Africa Wild Bird Book: Comments & Suggestions

[Amoli]

Only mods, or the original poster of the entry (can edit). That's why we have this comment thread here, if someone wants to add another photo or additional infotext, or correct something, we post it here and a mod will come and edit the original post.

I don't think this should change - just to keep tabs on the posted info...

[Toko]

As this initiative moves towards its never-ending conclusion, may I humbly suggest the following potential improvements:

• - A comprehensive list of ALL Southern African birds is made available somewhere, to be used as a simple reference list;
  - a simple method to easily distinguish between those birds that are in the library and those that are not;
  - an acceptable numbering system be used for all entries, including the index entries, to aid cross referencing to other sources (Roberts VII ?);
  - an alternate index created, arranged by number, also indicating which are included and which are still required;

I know it's not what you want, but still an improvement

And here are the missing birds (and no, I won't update this list here ) for further reference, look at the Index list

004 Rockhopper Penguin
005 Macaroni Penguin
007 Black-necked Grebe
021 Pintado Petrel
022 Bulwer's Petrel
025 White-headed Petrel
027 Kerguelen Petrel
029 Broad-billed Prion
030 Slender-billed Prion
031 Fairy Prion
034 Cory's Shearwater
035 Great Shearwater
036 Flesh-footed Shearwater
038 Manx Shearwater
039 Little Shearwater
040 Tropical Shearwater (Audubon's Shearwater)
041 Wedge-tailed Shearwater
045 White-bellied Storm-Petrel
047 Red-tailed Tropicbird
048 White-tailed Tropicbird
050 Pink-backed Pelican
052 Brown Booby
054 Australian Gannet
057 Bank Cormorant
059 Crowned Cormorant
061 Greater Frigatebird
070 Slaty Egret
073 Malagasy Pond-Heron Madagascar Squacco Heron
075 Rufous-bellied Heron
079 Dwarf Bittern
101 White-backed Duck
107 Hottentot Teal
109 Northern Pintail (Pintail)
110 Garganey
111 Northern Shoveler (Northern Shoveller)
113 Southern Pochard
117 Maccoa Duck
128 African Cuckoo Hawk (Cuckoo Hawk)
129 Bat Hawk
133 Steppe Eagle
138 Ayres's Hawk-Eagle (Ayres' Eagle)
144 Southern Banded Snake-Eagle (Southern Banded Snake Eagle)
145 Western Banded Snake-Eagle (Western Banded Snake Eagle)
150 Forest Buzzard
151 Long-legged Buzzard
153 Augur Buzzard
155 Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk (Red-breasted Sparrowhawk)
156 Ovambo Sparrowhawk
158 Black Sparrowhawk
165 African Marsh-Harrier
166 Montagu's Harrier
167 Pallid Harrier
174 African Hobby (African Hobby Falcon)
175 Sooty Falcon
184 Grey Kestrel
185 Dickinson's Kestrel
187 Chukar Partridge
191 Shelley's Francolin
192 Red-winged Francolin
193 Orange River Francolin
197 Hartlaub's Spurfowl (Hartlaub's Francolin)
201 Harlequin Quail
202 Blue Quail
205 Kurrichane Buttonquail
206 Hottentot Buttonquail Black-rumped Buttonquail
210 African Rail
211 Corn Crake
212 African Crake
214 Spotted Crake
215 Baillon's Crake
216 Striped Crake
217 Red-chested Flufftail
218 Buff-spotted Flufftail
219 Streaky-breasted Flufftail
221 Striped Flufftail
222 White-winged Flufftail
224 Allen's Gallinule (Lesser Gallinule)
225 American Purple Gallinule
227 Lesser Moorhen
229 African Finfoot
233 White-bellied Korhaan
234 Blue Korhaan
245 Common Ringed Plover (Ringed Plover)
250 Lesser Sand Plover (Mongolian Plover)
251 Greater Sand Plover
252 Caspian Plover
253 Pacific Golden Plover (Asiatic Golden Plover)
254 Grey Plover
