Northern Black Korhaan.

Northern Black Korhaan or White-quilled Bustard (Afrotis afraoides)

This bird is one of the characters of semi-arid grasslands.    In flight the white primary “windows” are diagnostic. It is a conspicuous bird, with a plain black neck, bright yellow legs and red base to the bill being key features. It is common and widespread, mostly sedentary and usually solitary.

The call is a raucous “kraak kraak” from the ground. It has faster notes in display flight.

It lives in arid and semi-arid savannah and grassland and also old agricultural lands. Its eating habits are omnivorous, preferring insects and small reptiles, also seeds. It’s eggs are laid on bare ground.

Courtship is elaborate, involving multiple females and one male and featuring exaggeratedly undulating flight displays, playful chasing and the male displaying his white breast patches. The male is extremely protective of his 200-300 m² territory, fighting other males by striking with his wings, after which the other male usually flies off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fork-tailed Drongo

Fork-tailed Drongo, Common Drongo, African Drongo, or Savannah Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis),

This is a difficult bird to get a good photo of.. the eye is dark red and with the black colouring it always appears as though it has no eyes…

The Fork-tailed Drongo is a common and widespread resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. These insect-eating birds are usually found in open forests or bush.

These are aggressive and fearless birds, given their small size, and will attack much larger species, including birds of prey. The male is mainly glossy black, although the wings are duller. It is large-headed and has the forked tail which gives the species its name. The female is similar but less glossy. The bill is black and heavy, and the eye is red.

The Fork-tailed Drongo is 20 cm long. It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched, like a shrike. It fly catches, or takes prey from the ground and if there’s a bush fire you find it there.

I actually managed to get the eye in the photo on the left…