Southern African Forum (1 Viewer)

Peter Allison said:

I had the CD-Rom years ago and it was good fun, but won't be of much use in the field I would imagine.

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Indeed, it seems to be deliberately designed to make it unusable. I was planning on buying this to install on my Netbook (very small, lightweight, laptop with no internal CD drive) to use on my upcoming trip to Botswana. Then I found out that I can't just install everything to the Netbook's hard drive, but that the CD needs to be inserted whenever the program is used - just for copy protection. That means I'd have to carry an external CD drive with me, which adds enough bulk to make it unfeasible.

Looks like I'll have to stick with the reliable old Sasol paper guide.

Peter Allison said:

I had the CD-Rom years ago and it was good fun, but won't be of much use in the field I would imagine. ...

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The old CD was very basic. The new multimedia version is totally upgraded and has several new features from what I have seen. You can find out a bit about it here:

http://www.sabirding.co.za/index.htm

It retails out here for betweeen R699 and R999 depending on which version you buy. If you were thinking of buying it, it might be cheaper out here with the exchange rate as it is. However, I have just seen a post by f.hollis which may make it unfeasible to bring it.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I looked at the link that Sal provided, and it actually looks very interesting, with lots of features, such as being able to generate lists for locations or routes, an id module, and the ability to put your own material into it. I particularly like the sound of the last one, as you can add your own photos, videos or even drawings to help id, keepsakes etc. Of course the proof is in the use, so I'd really like to either play with it or talk to someone who has it.

Re the need to use the cd each bootup, that won't be a major problem for me. We always bring a laptop when we visit, and if I do end up buying it and using the laptop in the car (in Kruger for eg) I can always get a cigar lighter converter to power the laptop, so won't have to rely on the battery.

Much to think on.

Thanks again everyone
Allan

Someone gave me a Natal Parks Board Calendar (birds), and I was horrified to see the Natal Robin is now Red-capped Robin-Chat. Why? It doesn't have a red cap??

Alan I guess its because it has a reddish/russet head

Sal said:

Alan I guess its because it has a reddish/russet head

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but the top of its head is grey

Er - are we talking about the same bird??? The face and underbody are a rich orange and the top of the head is a sort of russet colour . . . .

Here is the Sasol description...........

"This species may be distinguished from all other robin-chats by its powder-blue back and wings, russet-brown crown and nape and bright red-orange face and underparts."

Dave Kennedy

Sorry for slow response, couldn't access the forum yesterday.

My experience is the colour on the top of the head is very similar to the back (blue greyish), like Newman's pics.

From 1984 Roberts: "...above brownish to blueish grey (Zimbabwean birds rufous on crown, hence Redcapped Robin)..." (another politically correct renaming!).

From 1978 Roberts: "...crown and nape variable and contrast strongly with under-parts..." and northern race: "...Differs from (a) in having crown more cinnamon-rufous"

Unfortunately, the pic in the calendar I mentioned shows the bird is side-on, so you can't make out the colour of the crown (does look reddish though). An interesting point made in the calendar is that the bird was first classified in Natal, so strictly speaking that name should be retained. (I also said it was a parks board calendar, it's not. It's Birdlife Port Natal.)

I'd go into the Transvaal Museum, to take pics of the Natal Robin skins in the collection, but it's not a very savoury part of town anymore.

Red-capped Robin-chat

alan carr said:

Sorry for slow response, couldn't access the forum yesterday.

My experience is the colour on the top of the head is very similar to the back (blue greyish), like Newman's pics.

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Here's one I photographed (rather badly) in Maputaland in 2005.

Dave Kennedy

alan carr said:

Sorry for slow response, couldn't access the forum yesterday.

My experience is the colour on the top of the head is very similar to the back (blue greyish), like Newman's pics.

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Yes, I have just looked at my old Newman's, and the cap is shown as greyish there.
I have given my newer copy of Newman's away so I can't see whether it has been changed; I must say I have never seen one with a grey cap, but obviously the guys who did Newman's have, and so have you - just goes to show, never take a book's info as gospel!

I, too, could not get into the forum yesterday, wonder what happened.

