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Marievale Bird Sanctuary
Marievale Bird Sanctuary is a protected area in Gauteng, South Africa. It is about 15 km2 in size, and situated on the East Rand on the southern half of the Blesbokspruit wetland, a Ramsar site. The Blesbokspruit is a major perennial river in Gauteng which is flanked by extensive floodplains on either side. Nearby is the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve. History In 1978, a reserve 524 ha in extent was established. This was further extended to 1,526.01 ha. Biodiversity The Blesbokspruit wetland, in which the sanctuary is situated, is designated as an Important Bird Area. Almost 300 bird species frequent the wetland, according to the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA),Marievale Bird Sanctuary flyer. WESSA. 2009 with the best time to visit being between spring and the start of summer. Birds Birds found at the wetland include: * African grass owl * African spoonbill * Baird's sandpiper, Baird’s sandpiper * Baillon's crake, Baillon’s crake * B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nigel, Gauteng
Nigel is a small gold mining town in Gauteng Province, South Africa, south-east of Johannesburg. The town is at the south-eastern edge of the area known as the East Rand. Background A farmer, shopkeeper and prospector, Petrus Johannes Marais, having read Sir Walter Scott's ''The Fortunes of Nigel'' at the time (see Nigel), formed the Nigel Gold Mining Company after the discovery of gold on the farm Varkensfontein in 1886. The town, which grew around the mine, still bears names derived from Scott's book and its characters with the suburb of ''Glenvarloch'' and its streets derived from that source. Today the town is focused primarily on mining and also has various heavy industries. The town became known as the setting of the popular Afrikaans-sitcom ''Vetkoekpaleis'', a sitcom that revolves around the daily lives of staff members of the Vetkoekpaleis (a Vetkoek-themed fast-food restaurant). Nigel's municipal government became part of the much larger City of Ekurhuleni Metropol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-tailed Godwit
The black-tailed godwit (''Limosa limosa'') is a large, long-legged, long-billed shorebird first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is a member of the godwit genus, ''Limosa''. There are four subspecies, all with orange head, neck and chest in breeding plumage and dull grey-brown winter coloration, and distinctive black and white wingbar at all times. Its breeding range stretches from Iceland through Europe and areas of central Asia. Black-tailed godwits spend (the northern hemisphere) winter in areas as diverse as the Indian subcontinent, Australia, New Zealand, western Europe and west Africa. The species breeds in fens, lake edges, damp meadows, moorlands and bogs and uses estuaries, swamps and floods in (the northern hemisphere) winter; it is more likely to be found inland and on freshwater than the similar bar-tailed godwit. The world population is estimated to be 634,000 to 805,000 birds and is classified as Near Threatened. The black-tailed godwit is the national bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-knobbed Coot
The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 7 eggs (or more in good conditions).Liversidge, Richard. “The birds around us: Birds of the Southern African region” Pub: Fontein 1991 Taxonomy The red-knobbed coot was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with all the other coots in the genus '' Fulica'' and coined the binomial name ''Fulica cristata''. Gmelin based his account on the earlier descriptions by the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon and the English ornithologist John Latham, neither of whom had included a binomial name. They gave the type locality ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sand Martin
The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as the bank swallow (in the Americas), collared sand martin, or common sand martin, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family. It has a wide range in summer, embracing practically the whole of Europe and the Mediterranean countries and across the Palearctic to the Pacific Ocean. It is a Holarctic species also found in North America. It winters in eastern and southern Africa, South America, and the Indian Subcontinent. Taxonomy This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and originally named ''Hirundo riparia''; the description consisted of the simple "''H rundocinerea, gula abdomineque albis''" – "an ash-grey swallow, with white throat and belly" – and the type locality was simply given as "Europa". The specific name means "of the riverbank"; it is derived from the Latin ''ripa'' "riverbank". The pale martin of northern India and southeastern China i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-chested Flufftail
The red-chested flufftail (''Sarothrura rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae Sarothruridae is a family of small- to medium-sized ground-living birds found mostly in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa, with the genus ''Rallicula'' being restricted to New Guinea and the Moluccas. The species in this family were once consider .... It is found in sub-Saharan Africa from Liberia to Ethiopia and south to South Africa. References External links * Red-chested flufftail Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Sarothrura Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds described in 1819 Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Gruiformes-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pectoral Sandpiper
