Come for a short walk, and let's see what we can get on camera.
The fist bird that we saw is one of my favorites, the Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa).
We went for a short walk on a farm, and I have to say that it was very hot so we could not walk far, as we had to avoid the direct blazing sunlight and high UV rays. My wife is fair skinned, and she turns a lovely red in the direct sunlight. She almost looks like a human prawn:) I, on the other hand, am fairly dark skinned but I developed a skin condition that leaves me with rashes when I walk in the sun. But that doesn't stop us from wandering around to see what I can get on camera.
This guy is called a Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer). I think you all know, by now, about the Malachite, but not much about the cape sugarbirds. But let me tell you that many people here call a sunbird a sugarbird and a sugarbird a sunbird:) They are not, however, related to each other.
The sugarbirds love all types of protea species, and here the adult male is sitting on a Pagoda flower, which is a part of the protea family.
Did you know that the sugarbirds are related to some Robin species, and I was lucky to get this Cape Robin-chat sitting on an Aloe.
Wow! We almost missed this Rain Spider nest, and there will be hundreds of spiderlings inside that nest once they hatch.
Here was a surprise, as I did not know that there was a second male sugarbird on show in the same area.
This one seemed to like protea pincushion flowers, with him drinking from the red ones.
And here drinking from the yellow ones.
Mr Malachite was hiding behind a leaf and giving me the eye, thinking that I could not see the rest of him :)
Just a lovely sky view on the way back home.
The sugarbirds are most closely related to the enigmatic Modulatricdae. Three Robin-like species found in central and E-African forest understorey. Together with Rockjumpers, sugarbirds are the only families endemic to South Africa. Often located by their raucous, rattling calls. Males make fripping sounds with wings and clatter tails in aerial display. Females and juveniles have shorter tails than adult males.
Source: Book: Birds of Southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-77584-668-0.
So, I am glad that you were mentally with us on the walk, and there is always something nice to be found in nature if one cares to take a deeper look at what it offers. We are blessed with many species of birds that are resident here in South Africa, and then at this time of the year, late spring and early summer, the European and other countries' birds arrive to come and breed here. They raise their young here to be fit for the return journey to their host countries before the winter season starts in South Africa.
Such is life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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