257 Black-winged Lapwing (Black-winged Plover)
261 Long-toed Lapwing (Long-toed Plover)
263 Terek Sandpiper
271 Red Knot (Common Knot)
275 Long-toed Stint
276 Red-necked Stint
277 White-rumped Sandpiper
278 Baird's Sandpiper
279 Pectoral Sandpiper
280 Temminck's Stint
281 Sanderling
282 Buff-breasted Sandpiper
283 Broad-billed Sandpiper
285 Great Snipe
286 African Snipe (Ethiopian Snipe)
287 Black-tailed Godwit
288 Bar-tailed Godwit
291 Red Phalarope (Grey Phalarope)
292 Red-necked Phalarope
293 Wilson's Phalarope
296 Crab Plover
299 Burchell's Courser
302 Three-banded Courser
303 Bronze-winged Courser
305 Black-winged Pratincole
306 Rock Pratincole
308 Long-tailed Jaeger (Long-tailed Skua)
309 Pomarine Jaeger (Pomarine Skua)
310 Subantarctic Skua
311 South Polar Skua
317 Franklin's Gull
318 Sabine's Gull
323 Royal Tern
325 Lesser Crested Tern
330 Roseate Tern
331 Black-naped Tern
332 Sooty Tern
333 Bridled Tern
335 Little Tern
336 White-cheeked Tern
337 Black Tern
338 Whiskered Tern
339 White-winged Tern
340 Brown Noddy (Common Noddy)
341 Lesser Noddy
346 Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
351 Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon (Delegorgue's Pigeon)
357 Blue-spotted Wood-Dove (Blue-spotted Dove)
359 Tambourine Dove
362 Cape Parrot
368 Lilian's Lovebird
369 Black-cheeked Lovebird
370 Knysna Turaco (Knysna Lourie)
372 Ross's Turaco (Ross's Lourie)
376 Lesser Cuckoo
378 Black Cuckoo
379 Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo (Barred Cuckoo)
383 Thick-billed Cuckoo
384 African Emerald Cuckoo (Emerald Cuckoo)
385 Klaas's Cuckoo
387 Green Malkoha (Green Coucal)
388 Black Coucal
389 Coppery-tailed Coucal
391b White-browed Coucal
406 Rufous-cheeked Nightjar
407 Swamp Nightjar Natal Nightjar
408 Freckled Nightjar
410 Pennant-winged Nightjar
412 African Black Swift (Black Swift)
413 Bradfield's Swift
414 Pallid Swift
415 White-rumped Swift
416 Horus Swift
419 Mottled Swift
420 Scarce Swift
421 African Palm-Swift (Palm Swift)
422 Mottled Spinetail
423 Böhm's Spinetail
432 African Pygmy-Kingfisher (Pygmy Kingfisher)
434 Mangrove Kingfisher
439 Madagascar Bee-eater (Olive Bee-eater)
440 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
442 Böhm's Bee-eater
448 Racket-tailed Roller
453 Violet Wood-Hoopoe
456 Silvery-cheeked Hornbill
461 Bradfield's Hornbill
466 White-eared Barbet
467 Whyte's Barbet
468 Green Barbet
469 Red-fronted Tinkerbird (Red-fronted Tinker Barbet)
471 Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird (Golden-rumped Tinker Barbet)
472 Green Tinkerbird (Green Tinker Barbet)
476 Lesser Honeyguide
477 Pallid Honeyguide (Eastern Honeyguide
478 Brown-backed Honeybird (Sharp-billed Honeyguide)
479 Green-backed Honeybird (Slender-billed Honeyguide)
482 Speckle-throated Woodpecker
490 African Broadbill
484 Knysna Woodpecker
485 Green-backed Woodpecker (Little Spotted Woodpecker)
487 Bearded Woodpecker
491 African Pitta (Angola Pitta)
492 Melodious Lark
495 Cape Clapper Lark(Clapper Lark)
496 Flappet Lark
499 Rudd's Lark
500 Cape Long-billed Lark (Long-billed Lark)
501 Short-clawed Lark
502 Karoo Lark
503 Dune Lark
504 Red Lark
507 Red-capped Lark
508 Pink-billed Lark
509 Botha's Lark
510 Sclater's Lark
511 Stark's Lark
514 Gray's Lark
516 Grey-backed Sparrowlark (Grey-backed Finchlark)
517 Black-eared Sparrowlark (Black-eared Finchlark)
519 Angola Swallow
521 Blue Swallow
525 Mosque Swallow
528 South African Cliff-Swallow South (African Cliff Swallow)
531 Grey-rumped Swallow
533 Brown-throated Martin
535 Mascarene Martin
