Abazali
- The Orlando Flying Birds, Performer not specified, Composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Kwazulu Natal f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336314 , vital:62113 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3421-1692
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Kwazulu Natal f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336314 , vital:62113 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3421-1692
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
Ayi hlasele
- The Orlando Flying Birds, Performer not specified, Composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336392 , vital:62128 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3425-1694
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336392 , vital:62128 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3425-1694
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
Bayi tata imali
- The Orlando Flying Birds, Performer not specified, Composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336354 , vital:62124 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3423-1696
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336354 , vital:62124 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3423-1696
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
Zikumbula egemaya
- The Orlando Flying Birds, Performer not specified, Composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336332 , vital:62117 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3422-1693
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
- Authors: The Orlando Flying Birds , Performer not specified , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1948
- Subjects: Folk Music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa South Africa Johannesburg f-sa
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/336332 , vital:62117 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , TP3422-1693
- Description: Indigenous music
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1948
Aspects of the ecology of piscivorous birds of Lake Kyle Rhodesia
- Authors: Junor, F J R
- Date: 1969
- Subjects: Bird populations -- Zimbabwe , Water birds -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5909 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015201
- Description: [From Introduction]. From an early period in the lake's history research was undataken to determine the potential of Kyle as a source of edible fish, In such a study, knowledge of the number and weight of fish consumed by piscivorous birds would seem to be an obvious consideration. Accordingly special investigation was undertaken into the food requirements of fish eating birds which live in the lake area. The method employed, on this occasion, to obtain the required information has differed radically from that more generally used by investigators working with similar objects in view. The common practise has been to examine the stomach contents of a considerable number of birds of the same species, which have been destroyed in order to make information available.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1969
- Authors: Junor, F J R
- Date: 1969
- Subjects: Bird populations -- Zimbabwe , Water birds -- Zimbabwe
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5909 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015201
- Description: [From Introduction]. From an early period in the lake's history research was undataken to determine the potential of Kyle as a source of edible fish, In such a study, knowledge of the number and weight of fish consumed by piscivorous birds would seem to be an obvious consideration. Accordingly special investigation was undertaken into the food requirements of fish eating birds which live in the lake area. The method employed, on this occasion, to obtain the required information has differed radically from that more generally used by investigators working with similar objects in view. The common practise has been to examine the stomach contents of a considerable number of birds of the same species, which have been destroyed in order to make information available.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1969
Wangi shaya u Baba
- Orlando Flying Birds, not specified, composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: Orlando Flying Birds , not specified , composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1950-00-00
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa country not specified city not specified f-
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244087 , vital:51221 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , CR3178 , XYZX85
- Description: For further details refer to ILAM shellac record: CR3178
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950-00-00
- Authors: Orlando Flying Birds , not specified , composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1950-00-00
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa country not specified city not specified f-
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244087 , vital:51221 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , CR3178 , XYZX85
- Description: For further details refer to ILAM shellac record: CR3178
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950-00-00
Talaza A Ngimbone
- Orlando Flying Birds, not specified, composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: Orlando Flying Birds , not specified , composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1950-00-00
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa country not specified city not specified f-
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244104 , vital:51222 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , CR3178 , XYZX86
- Description: For further details refer to ILAM shellac record: CR3178
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950-00-00
- Authors: Orlando Flying Birds , not specified , composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1950-00-00
- Subjects: Popular music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa country not specified city not specified f-
- Language: Zulu
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/244104 , vital:51222 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Commercial Records, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , CR3178 , XYZX86
- Description: For further details refer to ILAM shellac record: CR3178
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950-00-00
Maiyongwe
- Munyeme, Joseph, Composer not specified, Tracey, Hugh
- Authors: Munyeme, Joseph , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1957-06-22
- Subjects: Folk music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa Zambia Not specified f-za
- Language: Tonga (Zambia)
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/231963 , vital:49945 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Field Tapes, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , HTFT451-L72 , Research no. L2D8
- Description: A humourous song about flying eggs accompanied by kankowela mbira.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1957-06-22
- Authors: Munyeme, Joseph , Composer not specified , Tracey, Hugh
- Date: 1957-06-22
- Subjects: Folk music--Africa , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa Zambia Not specified f-za
- Language: Tonga (Zambia)
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/231963 , vital:49945 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , Hugh Tracey Field Tapes, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa , HTFT451-L72 , Research no. L2D8
- Description: A humourous song about flying eggs accompanied by kankowela mbira.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1957-06-22
Fusing fact and fiction: biography and autobiography in the novels of Virginia Woolf
- Authors: White, Joshua Craig
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4005 , vital:20580
