Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Social Weavers:
The social weaver is a small bird of the Passeridae family indigenous to South Africa. They build large community nests which is a rarity among birds. These nests can hold hundreds of birds for over 100 years. They live in areas with low grasses, and low fire prone areas to prevent the destruction of their nests. In the southern region of the Kalahari,the social weavers will breed at any time but their breeding seems to relate with times of rainfall. In the northern area, however, the social weavers have been noted to breed in the time between December and August. The social weaver is an insectivore, with insects consisting of 80% of their diet the other 20% comes from seeds, berries, leaves and tree bark.

Pale Chanting Goshawk:

The Pale Chanting Goshawk is a bird of prey in the Accipitridae family.  It is commonly seen in trees, and perched on roadside telephone poles searching for prey. The Pale Chanting Goshawk eats a variety of vertebrate prey, mainly lizards, but also small mammals, other birds, and large insects. It may often walks on the ground while searching for food. The Pale Chanting Goshawk is a relatively quiet bird, but to find a mate to breed with, the male bird will make a series of tuneful whistling calls from the top of a tree. Females may only lay one to two eggs and only one of the two will hatch. the incubation period usually takes approximately 115 days.

Secretary Bird:
The Secretary Bird is a mostly terrestrial bird of Prey that lives in southern Africa. Although it is a part of the Accipitridae family, the Secretary bird is given its own family name of Sagittariidae. They stand over 4 feet tall and prefer to walk rather than fly. The Secretary bird hunts for its pry by stomping around the tall grasses and when it finds a victim, stomps on it with its sharp talons. They feed on insects and small animals such as mice, rabbits, mongoose, tortoises, and snakes. However, there have been reports of these birds killing larger herbivores such as gazelles.





Yellow Hornbill:



The Yellow Hornbill is a member of the Hornbill family indigenous to South Africa. It is recognized for its long, curved, yellow beak and is commonly known as a "Flying Banana". Their beak is used for hunting and scavenging. The bird's diet consists of seeds, small insects, spiders and scorpions. Termites and ants are also a preferred food source in the dry season. After breeding, the females lay approximately 3-4 eggs and incubate them for 25 days.









References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociable_Weaver
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_Chanting_Goshawk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretarybird
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Yellow-billed_Hornbill