536 Black Saw-wing (Black Saw-wing Swallow)
537 Eastern Saw-wing (Eastern Saw-wing Swallow)
539 White-breasted Cuckooshrike
540 Grey Cuckooshrike
542 Square-tailed Drongo
543 Eurasian Golden Oriole (European Golden Oriole)
544 African Golden Oriole
546 Green-headed Oriole
549 House Crow
551 Grey Tit (Southern Grey Tit)
552 Ashy Tit
553 Miombo Tit (Northern Grey Tit)
555 Carp's Tit (Carp's Black Tit)
556 Rufous-bellied Tit
557 Cape Penduline-Tit (Cape Penduline Tit)
558 Grey Penduline-Tit (Grey Penduline Tit)
559 Spotted Creeper
561 Black-faced Babbler
562 Hartlaub's Babbler
564 Bare-cheeked Babbler
565 Bush Blackcap
569 Terrestrial Brownbul (Terrestrial Bulbul)
570 Yellow-streaked Greenbul (Yellow-streaked Bulbul)
571 Tiny Greenbul (Slender Bulbul)
573 Stripe-cheeked Greenbul (Stripe-cheeked Bulbul)
575 Eastern Nicator (Yellow-spotted Nicator)
577 Olive Thrush
578 Spotted Ground-Thrush (Spotted Thrush)
579 Orange Ground-Thrush (Orange Thrush)
582 Sentinel Rock-Thrush
584 Miombo Rock-Thrush
590 Tractrac Chat
592 Karoo Chat
594 Arnot's Chat
597 Whinchat
598 Chorister Robin-Chat (Chorister Robin)
603 Collared Palm-Thrush
604 Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush
605 White-chested Alethe (White-breasted Alethe)
606 White-starred Robin (Starred Robin)
607 Swynnerton's Robin
608 East Coast Akalat (Gunning's Robin)
609 Thrush Nightingale
610 Boulder Chat
611 Cape Rock-jumper
612 Drakensberg Rock-jumper (Orange-breasted Rockjumper)
616 Brown Scrub-Robin (Brown Robin)
617 Bearded Scrub-Robin (Bearded Robin)
618 Herero Chat
619 Garden Warbler
622 Layard's Tit-Babbler
623 Yellow-bellied Hyliota (Yellow-breasted Hyliota)
624 Southern Hyliota (Mashona Hyliota)
625 Icterine Warbler
626 Olive-tree Warbler
627 River Warbler
628 Great Reed-Warbler (Great Reed Warbler)
629 Basra Reed-Warbler (Basra Reed Warbler)
631 African Reed-Warbler (African Marsh Warbler)
633 Marsh Warbler (European Marsh Warbler)
636 Greater Swamp-Warbler (Greater Swamp Warbler)
637 Dark-capped Yellow Warbler (Yellow Warbler)
638 Little Rush-Warbler (African Sedge Warbler)
639 Barratt's Warbler
640 Knysna Warbler
641 Victorin's Warbler
642 Broad-tailed Warbler
644 Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler (Yellow-throated Warbler)
646 Chirinda Apalis
647 Black-headed Apalis
650 Red-faced Crombec
652 Red-capped Crombec
655 Green-capped Eremomela
658 Barred Wren-Warbler (Barred Warbler)
659 Stierling's Wren-Warbler (Stierling's Barred Warbler)
660 Cinnamon-breasted Warbler
661 Cape Grassbird Grassbird
663 Moustached Grass-Warbler (Moustached Warbler)
666 Cloud Cisticola
667 Wing-snapping Cisticola (Ayres' Cisticola)
668 Pale-crowned Cisticola
669 Grey-backed Cisticola
670 Wailing Cisticola
671 Tinkling Cisticola
673 Singing Cisticola
674 Red-faced Cisticola
675 Rufous-winged Cisticola (Black-backed Cisticola)
676 Chirping Cisticola
679 Lazy Cisticola
680 Short-winged Cisticola
682 Red-winged Warbler
684 Roberts's Warbler (Brier Warbler)
686b Drakensberg Prinia
687 Namaqua Warbler
688 Rufous-eared Warbler
689 Spotted Flycatcher
692 Collared Flycatcher
699 Black-and-white Flycatcher (Vanga Flycatcher)
702 Pale Batis (Mozambique Batis)
704 Woodwards' Batis
705 Black-throated Wattle-eye (Wattle-eyed Flycatcher)
706 Fairy Flycatcher
707 Livingstone's Flycatcher
708 Blue-mantled Crested-Flycatcher (Blue-mantled Flycatcher)
709 White-tailed Crested Flycatcher (White-tailed Flycatcher)
712 Mountain Wagtail (Long-tailed Wagtail)
717 Long-billed Pipit
718 Plain-backed Pipit
