Raptor Series: Harriers
Harriers are large rather slender raptors (the body about 50cm long with a wingspan of over a metre) with long and…
Raptor Series – Buzzards
This episode gives examples of three raptors that have the standard English name of "Buzzard". The bad news, however, is that…
Raptor Series: Eagles
Most of the birds we will be looking at in this series are members of the family of birds known as acciptridae (from…
Snakes Shedding Their Skins (or Moulting or Sloughing)
All snakes shed their skin, regularly. In this article we will discuss why and how they do this but first of…
Raptors or ‘Birds of prey’ – An Introduction
Raptors are among the biggest and most easily spotted birds in our countryside. They are also perhaps the most dramatic and exciting. The…
Cicadas – Master Sound-makers of the Insect World
“CICADA” – NAME(S) AND CLASSIFICATION The word “cicada” (pronounced “si-car-da”) is taken directly from the Latin representation of the sound made…
Polarisation in Elephant Conversations
Notes and slides from talk by Richard Maasdorp, part of Z.P.G.A. Talks, 25th March, 2022, at Armadale Lodge (With Richard's permission…
Bar-throated Apalis (and bird lungs)
Apalis thoracica (apalis = soft [Greek], thoracica = of the chest [Latin] Call (duet by male and female) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmFWxXq9Ygs This is the only Apalis in the…
Yellow-throated Petronia
(a.k.a. Yellow-throated Sparrow) Petronia superciliaris (Genus: petronia, Latin = to do with rocks, referring to the habitat of the Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia; species: superciliaris, Latin:…
Yellow-mantled Widowbird (& polygany vs. polyandry)
Euplectes macroura (Genus: Euplectes, Greek = woven, referring to the nests; Species: macroura, Latin = large-tailed)Euplecte a dos d'or (French); Viuva-de-manto-amarelo (Portuguese) Call/song: http://www.xeno-canto.org/309964 Zimbabwe seems…