- Description: Virginia Woolf was noted for a preoccupation with the genre of life-writing throughout her career. Her aims when it came to reshaping the nature of biographical and autobiographical literature were numerous. She veered away from the aggrandising and patriarchal methods with which Victorian biographers tended to depict their subjects. She increased the focus on women in life-writing, examining and subverting traditionally prescribed gender roles prevalent in both her society and the literature that reflected it, and advocating a balance between male and female patterns of thinking. She also devised a method of incorporating both basic biographical fact and aspects of fiction into life-writing in order to approach a more truthful depiction of a subject’s personality or character. This method is linked to the aforementioned balance of gendered thought patterns, since Woolf often aligns factuality with male thinking and the contrasting qualities of fiction, such as intuition, ambivalence and perspicacity, with female thinking. This thesis examines three novels which demonstrate Woolf’s constant preoccupation with combining fact and fiction in order to capture the essence of personality. In her debut novel, The Voyage Out, she presents Rachel Vinrace, who must achieve a balance of male-oriented fact with female-oriented insight in order to fashion a sufficient identity for herself and to identify others in a selective and judicious manner, thus being simultaneously autobiographical and biographical. In Orlando, Woolf explicitly subverts the traditional Victorian biography by depicting Vita Sackville-West as a man who transforms into a woman and remains living for over 400 years. In presenting such a character, Woolf posits that personality consists of and is influenced by myriad aspects of a person’s life that cannot be documented in the restrictive manner employed by Victorian biographers. Orlando’s essence being obfuscated by manifold “selves” attests to Woolf problematizing attempts to attain such an essence. The same challenge is particularly important in her autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse, in which she transposes the traumas of her own life into a fictitious narrative in order to achieve catharsis for her and her readers, and to present the difficulty in capturing the essence of character. The conclusion that Woolf eventually posits is that personality cannot be reduced to an essence, but rather that it consists of idiosyncrasies that are various, intertwining, and capricious.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
- Authors: White, Joshua Craig
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4005 , vital:20580
- Description: Virginia Woolf was noted for a preoccupation with the genre of life-writing throughout her career. Her aims when it came to reshaping the nature of biographical and autobiographical literature were numerous. She veered away from the aggrandising and patriarchal methods with which Victorian biographers tended to depict their subjects. She increased the focus on women in life-writing, examining and subverting traditionally prescribed gender roles prevalent in both her society and the literature that reflected it, and advocating a balance between male and female patterns of thinking. She also devised a method of incorporating both basic biographical fact and aspects of fiction into life-writing in order to approach a more truthful depiction of a subject’s personality or character. This method is linked to the aforementioned balance of gendered thought patterns, since Woolf often aligns factuality with male thinking and the contrasting qualities of fiction, such as intuition, ambivalence and perspicacity, with female thinking. This thesis examines three novels which demonstrate Woolf’s constant preoccupation with combining fact and fiction in order to capture the essence of personality. In her debut novel, The Voyage Out, she presents Rachel Vinrace, who must achieve a balance of male-oriented fact with female-oriented insight in order to fashion a sufficient identity for herself and to identify others in a selective and judicious manner, thus being simultaneously autobiographical and biographical. In Orlando, Woolf explicitly subverts the traditional Victorian biography by depicting Vita Sackville-West as a man who transforms into a woman and remains living for over 400 years. In presenting such a character, Woolf posits that personality consists of and is influenced by myriad aspects of a person’s life that cannot be documented in the restrictive manner employed by Victorian biographers. Orlando’s essence being obfuscated by manifold “selves” attests to Woolf problematizing attempts to attain such an essence. The same challenge is particularly important in her autobiographical novel, To the Lighthouse, in which she transposes the traumas of her own life into a fictitious narrative in order to achieve catharsis for her and her readers, and to present the difficulty in capturing the essence of character. The conclusion that Woolf eventually posits is that personality cannot be reduced to an essence, but rather that it consists of idiosyncrasies that are various, intertwining, and capricious.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2016
The biology of the South African cliff swallow hirundo spilodera
- Authors: Earlé, Roy Anthony
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Hirundo pyrrhonota Birds -- Breeding -- South Africa Birds -- Behavior -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5631 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004927
- Description: The general biology of the South African Cliff Swallow Hirundo spilodera was studied over a two year period in the central Orange Free State. This species is highly colonial, nesting mostly on man-made structures such as concrete road bridges. Adult birds were usually faithful to their breeding colony and very few individuals changed colonies. The Cliff Swallow had a surprisingly large vocal repertoire for a swallow and contact calls of the young were individually recognizable. Three species-specific ectoparasites parasitized the Cliff Swallow but none seemed to have a noticeable negative effect on the swallows. Breeding started earlier in larger colonies than in smaller ones and conspecific brood parasitism was a common feature in some colonies. Individual pairs made up to four breeding attempts per season. The findings of this study are compared with the available information on other members of the Hirundinidae and the advantages and costs of Cliff Swallow coloniality are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
- Authors: Earlé, Roy Anthony
- Date: 1986
- Subjects: Hirundo pyrrhonota Birds -- Breeding -- South Africa Birds -- Behavior -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5631 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004927
- Description: The general biology of the South African Cliff Swallow Hirundo spilodera was studied over a two year period in the central Orange Free State. This species is highly colonial, nesting mostly on man-made structures such as concrete road bridges. Adult birds were usually faithful to their breeding colony and very few individuals changed colonies. The Cliff Swallow had a surprisingly large vocal repertoire for a swallow and contact calls of the young were individually recognizable. Three species-specific ectoparasites parasitized the Cliff Swallow but none seemed to have a noticeable negative effect on the swallows. Breeding started earlier in larger colonies than in smaller ones and conspecific brood parasitism was a common feature in some colonies. Individual pairs made up to four breeding attempts per season. The findings of this study are compared with the available information on other members of the Hirundinidae and the advantages and costs of Cliff Swallow coloniality are discussed.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1986
The ecology of the red-billed quelea Quelea Quelea (Linnaeus) and other granivorous birds at Eastern Cape feedlots
- Whittington-Jones, Craig Alun
- Authors: Whittington-Jones, Craig Alun
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Quelea quelea -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Granivores -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5618 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003286
