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Hornbill - Botswana and Zimbabwe, July 2019 (1 Viewer)

M

marcperxas

Active member
Hello!

Picture 1 - Elephant Sands (Botswana), July 2019
Picture 2 - Nyamandhlovu Dam (Zimbabwe), July 2019
Picture 3 - Mwandi View Campsite (Botswana), July 2019

Can anyone confirm if all of them are Bradfield's Hornbill?

Marc
 

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  • Hornbill - Nyamandhlovu Dam, Main Camp (Zimbabwe), July 2019.jpg
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andyadcock said:
All Bradfield's
Click to expand...

Hi Andy.

As we can see, all these birds, which can only be Bradfield's, show a yellow eye. And my (few) personal photos of Bradfield's show a yellow eye. And the HBW illustration seems to show a yellow eye, though eye colour isn't mentioned in the description.

But my Sasol guide, third edition, has an arrow specifically marked 'red eye' for Bradfield's.

Can I / we assume that the Sasol is simply wrong - though it seems a big thing for a guide to have got wrong for such a large bird - and maybe this is why the OP wasn't confident of his ID?
 
Hi Mac,
seems like an obvious error to me having looked at Google images. There are a few examples where birds have what could be generously described as having slightly bloodshot eyes but none are red.

Edit: Eyes are yellow in Birds of Africa.

Just sent an e-mail to Warwick Tarboton, co author of SASOL to see if anyone has pointed this out to them, just in case they a have any plans for another edition.

WT has already replied and there is a revision in the pipeline.
 
Last edited:
MacNara said:
Hi Andy.

As we can see, all these birds, which can only be Bradfield's, show a yellow eye. And my (few) personal photos of Bradfield's show a yellow eye. And the HBW illustration seems to show a yellow eye, though eye colour isn't mentioned in the description.

But my Sasol guide, third edition, has an arrow specifically marked 'red eye' for Bradfield's.

Can I / we assume that the Sasol is simply wrong - though it seems a big thing for a guide to have got wrong for such a large bird - and maybe this is why the OP wasn't confident of his ID?
Click to expand...

andyadcock said:
Hi Mac,
seems like an obvious error to me having looked at Google images. There are a few examples where birds have what could be generously described as having slightly bloodshot eyes but none are red.

Edit: Eyes are yellow in Birds of Africa.

Just sent an e-mail to Warwick Tarboton, co author of SASOL to see if anyone has pointed this out to them, just in case they a have any plans for another edition.

WT has already replied and there is a revision in the pipeline.
Click to expand...

Good to know Macnara and Andy. The 4th Edition SASOL specifically states "has red (not pale yellow) eyes."

I find it quite a good guide, despite the areas where it could be better. I think a lot of the newer guides include colour photos, but I'm not sure if all plumages are covered. Can you imagine the size of "Birds of Africa south of the Sahara" with full colour photographs in all ages and plumages? It would probably need to split into zones or families.
 
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