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Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve
The Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve is a large section of protected land in Johannesburg South. It was designated in 1957 in an area of . A wetland, part of the Klip River, runs along its southern border. The reserve lies adjacent to Lenasia, alongside the R554. The Golden Highway ( R553) and N1 roads vertically divide it into three parts. On its northern border, it lies beneath the towns of Eldorado Park, Nancefield, Devland and Naturena (from west to east). It contains the Olifantsvlei Cemetery, Johannesburg Water's Olifantsvlei Wastewater Treatment Works and Bushkoppies Wastewater Treatment Works. Nearby is the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve. Biodiversity The marshland, mainly consisting of Phragmites reed beds host a number of species: Birds * Common reed warbler * Baillon's crake * Black crake * Common moorhen * Flufftail * Great reed warbler * Lesser swamp warbler * Little bittern * Little grebe * Little rush warbler * Rallidae * Sedge warbler * Spotted crake * We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannesburg South
Johannesburg South is a group of suburbs in the southern part of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z .... References Johannesburg Region F {{Johannesburg-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Crake
The black crake (''Zapornia flavirostra'') is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae. It breeds in most of sub-Saharan Africa except in very arid areas. It undertakes some seasonal movements in those parts of its range which are subject to drought. No subspecies have been described. It appears that the oldest available name for this species is actually ''Rallus niger'' J. F. Gmelin, 1788, but Swainson believed that the earlier name was unidentifiable, and his own has since become well embedded in the literature. Description The adult black crake is long with a short tail and long toes. As its name implies, the adult has mainly black plumage, with a brown olive tone on the wings and upperparts which is rarely detectable in the field. The eye is red, the bill is yellow (hence the ''flavirostra'' of the binomial name), and the legs and feet are red, duller when not breeding. The sexes are similar, but the male is slightly larger. Most males, but only 10% of females, ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Protected Areas Of South Africa
The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private landowners. Most protected areas are intended for the conservation of flora and fauna. National parks are maintained by South African National Parks (''SANParks''). A number of national parks have been incorporated in transfrontier conservation areas. Protected areas may also be protected for their value and importance as historical, cultural heritage or scientific sites. More information on these can be found in the list of heritage sites in South Africa. Special Nature Reserves Special nature reserves are highly protected areas from which all people and human activities are excluded, except for conservation and scientific research. The Prince Edward Islands, which are South African territories in the Southern Ocean, have been declared a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marsh Mongoose
The marsh mongoose (''Atilax paludinosus''), also known as the water mongoose or the vansire, is a medium-sized mongoose native to sub-Saharan Africa that inhabits foremost freshwater wetlands. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Taxonomy The generic name ''Atilax'' was introduced in 1826 by Frédéric Cuvier. In 1829, Georges Cuvier referred to a mongoose in the marshes of the Cape Province using the scientific name ''Herpestes paludinosus''. It is the only extant member of the genus ''Atilax'', although an extinct ancestral species from the Early Pleistocene known as ''Atilax mesotes'' was also a member of the genus. Characteristics The marsh mongoose's fur is dark reddish brown to black with white and fawn coloured guard hairs. The hair behind the neck and in front of the back is short, but longer on the hind legs and on the tail. Its muzzle is short with a fawn coloured mouth, short whiskers and a naked rhinarium. It has teeth. Its short ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Swamphen
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name ''talève sultane'', it is also known as the sultana bird. This chicken-sized bird, with its large feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is easily recognisable in its native range. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the purple swamphen, but is now recognised as a separate species. The western swamphen is found in wetlands in Spain (where the largest population lives), India, Portugal, southeastern France, Italy (Sardinia, and Sicily) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Behaviour The species makes loud, quick, bleating and hooting calls which are hardly bird-like in tone. It is particularly noisy during the breeding season. Despite being clumsy in flight, it can fly long distances and is a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet. Bree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Crake
The spotted crake (''Porzana porzana'') is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake's breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6–15 eggs. This species is migratory, wintering in Africa and Pakistan. At length, spotted crakes are slightly smaller than water rails, from which they are readily distinguished by the short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey breast, with dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is buff underneath. Immature spotted crakes are similar, but the blue-grey is replaced by brown. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. The only confusion species is the sora, a rare vagrant from North America. However, that species lacks the breast spotting and ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedge Warbler
The sedge warbler (''Acrocephalus schoenobaenus'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous. Taxonomy The sedge warbler was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Motacilla schoenobaenus''. The species is now placed in the genus '' Acrocephalus'' that was introduced in 1811 by Johann Andreas Naumann and his son Johann Friedrich Naumann. British ornithologists did not distinguish the species from the Eurasian reed warbler until the 18th century. The genus name ''Acrocephalus'' is from Ancient Gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail (bird)
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts, polar regions, and alpine areas above the snow line. Members of the Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. Numerous island species are known. The most common rail habitats are marshland and dense forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation.Horsfall & Robinson (2003): pp. 206–207 Name "Rail" is the anglicized respelling of the French ''râle'', from Old French ''rasle''. It is named from its harsh cry, in Vulgar Latin *''rascula'', from Latin ''rādere'' ("to scrape"). Morphology The rails are a family of small to medium-sized, ground-living birds. They vary in length from and in weight from . Some species have long necks and in many ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Rush Warbler
The little rush warbler or African bush warbler (''Bradypterus baboecala'') is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. Range and habitat It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Eswatini, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...s. References External links * Little rush warbler/African Sedge Warbler Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds little rush warbler Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa little rush warbler Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Locustellidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Grebe
The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ''rufus'' "red" and Modern Latin ''-collis'', "-necked", itself derived from Latin ''collum'' "neck". At in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range. Taxonomy The little grebe was described by the German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 and given the binomial name ''Colymbus ruficollis''. The tricolored grebe was considered conspecific, with some taxonomic authorities still considering it so. There are six currently-recognized subspecies, separated principally by size and colouration. * ''T. r. ruficollis'' – (Pallas, 1764): nominate, found from Europe and western Russia south to North Africa * ''T. r. iraquensis'' – (Ticehurst, 1923): found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Bittern
The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "small". Distribution The little bittern is native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range. In Britain there were intermittent reports of breeding in the nineteenth century, and again in 1946 and 1957, but none of these records were proven. The first proven British breeding record is from Yorkshire in 1984, and the second from the Avalon Marshes in Somerset in 2010, by 2017 this species had been present in this area for nine consecutive years. Taxonomy Carl Linn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Swamp Warbler
The lesser swamp warbler or Cape reed warbler (''Acrocephalus gracilirostris'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It is a resident breeder in Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Chad and Ethiopia south to South Africa. This is a common species of reedbeds in standing water. Description The lesser swamp warbler is a plain-coloured smallish bird 14–16 cm long and weighing around 20 g. Its upperparts are rich brown, and it has a white supercilium. The underparts are white, with a rufous wash to the flanks. The long, strong bill has a slightly down-curved upper mandible; it is blackish-yellow with a yellower base. The legs are blue-grey and the eyes are brown. Adults of both sexes and juvenile birds are very similar in appearance. The song is rich and melodious, a series of bubbly phrases that include trilling notes, ''cheerup chee trrreee'' and a large number of variations, with pauses between phrases. Behaviour The lesser swamp warb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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