So many people are scared of the Red-Winged Starling birds.
Yes, the starlings are wild and desperate to get food for their young during the breeding period.
The Red-winged Starlings (Onychognathus nabouroup) are endemic to South Africa, and we have become familiar with their invading habits during the breeding season. The breeding season typically lasts from late spring to early summer, and then amazingly, the starlings disappear until the next breeding season. They cause us much mirth when they arrive with imposing wing flutters at some unsuspecting diner's table.
Oh, and let me tell you that starlings love cheese. My wife knows this, and not only starlings, as in fact other birds like robins, wagtails, and weavers also have a soft spot for cheese. So do even the peacocks that I have posted in the past. There are other birds too that like cheese.
I also have some Malachite Sunbirds in here, but I will show you the starlings first.
The male landed on our table, and the female sat on a chair behind him.
The wife was delighted, and she held out some cheese for him.
The female left, and the male followed her soon after. I think that they rushed back to their nest for the male to feed their babies with the cheese.
Thought that I could use the King Protea flowers as a line break.
Now let me show you how the sun changes the colors of a male Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa).
A dark turquoise mixture between blue and green.
And here below, a brilliant luminous metallic green.
They are also in the breeding season, and let's see what Wikipedia has to say about the colors.
The breeding male malachite sunbird, which has very long central tail feathers, is 25 cm long, and the shorter-tailed female 15 cm. The adult male is metallic green when breeding, with blackish-green wings with small yellow pectoral patches. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the male's upperparts are brown apart from the green wings and tail, the latter retaining the elongated feathers. The underparts in eclipse plumage are yellow, flecked with green.
The female has brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts with some indistinct streaking on the breast. Her tail is square-ended. The juvenile resembles the female.
Sadly, the malachite female doesn't have the metallic colors, but she is beautiful in her own right, and her yellow chest matches the color of the yellow pincushion flowers.
I always find it so amazing to see how the sun changes the colors of the male malachite sunbird. I have seen it countless times, but it just continues to hold me transfixed. It was a cloudy day, and the sun was not at its most brilliant, but let me tell you that on a hot clear day, the iridescent colors of the male shine so bright that the bird looks wet. You just have to see it to believe it.
For the Tourists.
If any of you decide to visit South Africa, especially the Western Cape Province, then it will be my pleasure to take you on a tour, at no charge for my time, to our wine estates, and for the photographers, I will show you the hot spots where I go to get the birds and even the sunsets. Nature is abundant here and there is much to see, but not only nature, as we also have great restaurants and of course the beaches. Too much to list here, as this post is getting a bit too long. I like to promote our country.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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