- Description: Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea have expanded their range in the Eastern Cape and now occur throughout the year in new areas. Recent changes in agricultural practice have probably been a contributing factor as flocks are larger than previously recorded and were more often associated with artificial food sources than natural grasses. Ringing and census data indicate that quelea have reduced movements during the non-breeding season and may display strong fidelity (over successive years) to dry season quarters with reliable food supplies. Although the recapture/recovery rate for quelea in the Eastern Cape (1.0-2.5%) was higher than the national average, it was still lower than expected and there may be considerable movement between nearby feeding sites. Some quelea breed locally, but most disperse during summer and their numbers at the feedlots were generally highest in winter and spring. The breeding season of quelea is later than other ploceids in the region and post-nuptial moult overlaps with winter. Replacement of primary wing feathers is relatively slow (124 days), and this is considered an adaptation to minimise disruption of flight capabilities and insulation. Significantly more quelea in the Eastern Cape have breeding plumage suffused with pink than in other southern African populations. However, during the non-breeding season there is apparently considerable intermixing between local populations and those from further north and the existence of a local sub-species is not supported. Seeds of two grass species, Echinochloa sp. and Urochloa panicoides, and two weed species, Amaranthus sp. and Chenopodium sp., were important in the diet of both quelea and Laughing Doves Streptopelia senegalensis. Maize comprised a large proportion of the diet of these species and losses at one ostrich feedlot were estimated at over R 17 000 in two years. Dependence on artificial food sources was generally greatest in winter and spring, but economically significant damage was not confined to this period. Alpha-chloralose showed good potential for reducing numbers of problem birds at livestock feedlots. However, the dynamic nature of problem bird populations favours a non-lethal management approach. Reduction of feed loss through manipulation of the ostrich ration could provide a relatively cheap and effective alternative to lethal control if applied appropriately.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
- Authors: Whittington-Jones, Craig Alun
- Date: 2002
- Subjects: Quelea quelea -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Granivores -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5618 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003286
- Description: Red-billed Quelea Quelea quelea have expanded their range in the Eastern Cape and now occur throughout the year in new areas. Recent changes in agricultural practice have probably been a contributing factor as flocks are larger than previously recorded and were more often associated with artificial food sources than natural grasses. Ringing and census data indicate that quelea have reduced movements during the non-breeding season and may display strong fidelity (over successive years) to dry season quarters with reliable food supplies. Although the recapture/recovery rate for quelea in the Eastern Cape (1.0-2.5%) was higher than the national average, it was still lower than expected and there may be considerable movement between nearby feeding sites. Some quelea breed locally, but most disperse during summer and their numbers at the feedlots were generally highest in winter and spring. The breeding season of quelea is later than other ploceids in the region and post-nuptial moult overlaps with winter. Replacement of primary wing feathers is relatively slow (124 days), and this is considered an adaptation to minimise disruption of flight capabilities and insulation. Significantly more quelea in the Eastern Cape have breeding plumage suffused with pink than in other southern African populations. However, during the non-breeding season there is apparently considerable intermixing between local populations and those from further north and the existence of a local sub-species is not supported. Seeds of two grass species, Echinochloa sp. and Urochloa panicoides, and two weed species, Amaranthus sp. and Chenopodium sp., were important in the diet of both quelea and Laughing Doves Streptopelia senegalensis. Maize comprised a large proportion of the diet of these species and losses at one ostrich feedlot were estimated at over R 17 000 in two years. Dependence on artificial food sources was generally greatest in winter and spring, but economically significant damage was not confined to this period. Alpha-chloralose showed good potential for reducing numbers of problem birds at livestock feedlots. However, the dynamic nature of problem bird populations favours a non-lethal management approach. Reduction of feed loss through manipulation of the ostrich ration could provide a relatively cheap and effective alternative to lethal control if applied appropriately.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2002
Ecology and breeding biology of Lanner Falcons in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
- Authors: Stephenson, Alan
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Birds -- Breeding , Birds -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Birds -- Ecology , Falcons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5667 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005352 , Birds -- Breeding , Birds -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Birds -- Ecology , Falcons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Lanner Falcons Falco biarmicus are the commonest large falcons in Africa and this study in the coastal area of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa investigated their ecology from 1984 to 2000. Lanners have recently been categorised as near-threatened and this study was initiated to ascertain if the population was stable. Breeding success of a small population, in different habitat types, was monitored intensively from 1997 to 2000, and the factors that inhibited breeding were investigated. The earliest onset of incubation was 17 July and the latest 16 August, with 2.2 young fledged per breeding pair over the four-year period. Incubation lasted 32 days and young fledged after 42-45 days. All nest sites were on cliffs with a mean height of 114 m, a mean vertical face of 53 m; 45% of the nests were in ravens’ nests. The aspect of cliff sites also influenced breeding success. Radio tracking was used to determine home range, habitat use and hunting methods, with prey species identified. Home ranges were between 66 km² and 249 km². Preferred prey was domestic chickens, pigeons and small birds during the breeding season. Foraging ranges were smaller in intensively cultivated areas with seed crops. Data obtained from ringing returns showed that no long distance movements occurred in this region, but two juveniles dispersed 152 km and 127 km. Conservation aspects with possible threats to Lanner Falcons such as poisons, electrocutions and direct persecution are discussed with some recommendations made for future research. Evidence from this study indicates that Lanner breeding success is not limited by nest site availability, but by rainfall timing and prey availability. Lanners foraged more in open areas than areas with tall vegetation, and benefited from intensive agriculture. This population appeared to be healthy and in no danger of declining in the near future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Stephenson, Alan
- Date: 2001
- Subjects: Birds -- Breeding , Birds -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Birds -- Ecology , Falcons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5667 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005352 , Birds -- Breeding , Birds -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Birds -- Ecology , Falcons -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: Lanner Falcons Falco biarmicus are the commonest large falcons in Africa and this study in the coastal area of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa investigated their ecology from 1984 to 2000. Lanners have recently been categorised as near-threatened and this study was initiated to ascertain if the population was stable. Breeding success of a small population, in different habitat types, was monitored intensively from 1997 to 2000, and the factors that inhibited breeding were investigated. The earliest onset of incubation was 17 July and the latest 16 August, with 2.2 young fledged per breeding pair over the four-year period. Incubation lasted 32 days and young fledged after 42-45 days. All nest sites were on cliffs with a mean height of 114 m, a mean vertical face of 53 m; 45% of the nests were in ravens’ nests. The aspect of cliff sites also influenced breeding success. Radio tracking was used to determine home range, habitat use and hunting methods, with prey species identified. Home ranges were between 66 km² and 249 km². Preferred prey was domestic chickens, pigeons and small birds during the breeding season. Foraging ranges were smaller in intensively cultivated areas with seed crops. Data obtained from ringing returns showed that no long distance movements occurred in this region, but two juveniles dispersed 152 km and 127 km. Conservation aspects with possible threats to Lanner Falcons such as poisons, electrocutions and direct persecution are discussed with some recommendations made for future research. Evidence from this study indicates that Lanner breeding success is not limited by nest site availability, but by rainfall timing and prey availability. Lanners foraged more in open areas than areas with tall vegetation, and benefited from intensive agriculture. This population appeared to be healthy and in no danger of declining in the near future.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
The biology of suburban olive thrushes (Turdus olivaceus olivaceus) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo Tørris
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Thrushes , Turdus , Thrushes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Turdus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005333 , Thrushes , Turdus , Thrushes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Turdus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: This study investigated the biology of the Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus olivaceus in Grahamstown, South Africa from 1998 to 2003. Behavioural differences between males and females, parent-young interactions, development of fledglings, and the role of song and moult in territorial behaviour were investigated. Comparisons of biometrics, moult and survival were made using Olive Thrush ringing data from other regions. There were no significant differences in mass, wing length or survival rate between the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, but primary wing moult started earlier in the Western Cape and coincided with the end of the main breeding periods in both provinces. Both males and females of breeding pairs remained in and defended their territories throughout the year, but there was some evidence that territorial defence was strongest during the breeding periods. Roughly, every 100 eggs laid produce 50 fledglings. Out of these 20 to 30 reach the age of independence at approximately 50 days, and only five of these juvenile birds reach maturity. Adult survival was estimated at 80%, with a mean life expectancy of 4.5 years and a conservative estimate of maximum lifespan of 11 years. Using ringing data and museum specimens, the Olive Thrush was compared with the Karoo Thrush Turdus smithi, a former race of the Olive Thrush. Olive Thrushes had shorter bills and wings, but were heavier than Karoo Thrushes from the Cradock district. There were also differences in bill and eye-ring colouration between these populations. No morphological differences were found between the sexes in either species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
- Authors: Bonnevie, Bo Tørris
- Date: 2005
- Subjects: Thrushes , Turdus , Thrushes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Turdus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5651 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005333 , Thrushes , Turdus , Thrushes -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Turdus -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: This study investigated the biology of the Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus olivaceus in Grahamstown, South Africa from 1998 to 2003. Behavioural differences between males and females, parent-young interactions, development of fledglings, and the role of song and moult in territorial behaviour were investigated. Comparisons of biometrics, moult and survival were made using Olive Thrush ringing data from other regions. There were no significant differences in mass, wing length or survival rate between the Eastern and Western Cape provinces, but primary wing moult started earlier in the Western Cape and coincided with the end of the main breeding periods in both provinces. Both males and females of breeding pairs remained in and defended their territories throughout the year, but there was some evidence that territorial defence was strongest during the breeding periods. Roughly, every 100 eggs laid produce 50 fledglings. Out of these 20 to 30 reach the age of independence at approximately 50 days, and only five of these juvenile birds reach maturity. Adult survival was estimated at 80%, with a mean life expectancy of 4.5 years and a conservative estimate of maximum lifespan of 11 years. Using ringing data and museum specimens, the Olive Thrush was compared with the Karoo Thrush Turdus smithi, a former race of the Olive Thrush. Olive Thrushes had shorter bills and wings, but were heavier than Karoo Thrushes from the Cradock district. There were also differences in bill and eye-ring colouration between these populations. No morphological differences were found between the sexes in either species.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2005
The Drakensberg rock-jumper: ecology and genetic status of isolated montane populations
- Authors: Morris, Dale Brett
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Passeriformes -- Drakensberg Mountains , Passeriformes -- South Africa , Passeriformes -- Lesotho , Passeriformes -- Ecology -- Africa, Southern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5828 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007696 , Passeriformes -- Drakensberg Mountains , Passeriformes -- South Africa , Passeriformes -- Lesotho , Passeriformes -- Ecology -- Africa, Southern
- Description: The Drakensberg rock-jumper (Chaetops aurantius) is a high-altitude passerine endemic to South Africa and Lesotho, living along a highly disrupted portion of the southern Great Escarpment from the Drakensberg highlands in the north-east to the Sneeuberg in the west, above an altitude of 1500 m. Along with the Cape rock-jumper (C. frenatus), this genus provides one of the stronger faunal links between the floristic biomes known as the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) and the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). Despite this, there is a significant lack of information regarding the species. The great majority of information is based on incidental observation, and no dedicated study has been undertaken. I conducted a series of field excursions between January 2011 and November 2012 in order to explore the rock-jumper’s feeding ecology, diet, habitat usage and genetic diversity. By trapping the birds, I was able to mark them individually with unique colour ring-combinations, and pluck a tail feather for genetic analyses. Observational data reveal that birds living close to their lower altitude threshold (c. 1500 m) are strongly habitat specific, living in boulder fields dominated by grassy vegetation. However, in areas at higher elevations (c. 2000 – 2500 m) this restriction seemed to fall away, possibly as a result of farming practices in those areas – higher grazing pressure results in shorter grass and less foraging effort for the birds. They live in groups ranging from pairs to small family groups of up to twelve individuals and maintain year round territories. Territory defence takes the form of calling and displaying from a prominent rock or boulder and becomes particularly noticeable just prior to, and during, the breeding period. No colour ringed individuals were ever spotted in boulder