Sal said:

Yes, I have just looked at my old Newman's, and the cap is shown as greyish there.
I have given my newer copy of Newman's away so I can't see whether it has been changed; I must say I have never seen one with a grey cap, but obviously the guys who did Newman's have, and so have you - just goes to show, never take a book's info as gospel!

I, too, could not get into the forum yesterday, wonder what happened.

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I got a message when I tried to get in yesterday morning saying they were moving servers, but Fri, I just got a server not found error.

One of the reasons why I really would like to get into the Tvl Museum to see the skins is that I know Ken Newman used their skins for his drawings. I would love to see the variability, which, like you, I have never even thought of.

Red-capped Robin-chat

Sal says he's never seen one with a grey cap - and my photograph (#550) at the bottom of page 22 (about which nobody has commented) shows no trace of a grey cap whatsoever. Perhaps somebody out there has a photo of a grey-capped one, which would settle this debate to everybody's satisfaction.

Let's see your pictures.

Best wishes,
Dave

Dave Kennedy said:

Sal says he's never seen one with a grey cap - and my photograph (#550) at the bottom of page 22 (about which nobody has commented) shows no trace of a grey cap whatsoever. Perhaps somebody out there has a photo of a grey-capped one, which would settle this debate to everybody's satisfaction.

Let's see your pictures.

Best wishes,
Dave

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Don't worry Dave, we all saw it!!! Lovely pic too. All the Natal Robins I've seen look like the one you posted. But Newman's definitely shows a grey cap, and Roberts VI says: above, brownish to blueish grey (Zimbabwean birds rufous on crown, hence called 'Red-capped Robin') which implies that they are not all so.
It could be a case of you see what you expect to see, or there may be some with grey caps. I agree, it would be good to see a pic of one.

Sal said:

Don't worry Dave, we all saw it!!! Lovely pic too. All the Natal Robins I've seen look like the one you posted. But Newman's definitely shows a grey cap, and Roberts VI says: above, brownish to blueish grey (Zimbabwean birds rufous on crown, hence called 'Red-capped Robin') which implies that they are not all so.
It could be a case of you see what you expect to see, or there may be some with grey caps. I agree, it would be good to see a pic of one.

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You realise that if it was still known as "Natal Robin" none of this discussion would have been necessary. There must be a lesson there somewhere!

Dave

Dave Kennedy said:

You realise that if it was still known as "Natal Robin" none of this discussion would have been necessary. There must be a lesson there somewhere!

Dave

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But we'd never have known about the discrepancy! I have just been looking at a pic of a Natal Robin on another website, and it does look as though it has a grey cap. Another on on the same website definitely has a rufous head. So the degree of colour of the cap does vary.

Oh, and look here:

http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=152072

Local Birding Areas in Southern Africa - Walter Sisulu Botanic Gardens, West Rand

I have been fortunate in having access to some of the more exotic Southern African destinations, and my birding has benefited accordingly. But Southern Africa is a splendid birding destination, no matter where you are, even in urban areas. One thinks of Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, or Sal's Queen Elizabeth park in Pietermaritzburg, about which he told us just the other day. Here in the Jo'burg area we have the Walter Sisulu Botanic Gardens, on the boundary between Roodepoort and Krugersdorp on the West Rand. Here in an urban setting you can watch Verreaux's Eagles rearing their young, Red-throated Wrynecks foraging, or four different species of cuckoo being reared by small, long-suffering step-parents.

My Walter Sisulu list currently stands at 85.....and here it is. Maybe some of you can contribute lists from your own special places.

