AW Challenge - Bird Check List for Pilanesberg

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001. Common Ostrich Struthio camelus

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Female
by Amoli

Male
by Riley

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447. Lilac-breasted Roller Coracias caudatus

Identification
32-36 cm. The only roller with a lilac throat and breast and blue belly. Long, straight outer tail streamers absent during moult (post breeding). Sexes are alike; juvenile like adult but duller with brownish wash on crown and nape; tail streamers absent.

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by Riley

by Amoli

by Toko

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161. Gabar Goshawk Melierax gabar

Identification
Distinguished by its grey throat and breast, and red cere and legs. Sexes are alike but the female is larger; juvenile has brown upperparts, head and breast are streaked brown, belly barred and rump white; eyes yellow, cere and legs orange. Dark morph like adult with with orange cere and legs. Pale Morph: Dark eyes, red cere and legs and plain dove-grey upperparts, throat and breast distinguish it from other similar-sized small raptors. Combination of grey tail with 405 blackish bars and white rump diagnostic. Dark Morph: Makes up 7-25% of the population and regularly breed with pale morphs. Usually entirely black except for barred white tail feathers and 3 narrow white tail bars. Cere and legs red.

Pale morph
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Dark morph
by Amoli

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860. Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura

Identification
Breeding male has black and white plumage, with a long tail and red bill. The female and non-breeding male are buff above and pale below, and have a boldy striped, black and buff head. The bill is red in male, brownish in female. Juvenile is plain brown.

Breeding males
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by Amoli

by Riley

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494. Rufous-naped Lark Mirafra africana

Identification
15-18 cm. Fairly large, stocky lark, with short but distinctive erectile rufous crest, and rufous wing panel that is usually more visible in flight than on the ground. Northern and western subspecies are paler. Sexes are alike; juvenile is darker above with buff edging to feathers.

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by Amoli

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526. Greater Striped Swallow Hirundo cucullata

Identification
19-20 cm. Larger in size and more finely streaked below than Lesser Striped Swallow. There is no rufous on the vent and the ear coverts are white. Rump is a pale chestnut brown appearing almost white in flight. Sexes alike; juvenile has a little bule-black gloss above, a reddish brown crown and a partial brown band on the breast.

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by Amoli

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258. Blacksmith Lapwing Vanellus armatus

Identification
31 cm. This large, black, white and grey lapwing is the easiest lapwing to identify in the region, and its bold pattern makes it easily distinguishable in flight. Sexes are alike; juvenile is duller than adult and has a greyish brown crown.

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by Amoli

by Riley

by Toko

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118. Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius

Identification
140 cm. The bird's peculiar shape and long legs render it likely to be confused only with a crane at a distance. In flight, the two elongated central tail feathers project well beyond the tail and the legs, producing an unmistakable flight shape. The black 'leggings' are concpicuous. Sexes are alike; juvenile resembles the adult but has a shorter tail and yellow (not red), bare facial skin.

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Dithabaneng Drive

© Klipspringer
Moloto Drive

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498. Sabota Lark Calendulauda sabota

Identification
15 cm. Variable in colour according to the region in which it occurs, but it is consistently boldly marked above and below and lacks rufous in the outer wing. The bill is short and dark (the lower mandible is paler), and a straight, white eye-stripe runs from the base of the bill to the nape, giving the head a capped appearance. Sexes are alike; juvenile is tawnier than adult and has mottled underparts.

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063. Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala

Identification
84-92 cm. Slightly smaller than Grey heron. The black-topped head and hind neck contrast with the white throat. In flight, the contrasting dark and pale underwing differentiates it from the Grey Heron, which has a uniformly grey underwing.
Sexes are alike; juvenile and immature birds have grey (not black) on the head and neck.
Distinguished from from the juv. and imm. Grey Heron by the dark legs and thighs, dark ear coverts and underwing pattern.

Adults
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© Toko

Juvenile
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