Party with the birds that enjoy family groups or mingling with others on occasson, South Africa boasts an abundant bird life so here I have selected a few where they enjoying life together, exactly how we should too!
Bird life is diverse depending on season and region, much like the inhabitants of Africa, simple enjoyment through the lens.
African Pied Starling (Lamprotornis bicolor) with its warbling song arrived to greet us most days around lunch time, chatting away like no other, not shy to come up close.
Turn your back, indignation due to no handouts, Pied starling is 25cm bird is endemic to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Starlings often look similar yet are not the same, close relatives, still happy together!
Red-winged Starling (Onychognathus morio) larger in size, red tip wings more visible in flight here a few together enjoying the lawns searching out insects for lunch possibly with tips of wings showing.
African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) with vivid black and white marking around 68-75 cm length, easily visible against contrast of greens, browns and blues in our landscape.
Same silhouette as their hadeda relatives, a lot quieter than them too!
Hadeda ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) is an ibis native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Inherited it's name from loud three to four note characteristic calls in flight, especially in the mornings and evenings when they fly out or return to their roost trees.
Bronze mannikin or bronze munia (Spermestes cucullata) is small 9-10 cm, crazy about feeding on wild grass seeds. Incessant nest builders that may raise up to four broods a year, depending on food available. Each party arrives with between 8 to 20 birds, only one will be dominant single adult male in the group!
Feathered Friends Community gratitude to @melinda010100 for sponsoring the contest. Our talented artist
@barbara-orenya for on-going creative support and curation reports.
All photography and stories are my own, photography around the home, thanks for reading and being here.
Thought for Today: "Two birds disputed about a kernel, when a third swooped down and carried it off." - African Proverb