fields outside from where they had been initially ringed. This, coupled with the behaviour of territory maintenance, suggests a strongly sedentary lifestyle. Genetic inferences are constrained by a small sample size (only 25 birds were caught), but results indicate that some genetic isolation is occurring – a single haplotype was exhibited in birds from across the southern Escarpment, while seven private haplotypes show that any genetic mixing is likely to be historical rather than current. Historical gene flow would most probably have occurred during the last glacial maximum (18 000 years before present), when the cooler, drier conditions which are currently restricted to high peaks would have been much more extensive, thereby decreasing the distance required for effective dispersal. This is in agreement with the observation results, concluding that although there has been movement of birds across the southern Escarpment in the past, it does not appear to be occurring currently. However, this does leave plenty of scope for further work, particularly in the genetic diversity of the species, and in expanding the ecological observations to include the breeding biology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Morris, Dale Brett
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Passeriformes -- Drakensberg Mountains , Passeriformes -- South Africa , Passeriformes -- Lesotho , Passeriformes -- Ecology -- Africa, Southern
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5828 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007696 , Passeriformes -- Drakensberg Mountains , Passeriformes -- South Africa , Passeriformes -- Lesotho , Passeriformes -- Ecology -- Africa, Southern
- Description: The Drakensberg rock-jumper (Chaetops aurantius) is a high-altitude passerine endemic to South Africa and Lesotho, living along a highly disrupted portion of the southern Great Escarpment from the Drakensberg highlands in the north-east to the Sneeuberg in the west, above an altitude of 1500 m. Along with the Cape rock-jumper (C. frenatus), this genus provides one of the stronger faunal links between the floristic biomes known as the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) and the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). Despite this, there is a significant lack of information regarding the species. The great majority of information is based on incidental observation, and no dedicated study has been undertaken. I conducted a series of field excursions between January 2011 and November 2012 in order to explore the rock-jumper’s feeding ecology, diet, habitat usage and genetic diversity. By trapping the birds, I was able to mark them individually with unique colour ring-combinations, and pluck a tail feather for genetic analyses. Observational data reveal that birds living close to their lower altitude threshold (c. 1500 m) are strongly habitat specific, living in boulder fields dominated by grassy vegetation. However, in areas at higher elevations (c. 2000 – 2500 m) this restriction seemed to fall away, possibly as a result of farming practices in those areas – higher grazing pressure results in shorter grass and less foraging effort for the birds. They live in groups ranging from pairs to small family groups of up to twelve individuals and maintain year round territories. Territory defence takes the form of calling and displaying from a prominent rock or boulder and becomes particularly noticeable just prior to, and during, the breeding period. No colour ringed individuals were ever spotted in boulder fields outside from where they had been initially ringed. This, coupled with the behaviour of territory maintenance, suggests a strongly sedentary lifestyle. Genetic inferences are constrained by a small sample size (only 25 birds were caught), but results indicate that some genetic isolation is occurring – a single haplotype was exhibited in birds from across the southern Escarpment, while seven private haplotypes show that any genetic mixing is likely to be historical rather than current. Historical gene flow would most probably have occurred during the last glacial maximum (18 000 years before present), when the cooler, drier conditions which are currently restricted to high peaks would have been much more extensive, thereby decreasing the distance required for effective dispersal. This is in agreement with the observation results, concluding that although there has been movement of birds across the southern Escarpment in the past, it does not appear to be occurring currently. However, this does leave plenty of scope for further work, particularly in the genetic diversity of the species, and in expanding the ecological observations to include the breeding biology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Sumpalumi
- Sanyenke Gethula with Sukuma men, Hugh Tracey
- Authors: Sanyenke Gethula with Sukuma men , Hugh Tracey
- Date: 1950
- Subjects: Nyamwezi (African people) , Sukuma (African people) , Folk songs, Sukuma , Folk music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa Tanzania Kisesa f-tz
- Language: Nyamwezi
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/173410 , vital:42367 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa , TR150-15
- Description: "Waya, waya, Shitende is up on the hill. Birds are flying below him. Shitende, waya, waya." Their neighbours still raid them for their cattle and have to be fought off. Why the lion should have spots like a leopard is not clear, except that a young lion retains for a while the spotted marks with which it is born. Fighting song.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950
- Authors: Sanyenke Gethula with Sukuma men , Hugh Tracey
- Date: 1950
- Subjects: Nyamwezi (African people) , Sukuma (African people) , Folk songs, Sukuma , Folk music , Field recordings , Africa, Sub-Saharan , Africa Tanzania Kisesa f-tz
- Language: Nyamwezi
- Type: sound recordings , field recordings , sound recording-musical
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/173410 , vital:42367 , International Library of African Music, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa , TR150-15
- Description: "Waya, waya, Shitende is up on the hill. Birds are flying below him. Shitende, waya, waya." Their neighbours still raid them for their cattle and have to be fought off. Why the lion should have spots like a leopard is not clear, except that a young lion retains for a while the spotted marks with which it is born. Fighting song.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1950
A contribution to the biology of the sociable weaver Philetairus socius (Latham)
- Authors: Maclean, Gordon L
- Date: 1967
- Subjects: Weaverbirds
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5863 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012791
- Description: Anyone who has travelled the dusty road in the bed of the Kuruman River from Kuruman in the Northern Cape to the South West African border at Rietfontein cannot fail to have been impressed by the large communal nests of the sociable weaver Philetairus socius which adorn many of the camelthorn trees along the way. One of the earliest reports of the bird and its nest is that of Sir Andrew Smith (1849) who passed that way through what was then Latakoo (the present day Kuruman), collecting birds which he described for the first time. To him we are indebted for the first published illustrations of the sociable weaver, its nest and egg, and a brief account, not entirely accurate to be sure, of the building and occupation of the nest. This account has since been quoted at length by Shelley (1905) and by Friedmann (1930a) who accepted Smith's statements as they stood. Some years after Smith's travels, Anderson wrote (1872) that the flocks of sociable weavers " ... incubate their eggs under the same roof, which is composed by these birds of whole cartloads of grass piled on a branch of some kamel-thorn tree in one enormous mass of an irregular umbrella-shape, looking like a miniature haystack, and almost solid, but with the under surface, which is nearly flat, honeycombed all over with little cavities, which serve not only as places for incubation but also as a refuge against rain and wind". This account gives some idea of the spectacular