tail Archives - Page 17 of 31

Curve

Yellow-Billed Hornbills are a distinctive bird that is widespread in South Africa, including in Kruger National Park. They are also called ‘flying bananas’ because of their huge bills that are yellow and look just like bananas! They are distinguished by their very large, downward curved yellow beaks. They feed mainly on the ground, foraging for seeds, insects, spiders and even scorpions. They may catch snakes, which they kill by bashing them on against a hard surface. They swallow their prey whole, letting indigestible parts pass through their digestive system. Yellow-Billed Hornbills are known to forage cooperatively with Dwarf Mongooses, catching prey items that the mongooses scratch up from the ground. In return, the hornbills alert the mongooses to danger from overhead raptors.

18 December 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Kaleidoscope

Rollers get their name from their impressive courtship flight, a fast, shallow dive from considerable elevation with a rolling or fast rocking motion, accompanied by loud raucous calls. All rollers appear to be monogamous and highly territorial. The Lilac Breasted Roller will perch on a dead tree, surveying the area for prey. One typical aspect of its behaviour is that it also preys on animals fleeing from bushfires. It is a swift flier, indulging in acrobatics during the breeding season. They actually breed ‘on the wing’. They live in pairs or small groups but are often seen alone. Their call is a loud harsh squawk, ‘zaaak’. They are partly migratory, but in some areas they are sedentary. To feed they swoop down from an elevated perch next to their prey and eat it on the ground or return to a perch where they batter it before swallowing it whole. They are territorial, also defending temporarily small feeding territories; hence individuals are regularly spaced along roads. They drive off many species from near their nest hole, even after breeding.

14 December 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Junior

Female zebras mature earlier than the males, and a mare may have her first foal by the age of three. Males are not able to breed until the age of five or six. Mares may give birth to one foal every twelve months. She nurses the foal for up to a year. Like horses, zebras are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they are born. A zebra foal is brown and white instead of black and white at birth. Plains and mountain zebra foals are protected by their mothers, as well as the head stallion and the other mares in their group. Grévy’s zebra foals have only their mother as a regular protector since Grévy’s zebra groups often disband after a few months.

11 December 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife