I saw the birds taking off from that tree and hoped that they would come over.
Here is a relaxing Sunday read.
They are Red-winged Starlings (Onychognathus morio), and I will show you below where they landed. Not one day here is the same when it comes to wildlife, and there is always something different to see. We have the habit of researching all of the new sights, and one becomes very informed about the subjects. There is also something interesting that we did not know and we are always glad to discover it.
In this case, let's have a look at what Wikipedia has to say about the starlings.
The red-winged starling (Onychognathus morio) is a bird of the starling family Sturnidae native to eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa. An omnivorous, generalist species, it prefers cliffs and mountainous areas for nesting, and has moved into cities and towns due to similarity to its original habitat.
The range runs down eastern Africa from Ethiopia to the Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in South Africa. This species has a wide habitat tolerance. It may be found in forest, savannah, grassland, wetlands, fynbos, farmlands and commercial plantations, as well as urban centres.
It is now common in many urban areas, due to the similarity between the structure of tall buildings and houses as nest sites with the cliffs of its original habitat. It may also nest in residential areas, breeding in roofs and apertures and up house eaves.
Yep! As you can see, they were flying in my direction
And it was my lucky day, as they came in to sit in some trees on the property.
This tree is the one where I always get the peregrine falcon, so the starlings are in dangerous territory.
A closer shot of them in the tree.
These are some branches to the left of the tree.
And this is a look at the right side of the tree.
They also sat on top of some of the lower trees.
And here is the surprise below, as we did not know that the peregrine falcons, the Cape eagle owls, and the gymnogenes (harrier hawks) prey on the Red-winged Starlings. I have done posts on all of these birds mentioned.
Wikipedia states that the starlings are preyed upon by all of these birds.
It is preyed upon by other birds such as peregrine falcons, lanner falcons, tawny eagles, cape eagle-owls, pied crows, and gymnogene.
And finally, they all flew away, and I was too slow to get the ones taking off from the high tree.
I can understand that the peregrine falcon would catch the adult starlings in flight, but the harrier hawk, the crows, and the owls would more likely prey on the youngsters of the starlings. The harrier hawk is a renowned nest raider due to its ability to climb trees, and the crows can also simply drop down into the tree to search for hidden nests. The owls will get the juveniles when they walk around below the streetlights.
So, there is always something new to be learned in nature, and I was so glad to get this big flock of starlings coming in to sit on the same high tree where I get the peregrine falcon on camera. Talking about the peregrine falcon I am busy preparing a post to show you the falcon with prey on two separate occasions, and you will just have to wait for the post.
All of the writings in italics are from the Wikipedia source.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
Until next time, cheers!