nests built by these birds which are hardly larger than a sparrow. But, living in the dry and thinly-populated western regions of southern Africa, the sociable weaver remained a remote curiosity, the subject of casual reports and some strange ideas. Since Friedmann (1930a) studied the sociable weaver briefly in the western Transvaal, the only thorough field observations (mainly on nests and nest sites) up to the present have been those of Rudebeck (1953, 1956). Collias & Collias (1964) returned to the western Transvaal some 20 years after Friedmann's visit, but unfortunately had time for only a cursory study; their main interest was once again in the nest and its architecture. Thus, in 1964 when I joined Dr. T.J. Cade, then of Syracuse University and now of Cornell University, on his desert biology programme, he suggested that the sociable weaver be the subject of special study in the Kalahari. Here was a bird, resident in a harsh environment, living throughout the year in an extraordinary nest, and almost completely unknown biologically. Among the questions to be answered were: How is the nest started and how is it constructed? Which birds build, and how is the labour organized? What is the purpose of the elaborate nest: does it provide a micro-climate which enables the birds to survive better under arid conditions? How could such a communal nest have evolved? What is the social organization of the colony in and out of the breeding season? When do the birds breed and what factors induce breeding? What happens to the young birds after they become independent of their parents? Naturally many other questions arose as the work proceeded, but these were the main ones on which the project was initiated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1967
- Authors: Maclean, Gordon L
- Date: 1967
- Subjects: Weaverbirds
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:5863 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012791
- Description: Anyone who has travelled the dusty road in the bed of the Kuruman River from Kuruman in the Northern Cape to the South West African border at Rietfontein cannot fail to have been impressed by the large communal nests of the sociable weaver Philetairus socius which adorn many of the camelthorn trees along the way. One of the earliest reports of the bird and its nest is that of Sir Andrew Smith (1849) who passed that way through what was then Latakoo (the present day Kuruman), collecting birds which he described for the first time. To him we are indebted for the first published illustrations of the sociable weaver, its nest and egg, and a brief account, not entirely accurate to be sure, of the building and occupation of the nest. This account has since been quoted at length by Shelley (1905) and by Friedmann (1930a) who accepted Smith's statements as they stood. Some years after Smith's travels, Anderson wrote (1872) that the flocks of sociable weavers " ... incubate their eggs under the same roof, which is composed by these birds of whole cartloads of grass piled on a branch of some kamel-thorn tree in one enormous mass of an irregular umbrella-shape, looking like a miniature haystack, and almost solid, but with the under surface, which is nearly flat, honeycombed all over with little cavities, which serve not only as places for incubation but also as a refuge against rain and wind". This account gives some idea of the spectacular nests built by these birds which are hardly larger than a sparrow. But, living in the dry and thinly-populated western regions of southern Africa, the sociable weaver remained a remote curiosity, the subject of casual reports and some strange ideas. Since Friedmann (1930a) studied the sociable weaver briefly in the western Transvaal, the only thorough field observations (mainly on nests and nest sites) up to the present have been those of Rudebeck (1953, 1956). Collias & Collias (1964) returned to the western Transvaal some 20 years after Friedmann's visit, but unfortunately had time for only a cursory study; their main interest was once again in the nest and its architecture. Thus, in 1964 when I joined Dr. T.J. Cade, then of Syracuse University and now of Cornell University, on his desert biology programme, he suggested that the sociable weaver be the subject of special study in the Kalahari. Here was a bird, resident in a harsh environment, living throughout the year in an extraordinary nest, and almost completely unknown biologically. Among the questions to be answered were: How is the nest started and how is it constructed? Which birds build, and how is the labour organized? What is the purpose of the elaborate nest: does it provide a micro-climate which enables the birds to survive better under arid conditions? How could such a communal nest have evolved? What is the social organization of the colony in and out of the breeding season? When do the birds breed and what factors induce breeding? What happens to the young birds after they become independent of their parents? Naturally many other questions arose as the work proceeded, but these were the main ones on which the project was initiated.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1967
Foraging behaviour and thermal physiology of Cape sugarbirds: sex-specific responses to temperature
- Authors: Molepo, Mokgatla Jerry
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Sexual dimorphism (Animals) , Sex differences Birds -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19124 , vital:28775
- Description: Body size (Mb) determines an animal’s energy and water demands for thermoregulation. Sexual dimorphism in Mb is common across many species, but its physiological consequences (e.g. energy and water demands) remain poorly understood. In this study, I determined if the sexually dimorphic Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer)–males are up to 15% larger than females, show sex-specific foraging patterns and physiological responses. To determine intraspecific variability behavioural in response to temperature, I compared flower visitation rates between male and female Cape Sugarbirds at different times of the day, and among days that varied in maximum air temperature. A total of 1207 males and 561 females were observed. Female Cape Sugarbirds visited flowers more often and continued to feed especially on hot days. Males generally dominated flower resources throughout the day, except on hot days. I also compared physiological responses in EWL, RMR and Tb between males and females at high air temperatures. There were no significant differences between the two sexes. Aggression which was overlooked appeared to have a high influence on foraging behaviour of Cape Sugarbirds. These results suggest that female Cape Sugarbirds will be more prone to energy and water stress during hot and dry summers in the Fynbos region because of resource dominance by male Cape Sugarbirds. Endemic birds, such as the Cape Sugarbird, warrant a conservation priority, especially since they are the dominant pollinator of the Protea plants in the Fynbos biome. The findings of this study will provide insights into population persistence of Cape Sugarbirds in response to predicted heat waves and rise in global temperatures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Molepo, Mokgatla Jerry
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Sexual dimorphism (Animals) , Sex differences Birds -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19124 , vital:28775
