I have some random shots of lovely birds to show you in here.
You will see the identity of the silhouette bird later in the post.
The migrant birds have all disappeared to warmer climates up north in Africa, and some also to Europe, as we now have the winter cold over here at the southern tip of the African continent. So, I will show you some local birds that are all endemic to South Africa. Meaning that they don't fly away to other countries, as they all stay here during the winter season.
We heard that there are still some flamingos high up on the west coast of the Cape, but it is too far away for us to go and see them. Apparently, the juvenile flamingos were born too late in the season, and they are not strong enough to depart on the long flight up north, and so the parents remain here with them.
Okay, this one below is not a bird, but I saw the dragonfly landing on a leaf at the top of the tree. Too difficult to ID it, as it was high up and I got it on my zoom.
This is the last of the blue background shots, and the little guy is called a Cape Batis (Batis capensis).
Now for some colors to show you.
First up are some Cape White-eyes (Zosterops virens).
And then we have the identity of the silhouette singer up top in the first picture. It is a Southern Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus). Two shots of this little guy with the wonderful melody.
And finally, two shots of the brave little Cape Wagtail (Motacilla capensis).
Stepping daintily on the water flowers in search of some bugs.
Here is a comprehensive list of all the bird species in our country, and it was published in 2022. If you go to the source, and it opens, it will show you the list, and if you hover on the blue description of the bird names, then a picture will pop up to show you a photo of the bird.
Unless otherwise noted, the list is that of BirdLife South Africa (BLSA). Notes in the status column are also from this source. Notes of population status, such as "endangered", refer to the worldwide population, not the South African part of it except for endemics. Unless otherwise noted in the "status" column, the species is a resident or regularly-occurring migrant.
"Vagrant" means the species rarely or accidentally occurs in South Africa.
"Endemic" means the species is found only in South Africa.
"SLE endemic" means the species is found only in South Africa and the Kingdoms of Lesotho and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa and Eswatini nearly so.
This list contains 879 species according to the Clements taxonomy. The BLSA list includes additional entries as species which Clements considers subspecies; some of them are noted. According to BLSA, 18 species are endemic, 20 are SLE endemic, and 11 have been introduced by humans. Clements describes only 15 as endemic and 14 as SLE endemic.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camara: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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