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Namibia’s 15 key birds

10,000 Birds

The League of Nations thereafter mandated this huge block of land to South Africa to administer and autonomy was only granted after the protracted Namibian War of Independence that was fought between the South African defense force and Namibian freedom fighters based in Angola, Zambia and other neighboring countries.

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Africa’s Big Five and Little Five

10,000 Birds

Elephant The big – two species of elephant are now recognized as occuring in Africa, the smaller and more secretive Forest Elephant and the larger, more familiar African or Bush Elephant. Prime destinations for seeing African Elephant in the wild include Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda.

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What is a Palm-thrush?

10,000 Birds

Once upon a time, when I started birding, this great family included a wide range of species collectively known as the robins and chats. They are a single genus, Cichladusa , with three species, found mostly in Central and Eastern Africa. It all comes back to a split in one of the great bird families, the Turdidae, or thrushes.

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Pink in Africa

10,000 Birds

Of course Africa could not to be left out of the pink weekend so I have researched all African species whose official or alternative names include the word “pink”. This attractive (for a lark anyway) species is restricted to the dry savannah Somali-Maasai biome of north-east Africa (northern Tanzania, Kenya, southern Ethiopia and Somalia).

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South Africa’s endemic birds

10,000 Birds

Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Drakensberg (or Orange-breasted) Rockjumper is a Drakensberg Mountain species whose range is shared with the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho. Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage. the Rockjumpers.

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“Peacocks and Picathartes: Reflections on Africa’s Birdlife”

10,000 Birds

And apart from local people, primate researchers sometimes spot it, but it is a species seen by fewer than ten living birders. Simply, many birders liked the idea of birding Africa but did not know enough to choose a single country (or two neigbouring countries, such as Malawi and Zambia). Some are incredibly rare and hard to find.

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The Bee-eaters of Africa

10,000 Birds

The wonderful family Meropidae contains 27 dazzling species, of which Africa is endowed with no less than 20 species, the balance occurring across Asia and with one as far afield as Australia. We have both resident and migratory species, and this post will briefly discuss each of the 20 species of African bee-eaters.

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