- Description: Body size (Mb) determines an animal’s energy and water demands for thermoregulation. Sexual dimorphism in Mb is common across many species, but its physiological consequences (e.g. energy and water demands) remain poorly understood. In this study, I determined if the sexually dimorphic Cape Sugarbird (Promerops cafer)–males are up to 15% larger than females, show sex-specific foraging patterns and physiological responses. To determine intraspecific variability behavioural in response to temperature, I compared flower visitation rates between male and female Cape Sugarbirds at different times of the day, and among days that varied in maximum air temperature. A total of 1207 males and 561 females were observed. Female Cape Sugarbirds visited flowers more often and continued to feed especially on hot days. Males generally dominated flower resources throughout the day, except on hot days. I also compared physiological responses in EWL, RMR and Tb between males and females at high air temperatures. There were no significant differences between the two sexes. Aggression which was overlooked appeared to have a high influence on foraging behaviour of Cape Sugarbirds. These results suggest that female Cape Sugarbirds will be more prone to energy and water stress during hot and dry summers in the Fynbos region because of resource dominance by male Cape Sugarbirds. Endemic birds, such as the Cape Sugarbird, warrant a conservation priority, especially since they are the dominant pollinator of the Protea plants in the Fynbos biome. The findings of this study will provide insights into population persistence of Cape Sugarbirds in response to predicted heat waves and rise in global temperatures.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Release success of captive bred Cape Vultures (Gyps coprotheres) in the Magaliesberg Mountains, South Africa
- Authors: Hirschauer, Maggie
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Vultures -- South Africa -- Magaliesburg , Vultures -- South Africa -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4743 , vital:20720
- Description: The Cape Vulture, Gyps coprotheres, is currently classified as ‘endangered’. Endemic to southern Africa, its population has declined continuously over the past 40 years. The species is facing multiple anthropogenic threats. Notably, birds frequently collide with power lines and some cannot be released after treatment. This has led to the establishment of a captive breeding population with the hope that captive bred young can supplement wild populations and re-establish a now- abandoned breeding colony in the Magaliesberg Mountains, South Africa. This study aimed to follow the breeding behaviours of the captive colony and assess the appropriateness of chick rearing conditions. The study also aimed to monitor the behaviour, physical condition and dispersal of ten captive bred vultures after release in relation to their age. Behavioural observations of captive adult breeding and parental behaviours were conducted to establish whether chicks developed under comparable conditions to wild chicks. A high percentage of total colony copulation attempts (22 %) were extra-pair copulations. Four paired males formed ephemeral extra-pair relationships, two of which were homosexual. Chicks fledged earlier than wild chicks, on average at 128 days old. Wild and captive bred birds were observed at carcasses to compare competitive and feeding behaviours. Older birds, both wild and captive, fed the most efficiently. Preliminary evidence suggests females are more dominant and have higher display rates than males. Captive bred juvenile and four year old birds’ competitive and feeding behaviours (interaction rate, feeding rate, display rate, dominance, aggressiveness, and feeding efficiency) were the closest to, but still generally below, average values for same-aged wild birds. An index of body condition, body mass, and the prevalence of fault bars on the rectrices were used to assess their physical condition. After eight months, none of the ten birds had moved more than 8 km from the release site, nor had they foraged away from the vulture restaurant on site. Although altitude records of > 3100 m were recorded, their flight skills seemed inadequate. Future management considerations include the initiation of a pre-release exercise regime, the establishment of an acclimatization enclosure removed from the breeding site, and a varied or reduced post-release feeding schedule. Fledglings should be relocated and housed at the release enclosure until they are four years old.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Hirschauer, Maggie
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Vultures -- South Africa -- Magaliesburg , Vultures -- South Africa -- Behavior
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4743 , vital:20720
- Description: The Cape Vulture, Gyps coprotheres, is currently classified as ‘endangered’. Endemic to southern Africa, its population has declined continuously over the past 40 years. The species is facing multiple anthropogenic threats. Notably, birds frequently collide with power lines and some cannot be released after treatment. This has led to the establishment of a captive breeding population with the hope that captive bred young can supplement wild populations and re-establish a now- abandoned breeding colony in the Magaliesberg Mountains, South Africa. This study aimed to follow the breeding behaviours of the captive colony and assess the appropriateness of chick rearing conditions. The study also aimed to monitor the behaviour, physical condition and dispersal of ten captive bred vultures after release in relation to their age. Behavioural observations of captive adult breeding and parental behaviours were conducted to establish whether chicks developed under comparable conditions to wild chicks. A high percentage of total colony copulation attempts (22 %) were extra-pair copulations. Four paired males formed ephemeral extra-pair relationships, two of which were homosexual. Chicks fledged earlier than wild chicks, on average at 128 days old. Wild and captive bred birds were observed at carcasses to compare competitive and feeding behaviours. Older birds, both wild and captive, fed the most efficiently. Preliminary evidence suggests females are more dominant and have higher display rates than males. Captive bred juvenile and four year old birds’ competitive and feeding behaviours (interaction rate, feeding rate, display rate, dominance, aggressiveness, and feeding efficiency) were the closest to, but still generally below, average values for same-aged wild birds. An index of body condition, body mass, and the prevalence of fault bars on the rectrices were used to assess their physical condition. After eight months, none of the ten birds had moved more than 8 km from the release site, nor had they foraged away from the vulture restaurant on site. Although altitude records of > 3100 m were recorded, their flight skills seemed inadequate. Future management considerations include the initiation of a pre-release exercise regime, the establishment of an acclimatization enclosure removed from the breeding site, and a varied or reduced post-release feeding schedule. Fledglings should be relocated and housed at the release enclosure until they are four years old.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Seasonal physiological and behavioural responses of a small bird in a hot, arid habitat
- Authors: Pattinson, Nicholas Bruce
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Birds -- Behavior Birds -- Physiology , Birds -- Ecophysiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19728 , vital:28948
- Description: The role that climate plays in the ecology of organisms is perhaps the most pronounced where the earth’s environments are most extreme. In arid-zones, organisms have to deal with large seasonal shifts and/or extremes in temperature and/or moisture levels. As a result, arid-zone species are sensitive to climatic changes. I assessed the physiological and behavioural adjustments of an arid-zone endemic passerine, the rufous-eared warbler (Malcorus pectoralis), to seasonal changes in the Karoo semi-desert of South Africa. Respirometry measurements in the field showed that the warblers’ basal metabolic rate was lower and set point body temperature (Tb) was higher in summer compared to winter. At high air temperatures (Ta) evaporative water loss (EWL) rate was significantly lower in summer compared to winter, while Tb showed a clear pattern of heterothermy that was similar in both seasons. Compared to winter, the warblers in summer were able to remain calm, and tolerate higher Ta’s, before their Tb’s increased to potentially detrimental levels. Behavioural observations showed that free-living warblers exhibited significant temperature-dependence in their behaviour; they increased panting behaviour, and reduced activity levels, time spent preening, and foraging effort at high Ta’s in summer. The warblers also displayed a considerable decrease in foraging success, and a shift in microsite use, at high Ta’s in summer. I hypothesise that the flexible responses the rufous-eared warblers show are aimed at increasing their heat tolerance in summer, and help them balance their energy and water demands in an arid environment that exhibits wide seasonality in Ta, in addition to high summer Ta. My findings emphasise the importance of identifying, as well as understanding, the associated costs of physiological and behavioural responses to environmental variables. This information is valuable in terms of predicting biologically meaningful responses (and hence, vulnerability) of arid-zone avian communities to climactic shifts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Pattinson, Nicholas Bruce