720 Striped Pipit
721 African Rock Pipit (Rock Pipit)
722 Tree Pipit
723 Bushveld Pipit
724 Short-tailed Pipit
725 Yellow-breasted Pipit
726 Golden Pipit
730 Rosy-throated Longclaw (Pink-throated Longclaw)
734 Souza's Shrike (Sousa's Shrike)
738 Swamp Boubou
741 Brubru
745 Anchieta's Tchagra (Marsh Tchagra)
749 Black-fronted Bush-Shrike
750 Olive Bush-Shrike
755 Chestnut-fronted Helmet-Shrike
766 Miombo Blue-eared Starling (Lesser Blue-eared Starling)
767 Sharp-tailed Starling
768 Black-bellied Starling
774 Gurney's Sugarbird
776 Bronzy Sunbird (Bronze Sunbird)
778 Copper Sunbird (Coppery Sunbird)
780 Purple-banded Sunbird
781 Shelley's Sunbird
782 Neergaard's Sunbird
784 Miombo Double-collared Sunbird
786 Variable Sunbird (Yellow-bellied Sunbird)
789 Grey Sunbird
790 Olive Sunbird
794 Plain-backed Sunbird (Blue-throated Sunbird)
795 Western Violet-backed Sunbird (Violet-backed Sunbird9
797 African Yellow White-eye (Yellow White-eye)
804b Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
808 Dark-backed Weaver (Forest Weaver)
809 Olive-headed Weaver
812 Chestnut Weaver
816 Golden Weaver
818 Southern Brown-throated Weaver (Brown-throated Weaver)
820 Cuckoo Finch
822 Red-headed Quelea
823 Cardinal Quelea
825 Black-winged Bishop (Fire-crowned Bishop)
826 Yellow-crowned Bishop (Golden Bishop)
828 Fan-tailed Widowbird (Red-shouldered Widow)
829 White-winged Widowbird (White-winged Widow)
830 Yellow-mantled Widowbird (Yellow-backed Widow)
833 Orange-winged Pytilia (Golden-backed Pytilia)
835 Green Twinspot
836 Red-faced Crimsonwing
837 Lesser Seedcracker (Nyasa Seedcracker)
839 Red-throated Twinspot
843 Brown Firefinch
849 Cinderella Waxbill
851 Yellow-bellied Waxbill (East African Swee)
852 African Quailfinch (Quail Finch)
853 Locustfinch
854 Orange-breasted Waxbill
858 Red-backed Mannikin
859 Magpie Mannikin (Pied Mannikin)
863 Broad-tailed Paradise-Whydah (Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah)
865 Purple Indigobird (Purple Widowfinch)
871 Lemon-breasted Canary
874 Cape Siskin
875 Drakensberg Siskin
876 Black-headed Canary
879 White-throated Canary
880 Protea Seedeater (Protea Canary)
882 Black-eared Seedeater (Black-eared Canary)
883 Cabanis's Bunting
901 Mountain Pipit
902 Lesser Yellowlegs
903 Red-throated Pipit
904 Red-rumped Swallow
905 Laysan Albatross
906 Greater Yellowlegs
907 Pied Wheatear
908 Kentish Plover
909 Wood Pipit
910 Red-billed Tropicbird
912 Greater Sheathbill (Snowy Sheathbill)
913 White-headed Saw-wing (White-headed Saw-wing Swallow)
914 Hudsonian Godwit
915 Isabelline Wheatear
917 White-throated Bee-eater
918 Matsudaira's Storm-Petrel
920 Spur-winged Lapwing Spur-winged Plover
Agulhas Long-billed Lark
American Golden Plover
Antarctic Prion Dove Prion
Balearic Shearwater
Barau’s Petrel
Barlow's Lark
Benguela Long-billed Lark
Black-rumped Buttonquail
Buller's Albatross
Chatham Albatross
Citrine Wagtail
Damara Hornbill
Drakensberg Prinia
Eastern Clapper Lark
Eastern Long-billed Lark
Gentoo Penguin
Great Knot
Grey-headed Parrot
Heuglin's Gull
Jouanin's Petrel
Karoo Long-billed Lark
Kimberley Pipit
Lesser Frigatebird
Little Blue Heron
Little Ringed Plover
Livingstone's Turaco
Long-tailed Pipit
Luapula Cisticola
Madagascar Cuckoo
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Northern Royal Albatross
Red-footed Booby
Salvin's Albatross
Salvin's Prion
Schalow's Turaco
Snowy Egret
Spectacled Petrel
Streaked Shearwater
Tristan Albatross
Twinspot Indigobird
Western Reef Heron
White-browed Coucal
White-faced Storm-Petrel


