tail Archives - Page 19 of 31

Scarlet

The crimson-breasted shrike or the crimson-breasted gonolek, (‘gonolek’ – supposedly imitative of its call), is a southern African bird. It has black upperparts with a white flash on the wing and bright scarlet underparts. The crimson-breasted shrike is non-migratory and occurs in a broad swathe from southern Angola to the Free State province in South Africa. Its preferred habitat is drier thorn bush areas, in thickets and riparian scrub. It makes small seasonal migrations, preferring lower altitudes during cold periods. This shrike is extremely nimble and restless, its penetrating whistles often being the first sign of its presence, although it is not a shy species.

8 November 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Swish

An elephant’s tail can be as long as 1.3 m and is tipped by a series of very coarse, wire-like hairs. They have an extraordinary degree of control over tail movement and use them like a fly swat against insects. Just like a dog, when an elephant’s tail is swishing from side to side swatting away flies, it is happy. As soon as the tail goes stiff, normally held out to one side, it means that the elephant is anxious. At this point, it may even start to run from you, normally swivelling over its shoulder to keep an eye on you as it tries to get away.

5 November 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife

Caution

The Nile Crocodile is a large and aggressive species with a broad snout, especially in older animals. It has a dark bronze colouration and darkens as the animal matures. Lives in a variety of freshwater habitats but is also found in brackish water. It is an apex predator that is capable of taking a wide array of African vertebrates, including large ungulates and other predators. Crocodiles are ambush predators, waiting for fish or land animals to come close, then rushing out to attack. Crocodiles mostly eat fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, reptiles, and mammals, and they occasionally cannibalize smaller crocodiles. What a crocodile eats varies greatly with species, size and age.

30 October 2018Picture of the day, Wildlife