The last time I blogged about mousebirds / muisvoels I got a good response in the comments section. I know very little about them except that they are insect eaters and as you can see in the photos taken this morning they love to perch with their stomachs facing the sun.
Info from Wikipedia : Mousebirds are gregarious, again reinforcing the analogy with mice, and are found in bands of about 20 in lightly wooded country. These birds build cup-shaped twig nests in trees, which are lined with grasses. Two to four eggs are typically laid, hatching to give atricial young which develop quickly and soon leave the nest and acquire flight.
For the past week the morning air was filled with the sound of “kwe .. kwe”, “kwe .. kwe”, I blindly focused my camera into a far away tree where I could hear the bird song coming from and only when I downloaded it could I see the elusive Grey Loerie. The Grey Loerie is a large bird and usually perches right at the top of the highest trees. The small berries on this tree might have enticed it to climb in amongst the branches.
Info from Wikipedia: The grey go-away-bird (Corythaixoides concolor), also known as grey lourie,grey loerie, or kwêvoël, is a southern African bird of uniform grey with black beak and strikingly pink gape. It is widespread in savanna woodland, a clumsy flier though extremely agile in clambering through tree crowns. It has a distinctive loud alarm call “quare”, fancifully sounding like “go away”. The crest is raised when excited.
Its diet is mainly fruit (such as wild figs and berries), flowers, buds, leaves,termites, and snails. The habitat it occupies is dry open savanna woodlands, farms, parks, and suburban gardens, often near water.
