BOTSWANA’S NEW

OFFICIAL NATIONAL SYMBOLS BirdLife Botswana had long

advocated for Botswana to officially name a national bird.

On May 12, 2014 that finally happened when the Kori Bustard, Ardeotis kori, was named Botswana’s National Bird. Although several other birds have been thought to be Botswana’s national bird, none of these had ever been officially named as such. The internet and various publications have listed half a dozen different birds as

Botswana’s national bird, with the Lilac-breasted Roller and the Cattle Egret being the ones most often claimed to be. However, Botswana never had officially designated a national bird until May 2014. The other new national symbols named at the same time as the Kori Bustard were the Morula as the National Tree, Motshikiri

(Thatching grass) as the National Grass and Sengaparile (Devil’s Claw) as the National Flower/plant. The new national tree, grass and flower/plant reflect the traditional uses of these plants for food, roofing for houses and medicine. No national mammal was named but the Zebra occurs on the Coat of Arms developed in 1966 and is without doubt considered the national animal/mammal symbol of Botswana by the government and the people.

Most nations have a variety of national symbols that include animals, plants and other things that occur in the natural environment. Nations select and name their various national symbols as a means of uniting their people by creating visual, verbal or other representations that reflect the people, their values, goals or history. A country’s symbols have special meaning for the country and its people and these symbols become part of their cultural heritage. Examples of national symbols include a flag, coat of arms, national colours and a national anthem. Most countries also name a national bird, a mammal, a tree and a flower that also represent the country.

It is always interesting to learn why certain choices were made. In the United States, for example, the national bird and the national animal/mammal are one in the same – the Bald Eagle (a Fish Eagle that is

not bald!). Many considered the Bald Eagle, as an eagle, to be a noble bird and worthy of being the national bird but Benjamin Franklin proposed the Wild Turkey as a more “respectable” bird for a national bird because he considered the Bald Eagle to be a “bird of bad moral character” that stole food from other birds and therefore was too lazy to fish for itself. Franklin thought the Bald Eagle “does not get his living honestly”. He also considered the Bald Eagle to be a “rank coward” because sometimes small birds could mob it and chase it away. Franklin said the Bald Eagle should not be the “Representative of our Country “ (USA). Well, the Bald Eagle won this contest!

In the USA the 50 states also have lists of their state symbols. Some, like my home state of California with 29 state symbols, sort of go overboard. The Grizzly bear is the state animal and also is prominent on the state flag. You might have heard of the state bird, the California Valley Quail and the state flower, the California Poppy.

The purpose of this article is to learn more about the Kori Bustard,

Botswana’s new National Bird. In the proposal for the new national symbols the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism stated that the Kori Bustard had been chosen as one of the new national symbols after a series of consultations at kgotla meetings around the country. Long ago in Botswana the Kori Bustard was designated a “royal bird” with its meat considered to be for chiefs only and so it has been of cultural importance for a long time. It is still considered a special bird for those who know it well in the Kalahari and it has the world record of being the heaviest bird that is able to fly. Its name kgori in Setswana is incorporated into its scientific name Ardeotis kori.

The male Kori Bustard is huge (up to 22 kg recorded) and as mentioned above, is the heaviest bird in the world that can fly. That doesn’t mean that it particularly likes to fly as it spends most of its time on the ground, but it can fly when it tries to escape danger. The Kori Bustard can be found in most habitats except in forests and densely wooded areas. Researchers consider they are not found in those areas because they need space to be

able to run for some distance before they become airborne when attempting to fly.

The Kori Bustard found in Botswana and other Southern African countries is one of six species of bustards within the genus Ardeotis found in Africa. Other large-bodied bustard species range as far as India and one species is even found in Australia.

The Kori Bustard is mostly grey and brown in colour with some black and white coloured patterns. Both males and females have a blackish crest that extends beyond the back of the head. The male’s crest is longer and darker than the female’s. There is a white stripe above the yellow eye and the chin, throat and neck area are whitish with some fine dark barring. There is a black collar at the base of the back part of the neck. The feathers on the neck are loose and the male can turn these feathers upward when displaying, making his neck look much bigger than it is. The head is large and the beak long and straight. The legs are long and yellowish in colour. There is a great difference in size between the Kori Bustard male and female, with the male being 20 – 30% bigger and up to 50% heavier. During the breeding season a male will display in his regularly used site (or sites) called a lek. The displays are impressive and elaborate. The male inflates his neck and puffs out the loose neck feathers in front and as the feathers turn upwards on the neck area, it looks like a large white balloon. He then strides around with his head held back with the crest extended, tail held up and fanned over his back and wings pointed down at an angle. He gives low-pitched booming sounds as he strides around. Females come to the leks to choose what supposedly they think is the biggest and best male to mate with. The male

mates with many females but does not share any of the duties of incubation or raising the chicks.

