20 January 2024: Day 2, Arrive in Johannesburg, South Africa — Street Student Southern Africa Birding Safari. Click on right here to peer (usually) the place I’m nowadays.
Word: This text was once written weeks in the past, in line with the excursion itinerary. The place I assumed I’d be nowadays might not be correct.
Barring one thing surprising, I’ll arrive in Johannesburg nowadays at 4:05pm South Africa time (9:05am Pittsburgh time). I’m certain to peer a Existence Fowl proper off the bat, even from the plane window. There are a handful of birds on the airport that I’ve already observed — rock pigeons, farm animals egrets, commonplace mynas (observed in Hawaii) and space sparrows — however the entire relaxation are new to me. Crossing an ocean and converting hemispheres promises that almost each and every chicken is a Existence Fowl.
O.R. Tambo World Airport is an eBird hotspot, in all probability as a result of such a lot of (compulsive?) birders go via right here. Listed below are 5 birds that everybody sees on the airport — birds of the Outdated Global, now not the New Global, so even supposing they resemble a North American chicken they’re now not in the similar genus.
Guffawing doves (Spilopelia senegalensis) resemble mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) however their throats are fancier once they puff them in courtship and, as an alternative of mourning, they snort.
Little swifts (Apus affinis) are very similar to our chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica) regardless that rather smaller with white throats and rumps. The white options aren’t simple to peer in opposition to the sky.
You’ll be able to inform that the pied crow (Corvus albus) is a crow however he seems to be mighty other. He wears a white vest and is heavier then our American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos).
We don’t have the southern masked weaver (Ploceus velatus) in North The united states. His attractiveness and measurement put the home sparrow to disgrace.
Area sparrows had been imported to South Africa simply as they had been to North The united states. Why did anyone trouble to herald space sparrows when the South Africa has a extra gorgeous local, the Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus) often known as “mossie.”
By the point I’m at the highway to the resort I’ll have observed no less than 5 Existence Birds.
p.s. See a few of my Existence Birds for your self on the feeders in Pretoria, South Africa at the Allen Birdcam. Pretoria is 57km (35 miles) north of Johannesburg. (Due to Fran for sending me the Allen cam hyperlink.)
(pictures from Wikimedia Commons; click on at the captions to peer the originals)