Birds

Amaurornis flavirostra (amaurornis = Greek: dark, dim or obscure bird; flavirostra = Latin: yellow bill)Nhapata (Shona) Call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ileMpkzm0 (Black Crake Bird Call Kruger National Park |…

Lamprotornis Chalybaeus (lamprotornis: Greek = a bright or shiny bird; chalybaeus: Latin = steely blue) Song: https://ebird.org/species/gbesta1 One has to have several pictures of…

Euplectes ardens (Genus: Euplectes, Greek = woven, referring to their woven nests; Species: ardens, Latin = glowing (type description based on an inaccurate illustration…

Onychognathus morio (Genus: onychognathus, Greek onukhos = a fingernail or claw + gnathos = jaw or mouth i.e. a bill resembling a claw or nail; Species: morio Greek =…

Prinia subflava (Genus: Prinia, Javanese i.e. the name for these birds; Species: subflava, Latin = almost yellow) Timba (Shona - generic for all small cisticolas) …

Melierax metabates (Genus: Melierax, Greek = melodious hawk; species: metabates, Latin = changed i.e. presumably from the similar Pale Chanting Goshawk Melierax canorus [Latin = musical,…

Terpsiphone viridis (Genus: Terpsiphone, Greek = delightful voice; Species, viridis, Latin = green - presumably because of the greenish-tinged head) Kateredemu, zvigone (Shona),  Tchitrec d'Afrique(French),…

Cinnyris manoensis (Genus: Cinnyris, Greek cinnyris = shining; Species: manoensis = place name, Mano, in SW Tanzania; "miombo" is the name of a certain kind of savanna vegetation…

(Interestingly, the name 'whydah' is derived from a small town named 'Ouidah' on the coast of the ancient kingdom of 'Whydah'…

Lizard BuzzardKaupifalco monogrammicus (Genus: Kaupifalco, after Johann Jakob von Kaup [1803-1873], German zoologist and author; Species: monogrammicus, Latin = mono, single; grammicus = mark i.e. with a single mark, signed,…