Southern Red Bishop Bird.

Southern Red Bishop or Red Bishop (Euplectes orix)

The Southern Red Bishop or Red Bishop is a small passerine bird belonging to the bishop and widowbird in the weaver family. It is common in wetlands and grassland in Africa south of the Equator.

This is another bird that goes through a change before breeding… a sort of trooping of the colours you might call it… the male is very similar to the female in colouring when not breeding… but changes into this magnificent red or orange red colour to breed…

It is 10–11 centimetres (4 inches) long and has a thick conical bill. Breeding males are brightly-coloured with red (occasionally orange) and black plumage. The forehead, face and throat are black and the rest of the head is red. The upper parts are red apart from the brown wings and tail. The upper breast and under tail-coverts are red while the lower breast and belly are black. The non-breeding male and female have streaky brown plumage, paler below. Females are smaller than the males. Here’s firstly, a few photos of the males going through the “change of life”.. having hot flushes by the looks of it….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then for the change…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last photo is probably a life size shot…. showing his true size…. Below is a female…..

Blesbok.. Birth of a youngster.

The blesbok or blesbuck (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi)

The blesbok or blesbuck is an antelope endemic to South Africa. It has a distinctive white face and forehead which inspired the name, because bles is the Afrikaans word for a blaze such as one might see on the forehead of a horse.

Although the blesbok is a close relative of the bontebok and can interbreed with it, the offspring being known as the bontebles or baster blesbok, however the two species do not share the same habitat in the wild. The blesbok is found in large numbers in all national parks with open grasslands, from the Highveld to the  Free State, and as far south as the Eastern Cape. It is a plains species and dislikes wooded areas.

A common specie often over looked by me… but when there’s young……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And you’re safe for now youngster….. he sleeps…

Physically, rams and ewes are remarkably similar. Their mass can be as much as 85 kg. A characteristic of the blesbok is the prominent white blaze on the face and a horizontal brown strip which divides this blaze above the eyes. Body colour is brown with a lighter-coloured saddle on the back, and the rump an even lighter shade. The legs are brown with a white patch behind the top part of the front legs. Lower legs whitish. Both sexes carry horns, ringed almost to the tip.

The blesbok is a seasonal breeder, with rutting from March to May. Births peak during November and December after a gestation period of about 240 days (8 months). Females give birth to a single calf per breeding season.