Acacia Pied Barbet
African Black Duck
African Hoopoe
African Olive-pigeon (Rameron Pigeon)
African Paradise Flycatcher
African Wattled Lapwing (Plover)
Amethyst (African Black) Sunbird
Arrow-marked Babbler
Barn (European) Swallow
Bar-throated Apalis
Black Cuckoo
Black Cuckooshrike
Black-backed Puffback (Shrike)
Black-chested (Blackbreasted) Snake Eagle
Blackcollared Barbet
Blacksmith Lapwing (Plover)
Blackthroated Canary
Bokmakierie
Bronze Mannikin
Brownhooded Kingfisher
Cape Glossy Starling
Cape Robin-chat (Robin)
Cape Rock Thrush
Cape Sparrow
Cape Turtle Dove
Cape Wagtail
Cape Weaver
Cape White-eye
Cattle Egret
Common (Indian) Myna
Common Fiscal (Fiscal Shrike)
Crested Barbet
Crowned Lapwing (Plover)
Dark-capped (Blackeyed) Bulbul
Diderick (Diederik) Cuckoo
Egyptian Goose
European Bee-eater
Fairy Flycatcher
Fiscal Flycatcher
Goldentailed Woodpecker
Greater Doublecollared Sunbird
Greater Striped Swallow
Green (Redbilled) Wood Hoopoe
Greenbacked Heron
Greyheaded Bush Shrike
Hadeda Ibis
Helmeted Guineafowl
Karoo Thrush (ex Olive thrush)
Klaas's Cuckoo
Kurrichane Thrush
Laughing Dove
Lesser Honeyguide
Little Bittern
Little Grebe (Dabchick)
Little Swift
Malachite Kingfisher
Malachite Sunbird
Orangebreasted Bush Shrike
Ovambo Sparrowhawk
Pied Kingfisher
Redchested Cuckoo
Redcollared Widowbird (Widow)
Redeyed Dove
Redfaced Mousebird
Redthroated Wryneck
Redwinged Starling
Reed Cormorant
Rock Martin
Southern Boubou
Southern Greyheaded Sparrow
Southern Masked Weaver
Speckled (Rock) Pigeon
Speckled Mousebird
Spotted Eagle Owl
Spotted Flycatcher
Spotted Thick-knee (Dikkop)
Steppe Buzzard
Streakyheaded Seed-eater (Canary)
Striped Pipit
Verreaux's (Black) Eagle
Violet-backed (Plumcoloured) Starling
Whitebellied Sunbird
Whitethroated Swallow
Yellowbilled Duck
Yellowfronted Tinkerbird (Tinker Barbet)

Not bad for an urban location. Birding can be done anywhere - that is one of its greatest advantages. New birders - take note, you can begin right in your own back yard.

One point of interest - the Gardens nestle in a bowl at the foot of a huge cliff over which crashes the infant Crocodile River on its way to the Limpopo. That cliff is the Ridge of White Waters, the Witwatersrand, which achieved world-wide fame following the gold strike at Langlaagte in 1886. The bowl at the foot of the cliff faces north, right into the sun, and it is my belief that the Gardens enjoy an ambient temperature up to 5 degrees warmer than the Jo'burg area. This may explain the slightly exotic content of the bird list, which contains one or two species which are unusual for the general Jo'burg area.

Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy

I live in commuterland in the UK, so every weekday morning I am on the platform waiting for the train to take me to the concrete madhouse that is London. For the past few months I have been standing wearily in the dark, but with the new year the days are getting longer and dawn is now breaking as I stand shivering in the cold.

Anyway, all that is a preamble to say that for the last week I have had my commuting misery lightened by hearing the dawn chorus in its full glory, with the robins, blackbirds, thrushes etc all singing their little hearts out.

One thing that has struck me is the lack of an equivalent in our place in South Africa (Marloth Park, adjacent to the Kruger). Why do you think it is so quiet in comparison, considering that there are many more species in SA? Is it just a feature of the lowveld, or is it all over SA? (The francolin that seems determined to wake up every living thing in a 10 Km radius is an exception!)

Allan

I don't know Alan, but is it possible that with the huge expanse of Kruger Park just over the river from you, the concentration of birdlife is reduced because there is so much more space for territory? Maybe UK birds have smaller territories for this reason? Maybe they have to work (ie sing) harder to retain their territories? Maybe there is a particularly good area next to the station that supports a large number of birds? Is your Marloth house on the river or further back? If further back, have you been down at the river's edge to check if the birdsong is of a comparable volume? Maybe UK birds have louder vocals - for example how does the Cape Robin-Chat's vocals compare with those of the British Robin? I discovered one day the RSPB bird site on the Internet which give simple British recognition birding info for people like me - you know - picture, description, life cycle and sound clips. To me, the Robin is louder, higher and more piercing than our Robin-Chat. Of course, all this is speculation, but you pose an interesting question.