Whyte’s Barbet
Stactolaema whytii (Genus: Stactolaema = Greek "with drip like marks on the throat"; species whytii = after Alexander Whyte (1834-1905), government naturalist in Nyasaland (Malawi) under…
Daddy-long-legs – Pholcidae
Most people take these spiders for granted because they are so familiar a sight, but very little information about them is…
Crested Barbet
Trachyphonus vaillanti (Trachyphonus: Greek = rough voice; vaillanti: Latin, named after Francois Le Vaillant [1753-1824], "the first ornithologist to visit the Cape [South Africa]",…
Fiery-necked Nightjar
Fiery-necked Nightjar (Caprimulgus pectoralis) Caprimulgus (Latin = to milk a goat, from the bird's wide-open mouth and habit of foraging around animal…
Southern Black Flycatcher Compared with Fork-tailed Drongo
A: Southern Black Flycatcher: Melaenornis pammelaina (Melaenornis (= Greek 'black bird') pammelaina (= Greek 'altogether olive', meaning black plumage with a greenish gloss); B: Fork-tailed…
Sunspiders
SUNSPIDERS (Solifugae) These arachnids, commonly known in Zimbabwe as Gerrymuglins, Gerrymanders, Camel spiders, Rain spiders, Kalahari Ferraris, Romans and Hunting spiders,…
Pangolin – most illegally traded animal in the world
Pangolins are the most illegally traded wild animal in the world. Estimates suggest one is being poached somewhere in the world…
Black-chested Snake Eagle
Circaetus pectoralis: Genus: Circus (Greek = harrier & aetos = eagle); species: pectoralis (Greek = of the breast) Circaete a poitrine noire (French); Aquia-cobreira-de-peito-preto (Portuguese) Sound: http://www.xeno-canto.org/57552 I saw this very…
Groundscraper Thrush
Psophocichla litsitsirupa (Latin)Zvichirori (Shona: general name for 'thrush'); Merle litsitsirupa (French); Tordo-de-peito-malhado (Portuguese). http://www.xeno-canto.org/300628 When you are trying to identify a…
Red-billed Firefinch
Latin: Lagonisticta (Genus: lagonisticta = Greek 'spotted flanks'; species senegala = Latin 'from Senegal') Shona: kandirendire, tondondo; French: amarante du Senegal; Portuguese: Peito-de-fogo-de-bico-vermelho These very pretty little birds (they're…
