Bird Watching Safaris in Africa
Bogged up shores and the lakes belonging to systems of Zaire and Nile, are occupied by numerous kinds of birds though in both events the quantity of the forms connected to the river, decreases as approaching to an estuary site.
Plume chicken (Porphyrio porphyrio), a bird of family of shep-herd group of crane-like. Length of a body is about{near} 45 see. Fingers are long. Plume chicken can be found out on a strong beak, reddish comb on a forehead and red paws. The plumage is bluish – green with violet. These secretive inhabitants rich the overgrown boggy margins of African and Madagaskarian rivers. It is distributed - in East Dagestan and Azerbaijan, in Southeast Turkmenia; met in a lower reaches earlier Volga and Ural. Lives without moving on shores of fresh and saltish reservoirs, healed with reed. Similarly to the majority of shep-herd, in an event of hazard it escapes on a bog more often, than departs. In the winter in strong frosts many plume chickens perish. Jacks on log gorges of a reed; in a laying of 5-7 eggs. Nutriment vegetative: runaways, seeds. In the USSR hunting on С. is forbidden.
African yacano, a suborder of birds of group of rye-looklike. Lives along streams, at height of 2200 m above sea level. As well as at others yacanos, at it there are extremely long fingers of legs and claws that allow it to go easily on floating islands of plants and to soft oozy bogs. Length of a body 16,5-53 see. Wings are wide, on a fold of a wing there is a horn . Yacanos fly hardly, low above water. Yacano can float and at prosecution dive. In a suborder is 1 family with 7 kinds. Are distributed in tropics of America, Africa, Asia and Australia. As well as others Yakano, it is the inhabitant of healed reservoirs. Jacks on swimming plants. Females are coupled with several males, postponing for a season 7-10 layings. In a laying there are 4 eggs. Sitts 26 days, also only male drives nestlings . Outside of nested time keeps flights. Eats runaways and seeds, insects, molluscs.
Flamingo or pink red-wing bird of family Phoenicopteridae, reminding the organization of geese (it is known also under a name of red geese), is excellent{different} very long neck, long legs and the long beak bent in the middle cranked from top to bottom; the plumage is gentle - pink, purple-red wings with black swing feathers. This kind is very much distributed in warm breadthes of all world: North- Western Africa, Southern Europe, India, Central and South America, Caribbean sea and Galapagos Islands . Flamingo is one of the most ancient birds. It has appeared on the Earth when there was a great variety of different forms feathery. The flamingo are nestliling in poorly accessible bogs, keep flights, and jacks arrange with colonies; a jack from a moss in the form of conic heaps, 2 foots in height.
The small flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) is more eurysynusic in a South half of Africa. Similarly to the majority of flying birds, the small flamingo every day allocates that time to cleaning of the plumage. The flamingo are fed in the close neighbourhood, being going to sometimes on a lacustrine shoal in such plenty that is not visible a slice of a shore. There is no in Africa more a gripping show, than flight from several thousand birds who have simultaneously risen in air. So clumsy is when they stand in water, few birds are more perfect in flight.
The see eagle the shouter (Haliaeetus vocifer) - inhabits Africa. Meets across all Nile, from tops up to a mouth of the river. Its specific name reflects a manner to issue the wild shrill shouts far carried on water. Normally it sits on coastal trees, vigilantly peering in water, and having caught sight of extraction, plans downwards to seize with a paw a fish in weight about kg and more. In the rivers of Africa - Nile, Zaire, Zambezi, Niger - fishing, as a rule, is always successful, therefore see eagles - shouters of this continent have rather small hunting sites and is nestling close from each other. Nests near the reservoirs. In a laying 2 eggs are ordinary. General length 65-75 see.
Wood, whistling ducks - a genus uniting 8 kinds which, probably, are very close to geese. They meet in Austro-Columbian regions of all world and places in a moderate zone. They have long neck and legs, and paws are capable to clasp branches of trees on which they, the truth, fly up seldom. In colouring brown, grey, chestnut, black and white colors are combined. They are called so for the manner to issue often whistling sounds. At night these ducks eat vegetation on shores of the rivers and on bogs, and days serenely spend on river shores.
Colpitsa (Platalea leucorodia) - the basic part of an areal lies in an arid belt of Eurasia from Mediterranean and Black up to the Yellow and Japanese seas. Other site of an areal covers India. Separate colonies exist in the Western Europe, the Western and Northeast Africa.
95 sm of length, masses almost 2 kg and 115-135 sm in wingspan reach{achieve}.
Birds are fed with the beak here and there lowered in water, sometimes immerse also all head. In a diet sometimes meet both large objects, and vegetative nutriment. Colpitsas are active at any time, are fed in twilight and at night more often, have a rest in the afternoon. Fly from wintering grounds in March, start nesting in April - May.
Are nesting the colonies often mixed, single nesting is fixed only by way of exception. Jacks on trees, bushes, log gorges of a reed. In a laying it is ordinary rather large 3-4 (69 Ñ… 45 mm) eggs, white with rare red-brown spots. Nestings are covered with white down. Incubation is over 25 days, bringing up - till 50 days last. In 4 weeks after appearence of nestlings leave a jack and sit nearby.
Colpitsas are mature with 3-4 years, the record of life expectancy in the nature according to banding - is more than 28 years.
Whale-head-bird is a large bird, in standing position has growth of 75-90 sm; the length covered 65-69 see. Its neck is not so long and thick. The head is large, with small and, it is possible to say, inaccurate crest on the nape. The beak is massive and very wide, is a little bit inflated. On the end of the part above beak there is a hanging down hook. The plumes in general are dark grey, and on the back is present powder down, but on the breast of such down there are no. Legs are long, black. Its tonge is short; the muscular stomach no, and ferruterous very big. Whale-head-bird is distributed in Africa. Nesting affairs this bird starts in March, the breeding season lasts till July. Jacks arranges on land in high grassy thrickets, it is ordinary in a marshy place. Postpones 2 white eggs. Whale-head-bird is silent, but can issue shrill shouts, and also can crack a beak as it is done with a stork. This languid bird often stands completely motionlessly, holding the big beak on a breast. As nutriment for whale-head-bird various water animals serve. It eats a fish, mainly fisheshaving two types of breathing - prptopteruses. Eats whale-head-bird still crocodile-babies, frogs and as required small turtles. Flies whale-head-bird normally low above land, but can soar on wide wings as well.
