The other sunbird in the cape other than the double collared and the malachite is a little green and orange gem. The Orange-breasted is a ripe fruit as the bird turns its chest to the sun and an unripe one when it turns it back on you. IndiAves

The Malachite male is a big bluish-green stonker of a sunbird of the southern Cape found equally in gardens & upland fynbos. It is found from the seaside to the highlands unlike in Eastern Africa where this is a bird of the highlands. The female is a drab olive yellow IndiAves

The Pied Barbet is the only barbet in the Western Cape so it is easy to id. It’s six seven note poop call is as distinctive as its red black and white appearance. Very comfortable in gardens as I found out soon! IndiAves

Heard this shocking news yesterday. RIP to our conservation Hero. Wildlife Trust of India will provide our supplementary assurance scheme support for the next of kin. Amrit Menon

The word Cape is added to a number of garden #SouthAfrican #bird endemics eg Cape White-eye (a tiny green fluff-ball wearing specs), Cape Wagtail (a wagtail with a lawyer’s neck band), Cape Sparrow (masked bandit) & Cape Spurfowl (a delicately patterned chicken)! IndiAves

The Southern Double-collared #Sunbird is a Southern African endemic gem, the shimmering emerald coat of the male set off with its double cummerbund in lazuli & ruby. It inhabits the Fynbos or Fine bush & moves locally synchronising with the flowering of Aloes. IndiAves #birding

A peaceful scene can become a war zone in moments, if ostrich males are near each other and a female. At De hoop Reserve #SouthAfrica there looks like an artificial concentration of these mega birds and fight flare up often! IndiAves

A pair of Black-winged kites perform aerial manoeuvres during courtship. The African race is similar to our Asian one with a black wing patch, ruby red eyes & a breathtaking hover flight. The courtship flight is more like a butterfly though! Hover, flap, turn, hover! IndiAves

Another Cape endemic #mammal is the altogether delicious looking Bontebok. A hartebeest with a chocolate, vanilla and caramel look for the male with smart white socks and spiral horns that are more elegantly placed than its cousin the topi, it is a treat for sore eyes!@IndiAves

All Cape endemics with that prefix are not birds. The Cape Zebra is unique, not in having two heads,but in being one of two mountain zebras which, unlike the plains zebras,
have solid B&W stripes without a shadow and an all-white belly! They also live in smaller groups! IndiAves

Such perfect scalloping I have not seen in a bird before. White followed by black border of a soft mouse brown & then repeated into the arrow tipped core of each feather. The Cape Spurfowl has all its feathers in place except the tiny scruffy crest it sports for a whim! IndiAves

I had not been to the Western Cape for years & never as a birder. Spent 3 days with OverbergRenosterveld & Odette for some endemics. 🙏 The Cape Bulbul with its white specs and golden butt is common but photographed it only on the last day on endemic flora in Kirstenbosch Garden - Official IndiAves

A male Crimson sunbird is a treat to the eyes even when not feeding on matching flowers like this powder puff! A mouse-coloured bird which seems to have been picked up by its long tail & dipped in vermillion & then daubed on the head & cheek in aquamarine. Stunning! IndiAves

Back to India after weeks in Southern Africa. Still working on pix but why not show you this beautiful Grey-headed Fish Eagle with a fish from Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve ! Told from the Lesser by being bigger & more rufous except the head (Lesser is grey) & the tail with its band! IndiAves

A small message on EARTHDAY.ORG for the sake of the millions of species that co-habit this earth with us. There are others who will speak for the human race and our planet. I focus only on the species that we are losing at an alarming rate. Let’s do something to #ReversetheRed

Even more interesting and endangered an ecosystem is the Renosterveld which OverbergRenosterveld & @OdetteCurtis is protecting by acquiring some of the last patches with support from World Land Trust IUCN NL & WWF South Africa. I greatly recommend supporting their excellent efforts.

The Fynbos is an exceptional plant hotspot in South Africa where most species are endemic. Proteas, ericas, restios, and other threatened plant genus are in a small 200 km belt around Cape Town! Very privileged to visit with OverbergRenosterveld director Odette Curtis Scott

A mammoth King Cobra being released after rescue by @wildlifetrustofindia ifaw & @kaziranganationalpark centre for rehabilitation & conservation. More than 5000 lives have been saved while using science to monitor releases according to @iucnssc protocols. #reptile #rehab

Finally took an hour out on the last day in Zimbabwe to walk to #VicFalls . Mosi Oa Tunya or the Smoke that Thunders. So much more evocative than Livingstone’s tribute to a British monarch. Either way one hell
of a #waterfall ! #Zimbabwe

Am I the only one who went to #VictoriaFalls and watched #wild elephants in Zambezi NO, took a. Morning cruise on the river birdwatching & visited the ifaw ZEN_wildislife orphanage and did NOT see the Falls?