers always start at the bottom of the ladder. A very strong pecking order is present in most groupliving birds and in woodhoopoes this takes on added significance. Should one of the alpha pair die, the male or female next in line in the pecking order will take over as breeders. For newcomers this can mean a very long wait for the chance to reproduce.

http://www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za/sites/ ... 955-59.pdf