Module 13 - Birds

Question 1

What are Palaeartic and Intra African Migrants?

Answer 1

Birds migrate between breeding and wintering grounds (with more food) in a regular basis. Palearctic migrants between continents (e.g. common swift) and Intra-african migrants within the continent of Africa (e.g. Diederik Cuckoo)

Question 2

What is the largest flying bird in Africa?

Answer 2

Kori Bustard.

Question 3

Which bird creates the heaviest nest in South Africa (built by two birds)?

Answer 3

Hamerkop.

Question 4

Which bird creates the largest and heaviest nest in South Africa (built by several birds)?

Answer 4

Sociable weaver.

Question 5

Bird characteristics

Answer 5

• unique feature are the feathers;
• forelimbs modified into wings; hind limbs are adapted for walking, swimming or perching; - horny beaks;
• reproduction by laying eggs

Question 6

Passerine, near-Passerine and non- passerine characteristics

Answer 6

Group Passerine:

• 3 toes forward, 1 toe backward on the same level;
• feet adapted for perching;
• all birds of small to medium size, often referred to as ‘songbirds’ (e. g. shrikes, sunbirds); - usually altricial young (born helpless);.

Group Non-Passerine:

• 3 toes forward, 1 backward but raised on a different level; - Not able to perch (except doves and raptors);
• Often ground dwelling (e. g. francolins, spurfowls);
• usually precocial chicks (born well developed).

Group Near-Passerines:
Share ecological similarities with passerines, but do not completely fill all the criteria to be classified as Passerine. Many of them have specially modified feet for clinging:
3.1 Zygodactyls: 2 toes forward, 2 toes back (e. g. woodpeckers, honeyguides)
3.2: Syndactyl: 3 toes forward (with 2 fused), 1 toe backward (e. g. bee-eaters, kingfisher) 3.3: Pamprodactyl: 4 toes forward (e. g. Mousebirds, some swifts)

Question 7

FEEDING STRATEGIES & BILLS

Answer 7

• Meat-eaters: strong hooked bill, raptors (e. g. eagles, kites, buzzards, owls)
• Insect-eaters: soft and pointed bill (e. g. drongos, shrikes, roller, bee-eater)
• Fish-eater: long and sharp bill (e. g. herons, darter, kingfisher)
• Seed-eater: conical-shaped hard bill, like a pair of pliers (e. g. parrots, doves) • Fruit-eater: short and thick bill (e. g. turacos, mousebirds)
• Nectar-eater: needle-like curved bill to suck nectar from flowers (e. g. sun/sugarbirds)

Specialised feeding methods:
• Filter-feeders: straining fine particles of plant/animal out of the water (e. g. ducks, geese)
• Probers: sensitive touch receptors in bill to find food under bark or in mud (e.g wood-
hoopoes, ibises)
• Woodpecker: excavate wood and extract larvae (e. g. woodpecker)

Question 8

Bird Nest structures

Answer 8

Ground nests: well camouflaged, scrapes in ground, precocial chicks (e. g. spurfowls)
• Floating nests: substantial platform of reeds/grasses, well camouflaged, precocial chicks
(e. g. African Jacana)
• Hole nests: nests in a hole in trees (e. g. hornbills, barbets) or sandbanks (e. g. kingfisher,
bee-eater), altricial chicks
• Mud nests: made of mud, differ in architecture (e. g. swallows)
• Cup-shaped nests: build by many passerines, in woody vegetation (e. g. robins, bulbul)
• Woven nests: made of grasses or twigs, differ in architecture (e. g. weavers)
• Platform nests: simple platforms made of sticks or twigs on trees (e. g. vultures, eagles,
Secretary bird, doves)
• Unusual nests: Dome-nest build by Hamerkop (biggest nest in the world for a pair of
birds, around 50 kg) or community nests from Red billed buffalo weaver (heaviest nest in the world is built by Sociable Weavers, around 1 ton).

Question 9

Explain Brood Parasites

Answer 9

• Brood parasite lay their eggs in a hosts nest; host bird incubate the parasites egg and feeds the parasites chick like their own; parasitic bird usually gets bigger than the host;
• incubation time from parasite bird is usually shorter than from host bird;
• parasite chick destroy hosts eggs, kill chicks actively or passively;
• Southern African brood parasites belong to 3 families: Honeyguides, Cuckos, Whydahs/
  Indigobirds; e. g. African Cuckoo (parasite) -> Fork-tailed Drongo (host).

Question 10

COMMON BEHAVIOUR

Answer 10

Anting: behaviour of anting is not completely understood, one theory is that the bird is using the formic acid of the ants to kill parasites on their body and to remove old preen oil
• Preening: restore and maintain the structure of the feathers, using preening oil which is released from the preening gland, located on the lower back
• Allo-preening: Special form of preening by one bird on another
• Dust-bathing: cleaning plumage and removing parasites and old preen oil
• Water-bathing: cleaning plumage and removing parasites
• Sun-bathing: removing parasites, helps mousebirds to digest their food

Question 11

BIRD IDENTIFICATION

Answer 11

• GISS (General Impression, Size and Shape)
• Beak (shape and color)
• Legs (length and color, feathers on legs = true eagle) • Plumage color and pattern
• Habitat (ecological area and distribution)
• Habits (feeding behaviour and flight patterns)
• Voice (call)