The pectoral sandpiper (''Calidris melanotos'') is a small, migratory wader that breeds in North America and Asia, wintering in South America and Oceania. It eats small invertebrates. Its nest, a hole scraped in the ground and with a thick lining, is deep enough to protect its four eggs from the cool breezes of its breeding grounds. The pectoral sandpiper is long, with a wingspan of . Taxonomy The pectoral sandpiper is sometimes separated with the "stint" sandpipers in ''Erolia''. This may or may not represent a good monophyletic group, depending on the placement of the phylogenetically enigmatic curlew sandpiper (''"C." ferruginea''), the type species of ''Erolia''. In any case, the genus name ''Ereunetes''—formerly used for the western sandpiper (''"C." mauri'') and semipalmated sandpiper (''"C." pusilla''), which are also members of the stint clade—was established before ''Erolia''. "Cox's sandpiper" (''"Calidris"'' × ''paramelanotos'') is a stereotyped hybrid between t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsh Owl
The marsh owl (''Asio capensis'') is a medium to large species of owl in the family Strigidae. Description Medium-sized, dark brown with a pumpkin-shaped head with small 'ear' tufts. The facial disc is pale buff, with a distinct dark brown rim with buff speckles. There is a dark brown area around the eyes, which are also dark brown. Its ear-tufts are earth-brown and quite small, often not visible, and set near the centre of the forehead. The tail is dark brown, barred pale buff with a whitish tip. Tarsi are feathered pale tawny-buff and toes are covered with pale buffish plumes, leaving the dark brown tips bare. Claws are blackish. Males are generally paler then females, and there is some individual variation in tone. Length is 31–38 cm, wing length is 284–380mm, tail length is 132–186mm, and weight is 225–485g. Habitat The marsh owl's habitat preference is open grassland, marshlands and short scrub,Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herremans, M., T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goliath Heron
The Goliath heron (''Ardea goliath''), also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia. Description This is the world's largest living heron (the extinct Bennu heron was larger). The height of the goliath heron is , the wingspan is and the weight is . The tarsus measures from and the wing chord averages around in length. The culmen measures from , while the bill from the gape measures around . In flight it has a slow and rather ponderous look and, unlike some other herons, its legs are not held horizontally. Male and female look similar, with an overall covering of slate gray and chestnut feathers. The head and its bushy crest, face, back and sides of the neck are chestnut. The chin, throat, foreneck and upper breast are white, with black streaks across the foreneck and upper breast. The lower breast and belly are buff with black streaks. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Egret
The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently it is also spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water. Taxonomy and systematics Like all egrets, it is a member of the heron family, Ardeidae. Traditionally classified with the storks in the Ciconiiformes, the Ardeidae are closer relatives of pelicans and belong in the Pelecaniformes, instead. The great egret—unlike the typical egrets—does not belong to the genus ''Egretta'', but together with the great herons is today placed in '' Ardea''. In the past, however, it was sometimes placed in ''Egretta'' or separated in a monotypic genus ''Casmerodius''. The Old World population is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulvous Whistling Duck
The fulvous whistling duck or fulvous tree duck (''Dendrocygna bicolor'') is a species of whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Mexico and South America, the West Indies, the southern United States, sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. It has plumage that is mainly reddish brown, long legs and a long grey bill, and shows a distinctive white band across its black tail in flight. Like other members of its ancient lineage, it has a whistling call which is given in flight or on the ground. Its preferred habitat consists of wetlands with plentiful vegetation, including shallow lakes and paddy fields. The nest, built from plant material and unlined, is placed among dense vegetation or in a tree hole. The typical clutch is around ten whitish eggs. The breeding adults, which pair for life, take turns to incubate, and the eggs hatch in 24–29 days. The downy grey ducklings leave the nest within a day or so of hatching, but the parents contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Snipe
The African snipe (''Gallinago nigripennis'') also known as the Ethiopian snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in eastern and southern Africa in wet mountain moorland and swamps at altitudes of . When not breeding it disperses widely, including into coastal lowlands. Description This long snipe has a stocky body and relatively short legs for a wader. Its upperparts, head and neck are streaked and patterned with bold dark brown stripes and gold edges to the feathers forming lines down its back. The belly is white, with some brown barring on the flanks but never on the belly. The pinkish-brown bill is very long, straight and fairly robust. The legs and feet are yellowish-olive to greenish-grey. The sexes are similar, and immatures differ only in showing pale fringes on the wing coverts. The African snipe makes a call as it takes off, and has a far carrying ''kip'' call when breeding. It shows white trailing edges on the wings and white tail corners in flight. The African sn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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