Small and mighty

Barbara Seith
Jul 14
2 min read

Small birds are a challenge to identify and have to be pretty hardy to survive. They can be prey for mammals, reptiles and their own kind. Yet they survive and thrive - mighty and lovely.

Ashy Flycatcher - These insectivores are characterized by their habit of perching in an exposed spot and then flying out to catch insects in mid-air. Used to be called a Blue-grey Flycatcher.

Southern Black Flycatcher - Looks a good deal like a Fork-tailed Drongo except no forked-tail and a black vs red eye.

Southern Black Tit - an acrobatic feeder often hanging upside down.

African Penduline Tit - only about 3 inches long, this is an active bird that is acrobatic and bouncy.

Black-backed Puffback - Displaying males puff up their back feathers into a puffy white ball. They have a fiery red-orange eye. Often found in the mobbing Pearl-spotted Owlets.

Burnt-neck Eremomela - searches through the canopy of thorn trees for insects. Often joins other birds in groups in trees.

Blue Waxbill - Builds its nest next to wasps - very blue and common in the Bushveld.

Common Waxbill - usually gathers in small flocks, its streaky breast resembles a Cuckoo with a sometimes hidden bright red streak down the underbody.

Long-billed Crombec - Blue-gray & orange in an odd scruffy ball-shape. Long curved beak -- it like to eat spiders.

Yellow-breasted Apalis - Another bird party attendee active in the lower canopy. Handsome, aggressive, inquisitive, noisy little woodland bird.

Wire-tailed Swallow - the "wires" stream from the tips of the tail and they are so thin, you often cannot see them. They are almost always near the water.

Red-billed Firefinch - Males are quite red, but females are mostly brown with a red tail and lores.

Rattling Cisticola - pronounced Sista-killer (with rap inflection) this species is the most common one in the Bushveld. I was lucky to get a number of good photos this time.