After mating the female leaves the lek and finds a nesting place. Kalahari open grassy areas near clumps of bushes or trees are thought to be favoured for nesting sites. Nests are not constructed but a depression in

the sand is used or perhaps just a scrape or two will also create space for the single egg that is usually laid. In years with good rains the likelihood of two eggs being laid increases. Those who have looked for them say these nests are very difficult to find. The eggs are earth coloured with blotches of brown, grey and pale purple and weigh almost 150 g each. The female incubates the egg/s for approximately 25 days, seldom leaving the nest. Within hours after hatching chicks can follow the mother. She brings soft food to the

chick/s but after a few weeks they find their own food when they are with her. Kori Bustards are considered omnivores as they eat a variety of food including all kinds of insects, small snakes and lizards, bird eggs and nestling chicks, mice, carrion, grasses, seeds, berries, melons, roots, flowers and other plant parts. They are very fond of Acacia gum that leaks from trees and this is the base for their Afrikaans name of “Gompou”, meaning a large peacock-like bird that likes to eat tree gum. Kori Bustards do at times follow game for the insects and other food items they might disturb. Also birds such as Carmine Bee-eaters may ride on Kori Bustards as Cattle Egrets do on cows to be able to see and catch what is disturbed as the Koris or the cows walk through the grass.

Chicks grow quickly and fledge when they are a little over a month old but they cannot really fly well until they are almost four months old. They stay with their mother for at least a year before they finally leave. Given the low juvenile: adult ratio of Kori Bustards in the wild it appears as if very

few chicks survive to the three to four years it takes them to become fully mature. Kori Bustards may live as long as twenty five or more years. However, they can live much longer in captivity because in the wild they are preyed upon by lions and other large cats, large eagles, pythons and humans.

The Kori Bustard is a rather scarce bird and is under threat from loss of habitat, illegal hunting and capturing and collision with overhead power lines. As Botswana’s new National Bird, it is important to learn more about it and protect it as much as possible so it can also be enjoyed and appreciated by future generations. Celebrate the new National Bird!

Doreen McColaugh

Sources consulted for this article are: BirdLife Botswana. Birds of Conservation Concern

FACTSHEET – Kori Bustard Ginn, P.J., W.G. McIlleron and P. le S. Milstein. 1989. The Complete Book of Southern African Birds. Struik

Publishers, Cape Town. Hancock, Pete. KORI BUSTARD – SYMBOL OF THE KALAHARI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kori_bustard http://wikipedia.statesymbolsusa.org/CaliforniaStateSymbols http://wikipedia.org/wild/Wild_turkey Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. Proposal for new national symbols Newman, Kenneth. 1989. Birds of Botswana. Southern Book Publishers. Cape Town. Senyatso, Kabelo. Personal communication – with thanks.

Perceptions of Shape Birds will flee if a hawk silhouette is displayed overhead. Interestingly, the birds only respond if the silhouette is made to fly forwards, to make it fly backwards changes the relationship between the head and wings and therefore the perception of the shape. (Nino Tinbergen 1951)

Shape is also important in the imprinting of chicks on adults. Ducklings, for example, are not attracted by a ‘duck’ shape, but will imprint on any familiar shape, even humans. They will not be able to recognize their own species for breeding. (AK Lorentz 1951) This research won the

Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1973

Fascinating Bird Observations in Maun The following is part of a report from Ompuseditse Gabanakitso, a safari guide in the Maun area. He is fortunate to spend his working life observing wildlife in the bush, he is interested in birds and was ‘recruited’ by BirdLife Botswana to assist with bird counts, and to make reports on interesting sightings.

“…..But the amazing part of my birding this time in Maun was the big migration of Abdim stork and the yellow billed kite. We had ‘millions’ of these birds in Maun. It was my first time to see this in Maun, especially in the mophane habitat. There was an unusual worm coming from the mopane trees - but not phane worm that people eat. It was a very small worm or caterpillar falling off the mopane tree. It was amazing to see big groups of storks under these trees, going for these worms. It was funny, when the worm started coming out, everyone was complaining because it was the first time we had seen this kind of worm and they were all over - in the houses, everywhere - even on your bed!

After maybe 2 weeks of people complaining I started to see some birds soaring in the sky like vultures, I checked and found they were storks and kites. And when I drove to my house - through mopane trees - I saw hundreds of storks and kites, which are unusual in this kind of habitat! That was very obvious - even if you are not a birder. Within a month there were no worms and the birds were all gone. I am completely amazed and I don't know where they came from. Otherwise no other exciting birds apart from

that. (Exciting enough for one season! Thanks for telling us – maybe

someone reading this will be able to explain this strange phenomenon.! )

Projects, in which the participants are involved from the very beginning, are often the ones which receive the utmost commitment. On the 24th of February 2015, the Westwood International School Environmental Club organized a BIG SALE! They sold a lot of different sweeties to raise funds to buy paints for murals to be painted at their school and at Gaborone Game Reserve. The children were dedicated and all members brought something to sell at the sale. They worked very hard under minimal supervision and raised P1000!

