Smaller, smallest!

Atlasing in July had been rather slow … and there had been little new experiences to share while out atlasing. Therefore I want to share some of the real special moments while out ringing birds.

Training is done under supervision of a qualified ringer and I am still in training. At the last ringing session at Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein I ringed two of the smaller endemic species in Southern Africa. I've observed both of these species in the district of Aliwal North - and in my own garden at home.

The larger of the two is the Orange River White-eye (Zosterops pallidus). These small birds weigh in at an average of 9,3g and are a mere 10-13 cm long from tip of bill to tip of tail. The Orange River White-eye is distinguished from the Cape White-eye by the peach-buff wash along its flanks. They feed on "insects, spiders, spider eggs, nectar, fruit, fleshy flower petals and sepals, honeydew from aphids; also orange pulp, sugar and jam from table or feeding tray" (Roberts' Multimedia V3). These busy little birds are regularly seen in our own garden, but much more difficult to photograph as they barely sit still long enough to focus the camera. When you have one in the hand, when ringing it, you realise how very small these little creatures really are. They are real little gems to watch while flitting around in the branches of shrubs and trees to glean their food from the plants.

The smaller one of the two, is the

Fairy Fly-catcher (Steno-stira scita).

It lives on small insects and has a very conspicuous call – many times you hear the bird calling before spotting it. This particular bird in the pic weighed only 5g – the average being 5,9g – they may reach a weight of 8g. Their total length can be 11-12 cm. The Fairy Flycatcher is just as difficult to photograph as it too never sits still for a moment and once again having it in hand gives you the rare opportunity to study it carefully and see the beautiful salmon pink spot under the belly and the white mascara on the bottom eyelid.

To ring the birds they are caught in a mist net which is set up amongst the vegetation in a suitable area. The nets are checked very regularly and birds are removed and ringed as quickly as possible to cause them minimum stress. Measurements are taken carefully, birds are weighed and the details of ringed birds are recorded carefully and logged against the unique ring number.

SAFRING is the body governing bird ringing in South Africa – more info: http://safring.adu.org.za/safring_about.php If it happens that you find a ringed bird (injured or dead) please contact SAFRING with the details of your find.