Birds of Namibia

Here's a few birds for Heather to look for in Namibia! I'm starting with some medium-sized birds that my book says live in the CCF area and may have some green on them...

Diederik Cuckoo
(7 inches long)

This bird can be distinguished by the contrasting bottle-green and white plumage, broad white eye-stripe, white spots on the forewing and red eye. The immature has a conspicuous red bill. During the summer the 'dee-dee-dee-deederic' call is heard around the colonies of the weavers and bishops that these birds parasitize. This common summer visitor occurs in open grasslands with stands of trees, in thornveld and exotic plantations, avoiding extreme arid regions.

European Bee-eater (11 inches long)

This is the only bee-eater in the region with a chestnut crown and mantle. In flight a dazzling array of colors can be seen; it has a chestnut to golden back contrasting with torquoise-blue underparts and almost translucent rufous wings. The immature differs from the adult by having a green back and pale blue underparts. Groups in flight utter a far-carrying, policeman's whistle-like, characteristic 'prrrup' call. This common summer visitor occurs in thornveld, open broad-leafed woodland and adjacent grassy areas.

Swallowtailed
Bee-eater (9 inches long)

This is the only bee-eater in the region to have, as the name indicates, a forked tail. It is also identified by its yellow throat, blue collar, blue-green underparts and blue tail. The immature shows the forked tail, but lacks the yellow throat and blue collar. It utters a soft twittering, and calls 'kwit-kwit'. A common resident of Namibia, this bird frequents a diverse range of habitats from semi-desert scrub to moist, evergreen forests.

Lilacbreasted Roller (13 inches long)

In flight this bird shows a range of pale and dark blues in the wings. The lilac breast and elongated, pointed outertail feathers can be seen at rest. The immature resembles the adult, but lacks the long outertail feathers. When displaying, the male utters harsh squawks and screams. It occurs in a range of habitats from thornveld to open broadleafed woodland and is frequently seen on telephone wires and poles along roadsides. It is common in the more wooded and thornveld regions of Namibia.

Purple Roller (13 inches long)

This is the largest roller in southern Africa and is easily identified by its broad, pale eyebrow stripe and lilac-brown underparts streaded with white. The immature is a duller version of the adult. In display flight this bird utters a harsh, repeated 'karaa-karaa' while flying with an exaggerated, side-to-side rocking motion. It is found in dry thornveld and open broad-leafed woodland. This roller is a common resident in Namibia, with some local movement in certain areas of the region.

Soooo, the first couple of birds turn out to be listed as summer birds, but sounds like the others hang about year-round. The crimson-breasted shrike is listed as about 9 inches long, btw. I'm guessing the common green birds around CCF are Swallowtailed Bee-eaters, but let me know!