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Birds -- Behavior Birds -- Physiology , Birds -- Ecophysiology
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19728 , vital:28948
- Description: The role that climate plays in the ecology of organisms is perhaps the most pronounced where the earth’s environments are most extreme. In arid-zones, organisms have to deal with large seasonal shifts and/or extremes in temperature and/or moisture levels. As a result, arid-zone species are sensitive to climatic changes. I assessed the physiological and behavioural adjustments of an arid-zone endemic passerine, the rufous-eared warbler (Malcorus pectoralis), to seasonal changes in the Karoo semi-desert of South Africa. Respirometry measurements in the field showed that the warblers’ basal metabolic rate was lower and set point body temperature (Tb) was higher in summer compared to winter. At high air temperatures (Ta) evaporative water loss (EWL) rate was significantly lower in summer compared to winter, while Tb showed a clear pattern of heterothermy that was similar in both seasons. Compared to winter, the warblers in summer were able to remain calm, and tolerate higher Ta’s, before their Tb’s increased to potentially detrimental levels. Behavioural observations showed that free-living warblers exhibited significant temperature-dependence in their behaviour; they increased panting behaviour, and reduced activity levels, time spent preening, and foraging effort at high Ta’s in summer. The warblers also displayed a considerable decrease in foraging success, and a shift in microsite use, at high Ta’s in summer. I hypothesise that the flexible responses the rufous-eared warblers show are aimed at increasing their heat tolerance in summer, and help them balance their energy and water demands in an arid environment that exhibits wide seasonality in Ta, in addition to high summer Ta. My findings emphasise the importance of identifying, as well as understanding, the associated costs of physiological and behavioural responses to environmental variables. This information is valuable in terms of predicting biologically meaningful responses (and hence, vulnerability) of arid-zone avian communities to climactic shifts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The effect of piospheres on the ecology of insectivorous birds and their arthropod prey
- Authors: Balmer, Natasha Louise
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424380 , vital:72148
- Description: Desertification is the degradation of arid ecosystems that result in the loss of biodiversity. Piospheres are areas of local degradation around a central point due to overgrazing and increased herbivore presence. There is a paucity of information regarding the effect of localised degradation on arthropods and insectivorous birds. Both of these organisms play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning and stability and can be used as models to study ecosystem functioning. I investigated the effect of piospheres on arthropods and birds in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. I found that the abundance and diversity of arthropods were significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the lack of vegetation. Termites were a group specifically negatively impacted by piospheres, with a significant reduction in their presence inside the piosphere. The family composition of arthropods also changed inside and outside the piospheres, with Caelifera, Diptera and Formicidae being the most dominant groups. The diversity of birds was also significantly reduced due to the degradation inside the piospheres. Looking at insectivorous birds, I found that the reduction in both vegetation and arthropod prey availability resulted in non-random avoidance of piospheres. This shows that piospheres negatively impact both arthropods and birds. The results from my study are supported by other literature studying the effects of habitat degradation associated with desertification. Due to the similarities of degradation between piospheres and desertification I make the argument that piospheres can be studied as localised models of desertification. The decrease in vegetation and arthropod abundance and diversity was found to further impact the feeding success of insectivorous birds. Using piospheres as a model for desertification, I found that the foraging effort of birds is significantly reduced within a degraded area due to the lack of vegetation providing safety to arthropod prey species. In addition to this, the foraging efficiency of insectivorous birds is significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the decreased arthropod abundance and diversity. This shows that inside the piospheres birds spend less time searching for insects and have fewer successful feeds. This has implications for desertification of arid environments where birds face hyperthermia. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Balmer, Natasha Louise
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424380 , vital:72148
- Description: Desertification is the degradation of arid ecosystems that result in the loss of biodiversity. Piospheres are areas of local degradation around a central point due to overgrazing and increased herbivore presence. There is a paucity of information regarding the effect of localised degradation on arthropods and insectivorous birds. Both of these organisms play crucial roles in ecosystem functioning and stability and can be used as models to study ecosystem functioning. I investigated the effect of piospheres on arthropods and birds in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. I found that the abundance and diversity of arthropods were significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the lack of vegetation. Termites were a group specifically negatively impacted by piospheres, with a significant reduction in their presence inside the piosphere. The family composition of arthropods also changed inside and outside the piospheres, with Caelifera, Diptera and Formicidae being the most dominant groups. The diversity of birds was also significantly reduced due to the degradation inside the piospheres. Looking at insectivorous birds, I found that the reduction in both vegetation and arthropod prey availability resulted in non-random avoidance of piospheres. This shows that piospheres negatively impact both arthropods and birds. The results from my study are supported by other literature studying the effects of habitat degradation associated with desertification. Due to the similarities of degradation between piospheres and desertification I make the argument that piospheres can be studied as localised models of desertification. The decrease in vegetation and arthropod abundance and diversity was found to further impact the feeding success of insectivorous birds. Using piospheres as a model for desertification, I found that the foraging effort of birds is significantly reduced within a degraded area due to the lack of vegetation providing safety to arthropod prey species. In addition to this, the foraging efficiency of insectivorous birds is significantly reduced inside the piospheres due to the decreased arthropod abundance and diversity. This shows that inside the piospheres birds spend less time searching for insects and have fewer successful feeds. This has implications for desertification of arid environments where birds face hyperthermia. , Thesis (MSc) -- Faculty of Science, Zoology and Entomology, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13