SONGBIRDS OF VENDA

Venda, which used to be an independent homeland, forms part of the Limpopo Province, close to the border with Zimbabwe. In 1985 this series of stamps was issued to highlight some of the songbirds that occur there. They are of special interest to me as two of them occur in my Eastern Cape Garden – much further south – while two others are similar to what occurs here.

Let us look at them on this first day cover from left to right:

The Heuglin’s Robin (Cossypha heuglini ), now known as the White-browed Robin-Chat, is restricted to the more tropical regions of southern Africa, preferring forests and dense bush, especially near water. They often mimic the alarm calls of other birds. It is the Cape Robin-Chat (Cossypha caffra) that occurs in my garden. It too prefers thickets and forest margins and is an accomplished mimic of other bird calls.

The Black-collared Barbet (Lybius torquatus) is also a common visitor to my garden, where it mainly eats fruit as well as insects. A pair will sing in a synchronised duet whilst facing each other and bobbing their heads up and down.

The melodious notes of the Black-headed Oriole (Oriolus larvatus) can usually be heard long before this striking yellow bird swoops down from the tree tops to eat fruit or drink from the nectar feeder. They are mostly seen in the upper branches of trees and tall bushes.

We do not get the Kurrichane Thrush (Turdus libonyana) here. It prefers woodland regions in the northern parts of South Africa. It makes tuneful whistling notes and is also a mimic. Instead, we host the Olive Thrush (Turdus olivaceus) which enjoys the many trees and bushes grown here. It makes a variety of flute-like notes which are very pleasant to listen to.