Beady

The Crowned Lapwing prefers dry, open habitats, either with or without scattered trees. It has benefited from the habitat impacts of both affluent and poor communities; golf courses, sports fields and airports, on one hand, and overgrazing on the other. In some areas, the presence of Crowned Plovers is an indicator of mismanagement of ranchlands. In South Africa, Crowned Plovers move locally in response to changing conditions. Crowned Plovers, like many of the wader species breeding in South Africa, have a long breeding season, often starting in August and ending in May. In addition, a pair may have more than one successful breeding attempt. If nests or chicks are lost, further attempts to breed may occur. They lay two eggs in a scrape in the sand, lined with vegetation or small pebbles. The eggs take about a month to hatch and the chicks between four and five weeks to fledge.
Info source: http://www.adu.uct.ac.za/adu/projects/shorebirds/crowned-plover
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The photo was taken during December 2017 at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

Beady

Frenzy

Bulbuls are short-necked slender passerines. The tails are long and the wings short and rounded. In almost all species the bill is slightly elongated and slightly hooked at the end. They vary in length from 13 cm for the tiny greenbul to 29 cm in the straw-headed bulbul. Overall the sexes are alike, although the females tend to be slightly smaller. In a few species, the differences are so great that they have been described as functionally different species. The soft plumage of some species is colourful with yellow, red or orange vents, cheeks, throat or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. Species with dull coloured eyes often sport contrasting eyerings. Some have very distinct crests. Bulbuls are highly vocal, with the calls of most species being described as nasal or gravelly. One author described the song of the brown-eared bulbul as “the most unattractive noises made by any bird”. Info source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulbul

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The photo was taken during August 2018 at Segaia Bush Retreat, Buffelsdrift Conservancy, Gauteng, South Africa.

Frenzy

Stride

The moorhen is a generally small-sized bird that is commonly found near large bodies of water such as marshes, ponds and streams. The moorhen is most commonly known for its small black-feathered body and (often) red, pointed beak. Moorhens spend their life on the water and have a number of adaptations including webbed-toes which aids the moorhen in both swimming and walking about on the slippery banks that line the water’s edge. Moorhens are very sociable birds and spend their lives with other moorhens in a group known as a flock. Moorhens are omnivorous birds and have a diet that primarily consists of small invertebrates such as insects and water-spiders. Moorhens also eat larger animals such as small rodents and lizards and also pick at plants including berries, fruits and seeds.
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The photo was taken during October 2018 at Drakensberg Sun Resort, Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Info source: https://a-z-animals.com/animals/moorhen/

Stride