Here's a article meant for an online magazine I wrote about year or so before I left South Africa in December 2017. I've been thinking about 'my birds' recently, and thought I'd share this here.
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Birds of the Bright Mountains
By E.J. Davidson
At the tip of Africa there is a picturesque place known as the
Helderberg, literally a ‘Bright or Clear Mountain’. There is indeed an imposing
edifice we call the Helderberg Mountain, but we are also surrounded by many other
peaks, crevasses, gorges, cliffs and mighty castles of wind-eroded rock.
It’s an ancient land, stable and
settled. Perched on the southern end of False Bay where great white sharks
compete with southern right whales, many dolphins, seals and even the
occasional orca family, the weather is definitely Mediterranean with typically
hot, windy summers and wet winters (not too cold, although snow does prettify
our peaks now and again).
The mountain slopes are home to
the Protea flower and ‘fynbos’ found nowhere else in the world. And a massive
variety of birds! To list every feathered friend resident in the Helderberg,
though, and to then add detail would make this a too long-winded biology project.
Right, I’m shaking my head, too.
Living on these slopes with
mountains at my back and the ocean before me, daily I have the privilege of little
feathered visitors popping in to say hello and therefore daily I fall in love
all over again with ‘my’ birds. Allow me to share their ‘stories’ with you.
In this edition we will discover
three ‘black birds’, regular indeed to the water bowl and in the skies above us
– the Square-tailed Drongo, the Pied Crow and the Red-winged Starling. The
reason I’m putting them together is, firstly, the dominant black common to all
three and, secondly, because they are so alike in temperament and behaviour.
The Square-tailed Drongo is a small bird (approximately
19cm) common in much of Africa south of the Sahara. They are insect eaters and
are usually found in forests or dense bush. Given the scrub surrounding us,
with Protea bushes taller than humans, the terrain is perfect for them.
Two to three eggs are laid in a
cup nest in a fork high in a tree. Aggressive and fearless, given their small
size, they will attack much larger species if their nest or young are
threatened. Trust me, they mock attack people too, dive bombing from on high
and shouting warning! On the upside, they do bring their young to visit as well
– every year the resident flock here grows larger.
The male is mainly glossy black,
although the wings are duller, and the female is similar but less glossy. Drongo
bills are black and heavy (totally remind one of rooks!), with reddish eyes and
short legs, and they love to perch prominently, seemingly on display. They fly-catch
or take prey from the ground and are pretty nimble in flight. The call is a
harsh cherit-cherit.
In summer they are daily visitors
to the water bowl, perching without concern upon the railing to survey the
world. I have seen them dance during mating season and watched them bathe with
abandon.
Summer is HOT here and water is
ever scarcer during the season; when the drongos flock, we know true waterless summer
has arrived! When the sprinklers go on they are there almost immediately to fly
through the spray. They never come alone; the sprinklers attract a variety of
feathered friends, but that’s a whole other story.
The Red-winged
Starling is an African species fond of bright-coloured fruits. It may become
aggressive in nest defence, even attacking humans.
May be? Both male and female will dive bomb the hell out of you! A
couple returns to nest every year under the eaves and, boy, just dare walk out
onto the balcony when they are around! Cawing like to crazed crows, they fly by
so close their wings have grazed my cheek. Despite that, they remain welcome;
they have such character. Red-wings love high ground and are thus ever in
attendance.
Adult males have glossy black
plumage with a blue overall sheen, except on their wings. Their primary flight
feathers are bright chestnut with blackish tips, but when folded only a red
patch is visible. Their long pointed tails are black. Females are similar,
although they have a brownish-grey head and chest. Red-winged starlings average
around 30cm.
Their common call is a drawn out spreeu, while their contact call is twee-twoo. Warning sounds are tchorr and kwok-kwok (gives one the jeebies and my reflex is to duck when I
hear it!).
Beyond that, their song is
intricate with complex tones and notes, the most musical visitors to the water
bowl. They whistle and sing phrases and my entire world narrows to them when
they sing. I stand dead still sometimes just listening and I am awed and
inspired.
Of course, because they also eat
larger insects when fruit and berries become scarce, they are totally welcome
for that reason alone! May the spider and scorpion population beware, and thank
heavens. Spiders and scorpions abound here.
It’s quite common to see the
drongos and starlings side by side at the bowl. And do they perform for each
other!
Now the Pied Crow
is a whole other tail (see what I did there?). They do not ever perch on the
railing and never use the water bowl BUT they are nearby! They too patrol the
region and the drongos keep a wary eye out, their warning calls often summoning
the red-winged starlings to battle (and sometimes the red-wings sound exactly
like the crows when they utter the alert).
Winging like to eagles, pied
crows swirl around our house, land with loud thuds on the roof and caw from the
highlands to the lowlands. Often the Red-wings take to the sky to chase them
away.
Physically, the pied crow is close
to a small crow-sized Raven (except the lack of throat hackles, fan-shaped tail
and other more crow-like traits). Their behaviour and size (46 – 52cm) is more
typical of the Eurasian carrion crow, although they have a longer bill,
slightly longer tail and wings, and longer legs. As the name suggests, a glossy
black head and neck is followed by a large area of white feathering from shoulders
to lower breast but the tail, bill and wings are black. The eyes of a fully
matured bird are dark brown. The white plumage of immature birds is often mixed
with black. Pied crows have a wingspan 85 to 98 centimetres and appear quite
majestic soaring upon the thermals. As they fly one hears their harsh ar-ar-ar-ar
or karh-karh-karh.
Pied crows are generally
encountered in pairs or small groups, although an abundant source of food may
bring large numbers of birds. I saw this just the other day; at least twenty
had gathered on the road, clearly chasing something. It was quite the conclave!
I do wonder if one would still say a ‘murder of crows’ here in Africa or is it
a ‘murder of pied crows’?
Food is obtained from the ground,
such as insects and small reptiles, mammals, young birds and eggs, grain, carrion
and any scraps of human food. Sometimes fruit and even mushrooms.
Nests are usually built in tall,
isolated trees, though sometimes smaller ones are used, depending on availability.
Both sexes build the nest. A clutch of 3–6 eggs is laid and are pale green,
spotted with various shades of brown. Both sexes rear the young. Quite the
dedicated parenting strategy, right? I have yet to discover where our locals
nest. They will probably dive bomb intruder me as well!
Yes, pied crows are aggressive
and most birds and creatures in the region fear them, but they have such
character and seem so confident that it becomes quite an event to watch them
interact with each other. I do wish one would land at the water bowl, just so I
can say hello.
And that’s it for this edition! Next time we’ll enter the
world of the brilliantly plumaged, the tinier inhabitants of mountains bright
and clear. Until then!
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