Green Wood-Hoopoe

The Energetic Green Wood-Hoopoe

Some birds simply refuse to cooperate when I attempt to take their photographs. For years, these sprightly avian wonders have thwarted dozens of my attempts to capture their beauty. I see them frolicking from my kitchen window, but when I run for my camera, they bop around so fast that I end up with a tip of a tail, or a bunch of leaves, or a blur of something completely unidentifiable.

During a recent trip to @mosethlathebushcamp in @madikwe, we found a family of these red-beaked cacklers hopping in and out of a dead tree they probably called home. I felt as if I had struck gold because they never perch for long, but there were enough of them on the leafless tree that I thought I might get lucky.

I snapped and snapped, hoping I would capture one or two good shots. My photo doesn’t do them justice, but you can see the bright red beaks, the glossy greenish feathers, and the splashes of white. Gorgeous. They are social birds, flitting around touching base with each other while unearthing yummy little bugs to eat. And they are not quiet. They cackle like crazy kukumukus, sometimes all of them cackling at the same time, communicating some tidbit of gossip to each other, sometimes fanning their tails as another way to relay information.

I also got lucky, well, sort of lucky yesterday. I was at home, and suddenly I heard them cackling all around my house. I ran outside to locate the flock, and there they were, several on the carport, more on the roof across the street, in the trees. What a cacophony of chattering!!! I grabbed my phone to video the sound. But, of course, as soon as I turned on the video, they more or less quieted and flew away. Argh, but I did get a little clip.

In Zulu, the bird is called – iNhlekabafazi. Translated, it means “the laughter of women, rather unflatteringly, likening the laughing of women to raucous cackles.”

I know I shouldn’t have found this funny, but I did laugh aloud.

info@thebushcamp.com

#greenwoodhoopoe #cacklingbirds #mosethlaecocamp #madikwe #writing #personalessay #mylastmonthsinsouthafrica #ilovethebush

Comments

The Tragedy of Human Despair

The Tragedy of Human Despair in South Africa I came across this scene while running errands. The person, a man, I think, sat on the dirty, tar road at a robot, straddling the center and right turn lanes on a busy street. The light had turned red, so I was forced to face the human tragedy of poverty, hunger, and hopelessness. It’s not like I hadn’t seen people on the streets begging for food, clothes, jobs, or anything to sustain them for another day, but this was different. He rested in a fetal position, head bowed and covered by a white t-shirt juxtaposed against black clothing. And what about the books? I couldn’t see their titles; maybe one was a bible. He was as still as a statue and as quiet as the dark before the dawn. He did not flinch or moan, nor did he have pleading hands reaching out for a tidbit of salvation. The human was simply there, a tableau worthy of a production by the Ontological-Hysterical theatre company in New York City’s lower...

A Baboon Family

A Baboon Family This baboon family makes me happy. The setting is peaceful, all four calmly sitting on a rock, at rest. Except for the baby looking directly at our game vehicle with curiosity, the other three's eyes gazing elsewhere. Despite their sharp as daggers canine teeth, nut-crushing jaws, naughty opportunistic foraging of camper's food, and a hierarchy of dominating male bullies, baboons can be quiet and peaceful, going about their daily business in a well-defined social order. These old-world monkeys thrive in friend and family units; females form strong bonds to raise and protect the kids, forage for food, and stay loyal to the troop for their entire lives. Like human families, they comfort each other, play, and squabble but ultimately come together for the good of the community and protection from predators - for the most part. Yes, there's a bit of infanticide by the males, beating females for the heck of it, violently tossing little ones to the side when ...

Giraffes

A couple of things are going on in this photo. First, the ubiquitous bush butt shot. The rear-angle view of animals is so common that a friend of mine has a series of animal bottoms framed and hung on her bathroom wall. I have about a million bottom shots languishing on a flash drive, I hate to get rid of them, but I’m not sure what I should do with the backside collection. Secondly, have a look at this trio of male giraffes. Elder, younger, and the one in the middle. In this photo, the animals seem like pals. The three were playing rather than foraging on the treetops for food, so the sighting was special. Playing around to male giraffes looks like a neck-swinging dance and is weirdly elegant. The behavior is called “necking,” and it can cause damage if the play turns aggressive. It’s a dominance thing, a way to sort out who’s the boss of the females in the tower (or journey if they are moving). As it turns out, male giraffes, like human males, have testo...

Donna Moreau - Writer On The Road

Search This Blog