Beesley's Lark

A medium-sized iridescent blue-green glossy starling that lacks dark ear-patches and has greenish flanks and belly, giving it a more uniform appearance than the “blue-eared” starlings. Pairs and small groups occupy high-altitude grassland, Karoo, and savanna, including drier habitats than other glossy starlings. The species feeds on the ground and in trees on fruit and insects; often it scavenges from people. It gives a rolling “turrreaau” flight call and harsh “karrr” alarm notes. Similar “blue-eared” starlings differ from Cape Starling by being smaller and having blue-magenta flanks and belly that give them a less uniform appearance.

Uncommon, medium-sized pheasant. Male is almost unbelievable-looking; an immense fan of a snow-white tail sticks out of a rotund, coal-black body. All-rufous-brown female is more normal-looking; her tail is shorter and narrower. Both sexes have sky-blue facial skin, but the male’s extends into wattles, which he erects during display. Found in hilly areas in foothill and montane forest; sometimes nomadic, seeking out fruiting trees.

Streamlined long-winged falcon. Note gray upperparts with plain tail, boldly streaked underparts with rusty leggings and vent. Swift-like; flight more graceful and aerodynamic than Eurasian Kestrel. Compare with larger, stockier, shorter-tailed Peregrine Falcon. Favors open woodland, heathland, and farmland with stands of trees; often hunts over nearby water bodies and marshes. Hunts in the air, catching dragonflies, swallows, and other birds, which it sometimes eats on the wing.