Centropus burchellii (Burchell's coucal)
or Rainbird
Ubikhwe [Xhosa]; uFukwe, umGugwane [Zulu]
Also known as the Vlei Loerie, this bird is found mainly in South Africa and lives in a wide variety of habitats. It is described as a greedy (or voracious) predator by the bird books, as it feeds on small birds, eggs and newly hatched chicks, mammals, reptiles and insects.
Best known for its distinctive call, which resembles water pouring from a bottle, it is said to signal impending rainfall when the Rainbird calls. The liquid sound of its call, once heard, is easily recognised and if you listen, you will hear the response of other birds in the vicinity.
The Rainbird prefers areas with thick vegetation such as thickets, reed beds, coastal bush, inbetween woodland and grassland and land next to vleis, with at least 600 mm of rainfall per year. The photographs above shows a juvenile foraging on (or rather in) the lawn at home, and at first glance it seemed to be a big rat. After watching this odd behaviour for some time it was clear that it was hunting insects and it found several juicy crickets to make a meal of.
The male does more work than the female as he builds the nest, incubates the eggs and, he also does most of the hunting. The nest is a large, scraggly collection of grass and leaves in the shape of a deep cup, between half a metre and 10metres above ground, either in a large tuft of grass, a reed bed, bush, thorny tree or hedge.
These birds are extremely shy but we often see a solitary bird on the verge of the road, seemingly injured or dazed...until approached, when it quickly scurries off, clambering through trees and bushes, with the occasional short flight.
Egg-laying season is from September to March, but can vary from region to region. The chicks feet develop quickly and they are capable of clambering around the bushes long before they can fly and leave the nest, usually at 21 days old, but still dependent on their parents for several weeks after.
A site well-worth visiting for some beautiful writing and an interesting look at, when researching the Rainbird, is:
Sources:
http://www.wikipedia.org
I am surprised at such a deeply knowledgeable post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Anupama - this is one of the posts about the life we live with in the Umngazi Valley on the Eastern Cape of South Africa's Wild Coast - your comment is welcome encouragement to continue.
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