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Birding the Kruger Park (4): Letaba area

10,000 Birds

So, it sometimes comes to South Africa to relax and enjoy relative anonymity. Others are being killed for use in traditional medicine. However, it is kind of sophisticated in that the females lay very individualized eggs in order to be able to detect the added eggs of parasite cuckoo finches.

Zimbabwe 147
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Frogs and Toads of the World: A Book Review by a Fairy Tale Junkie

10,000 Birds

And, I started daydreaming about encountering something a little different, maybe a Horned Frog, Ceratophrys cornuta, a large, squat green and brown frog of South America, with a wide mouth large enough to eat other frogs as well as reptiles. There’s the Goliath frog from South Africa—up to one foot in length and over 6 pounds in weight.

Reptiles 185
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Birding the Kruger Park (2): Bateleur area

10,000 Birds

While the species is listed as Least Concern, there are some papers suggesting it may not be as common as assumed, at least in South Africa. Studies on improving ostrich egg hatchability. Also, I learned that in the US , ostrich eggs are priced at $40-$75. . “ The diet includes seeds, nuts, and nectar.

Ostriches 147
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What the Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds: A Book Review

10,000 Birds

From Hiro, we learn how Northern Pygmy Owls are “rule breakers,” not incubating eggs till all are hatched and then raising owlets that mature at the same rate even though the eggs were laid asynchronously (as most owl eggs are). They are also hunted.

Owls 213
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Africa’s endangered species

10,000 Birds

This species prefers wetlands and its numbers have been decimated due to a combination of habitat destruction caused by human population growth and illegal removal of birds and eggs from the wild for the pet and zoo trade. An African Penguins strolls along Boulders Beach, Simonstown, South Africa.

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African Penguins in Peril

10,000 Birds

I grew up in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – Cape Town, South Africa. In fact, there is no other region in Africa that offers such a fantastic level of endemism in such an accessible location. But their endangered status is belied by the fact that they are one of the easiest rare birds to find in Africa.

Penguins 216
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Remotest Endemic Birds

10,000 Birds

Helena and professes to hold the title of “remotest inhabited place on earth” And that is Tristan da Cunha Island, situated 1,750 miles from Cape Town, South Africa and over 2,000 miles from the closest point in South America. There is another permanently inhabited island that is even more remote than St.

Birds 206