and there is no guarantee, this list might be not complete or there are existing entries

[Richprins]

[Amoli]

[Flutterby]

Stop working so hard Toko!!

[Toko]

But as the comment in the first line suggests, take a step back and answer the following:
- what is the ultimate objective of this initiative?
- who will exploit/access it?
- where will it be accessed from?
- where will the information come from?
- who can update it?
- how will it be exposed to all that could use it?

When these questions have been answered, agreed to, and accepted by the committee, progress towards the ultimate objective can continue in a planned and structured way. This is sure to be a learning process for all, but the lessons learned along the way can only lead to improvements in the final deliverable.

Finally, once the framework for this initiative is settled, it can simply be transferred to the other reference initiatives, being mammals, reptiles, trees, invertebrates, and any other reference material relating to the African Wild environment. What is to stop these reference initiatives not become the PREFERRED REFERENCE site for all African Wildlife internet searches?

Yours,
"Ramblin Rose"

Grumpy, for the moment there is no other option: The Bird Book is part of this forum. We can not include it to the AW website (iNdy can only put up a link there). And it is work in progress. All greenies are welcome to add more pics, more info or suggest changes of the content (if there is wrong info etc). It is permanently update by the mods if we get additional content from our members.
What is it all about? I think it is nice to have our own AW reference bird guide and most important is the fun, we have doing the book and the pleasure to use it for our bird IDs and to learn something. But IMO we are far from being good enough to "publish" our book and we don't have the ressources to do it. That would need a lot of work to go into it and I don't see anyone here on the forum to do it. As you are saying, that would need a competent and commited group of doers here who have the time and the knowledge .
From my personal view, not necessarily AW's view: My time is limited, I am happy putting some mod work into this wonderful book (updating indices, editing posts to have all posts according to our current layout and adding sometimes additional info to someone's posts) but for me the core business on this forum is the conservation issues: having a look on what SANParks are doing and creating awareness thereof, following up our causes and trying to get info about what is going on with commerzialisation of the protected areas, the poaching problems and so on. A bird book has, of course a place here as well, because we will only be willing to work on conservation of biodiversity (incl. birds) if the value of biodiversity is promoted. That's my personal approach to this: promoting biodiversity with bird books, travel tales etc to show everybody that it's worth to work and fight for conservation
To sum it up: I am very happy with the bird book as it is for the moment and hope it will be nearly complete one day

I am curious to hear what others are thinking

Where are the other ramblers to comment here?

[Flutterby]

I have to agree with you Toko. In saying that, it would be great if people would use our bird book as their preferred reference guide, but first we need to get those people onto the forum!

[Grumpy]

My comments and thought processes regarding what I have said before is primarily to raise the questions... I am not looking for answers.....

GIVEN that so much time, energy and effort has been put into this initiative, would it not be great if the output (specifically the reference material) could be EXPOSED to a wider audience in a more friendly format. By that I am not advocating that ANYTHING change on the forum or that the material is removed from the forum, but that a simple COPY of the material is placed in a more internet friendly format, made more accessible to the non-forum internet community and as such, provide exposure to all the good work being done here.

To me, it would be a "selfish" (and I use that word with caution, so don't shoot me down on my choice ... is "silly" a better word?) waste of a valuable resource if it were to remain hidden in the depths of a forum environment that many internet searchers could not find. If the resource(s) were kept in the forum for members and ongoing expansion/development AND more exposed in the form of an appropriately formatted copy, the chances that more people could be driven to the forum...... and exposed to the true value of this site.

Just a athought

[Flutterby]

Grumpy, the problem is that most of the content (I assume) comes from already-published works, so there could be a problem there.

[Grumpy]

If there is a problem, Flutterby, there is a problem. Either way, the material is ALREADY in the public domain, both through this site and many, many others. The fact that no commercial gain is being received and/or sought probably means that no harm is considered caused and thus no "damages" could be sought. Besides that, the site is for MEMBERS, both the Mods and committee are mere FACILITATORS of the site and have absolved themselves of responsibility of the CONTENT through the appropriate disclaimers .......


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