By Tania D Monggae and Cahawada Gaotlhobogwe

Fund Raising Project at

Westwood School

Do you know of any environmentally based school or community projects in your area?

Please send details and a photo. blb@birdlifebotswana.org.bw

TIME OUT(solutions on next page)

There are 2 trees in a garden (tree "A" and "B") and on

both of the trees are some birds. The birds of tree A

say to the birds of tree B

“If one of you comes to our tree, then our population

will be double yours.”

Then the birds of tree B tell the birds of tree A “If one

of you comes here, then our population will be equal to

that of yours.

Now answer: How many birds in each tree?

If 8 crows can steal 8 buttons in 8 minutes,

how many buttons can 16 crows steal in 16 minutes?

In the local wood there are a number of trees.

On these trees there are a number of birds.

The local game keeper knows that there are as many birds on

each tree as there are trees in the wood. He also knows that

there are between 2000 and 2100 birds in total.

How many trees are there in the wood?

A large fresh water reservoir has two types of drainage system. Small

pipes and large pipes. 6 large pipes, on their own, can drain the

reservoir in 12 hours. 6 small pipes, on their own, can drain the

reservoir in 18 hours. How long will 6 large pipes and 6 small pipes take

to drain the reservoir?

Please don’t forget

to pay your 2015

subscription! Interested in joining?

www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw

Visit

The BirdLife Shop Kgale View Shopping Mall, Gabs.

New and different stock

can always be found.

Good News from our Neighbours

“In Namibian waters alone, it is estimated that more than

30,000 seabirds are killed every year due to long-line

and trawl fishing, meaning that the boats setting out from

the fishing port at Walvis Bay are among the most

destructive in the world for accidental seabird bycatch.

However, since 2008, the BirdLife International Albatross Task Force (ATF) has demonstrated cheap and effective measures for reducing seabird bycatch from fishing boats. One successful example is the use, in South Africa, of bird scaring lines, which prevent birds becoming entangled.

The Namibian fishing fleet was quick to implement ATF recommendations, even before they became mandatory.

The production of bird scaring lines has created jobs for women in Walvis Bay.

Albatrosses are the most highly threatened group of birds on earth. 15 out of 22 species are threatened, largely because of irresponsible fishing.

The ATF is an initiative led by the UK’s RSPB. www.birdlife.org/africa Shaun Hurrell (17 March 2015)

(The solutions 7 and 5, 32 crows, 45 trees, 7hr 12 mins))

“Namibia stands at the threshold of moving, in very

short time, from being the worst country in the world

for seabird bycatch, to the very best”

Photo - John Paterson

Phew! So glad I’m a late bird!

Map showing

Namibia’s Atlantic Coast

AEWA 20th Anniversary

coffee table book

The African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

To this end the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is planning to produce a high-end coffee table book featuring some of the waterbird species for which the Agreement has undertaken initiatives. The concept for the book is to source high quality photographs, which ideally have not been published before, from the extensive AEWA network and wider birding community. We hope to source as many images as possible free of charge and will, in exchange, include short profiles of all contributing photographers in the book together with a portrait photo as well as a website link to the photographer’s website (if applicable). Contributing photographers will also receive a copy of the book for free.

. If you are interested in contributing to this project, please

contact Ms. Dunia Sforzin at the AEWA Secretariat (email: dsforzin@unep.de) as soon as possible. If you already have photographs which you would like to suggest for the book, please send them directly to Dunia. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are looking forward to collaborating with you on this project!

We are looking for pictures of the following species (between 4 and 6 pictures of each) taken in the WILD

Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus);- Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus);- Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis); - Taiga Bean Goose (Anser f. fabalis);- Bewick’s Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii);- White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala);- Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis);- Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca);- Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa);- Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia);- Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita);- Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius);- White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura ayresi); - Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex);- Slaty Egret (Egretta vinaceigula);- Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor);- Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum);- African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus);- Damara Tern (Sternula balaenarum);- Cape Gannet (Morus capensis);- Bank Cormorant (Phalacrocorax neglectus);- Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatus);- Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis);- African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini).

Pictures should be JPG files at 300dpi, have as high resolution as possible and the color space should be Adobe RGB

For each photo please provide the name of the species, the location

where the image has been taken as well as the month and year when it has been taken. Please feel free to forward this call for images to other photographers/colleagues within your various working groups and networks. Your photographs will not be published in the book or used for any other purpose without your express prior consent.

CALL

for

PHOTOS

BirdLife Camp - Nnywane Dam, Lobatse (March 2015) I WANT BOTSWANA’S VULTURES ALIVE,

NOT DEAD

COMPLIMENTS OF THE NEW SEASON NATURE LOVERS!

The vulture population in Botswana can no longer be counted in millions, as

before, but can almost be counted on your fingertips.

You may be wondering what you could do to save them?

You could volunteer with NGOs that are taking part in advocacy work

to spread awareness about vultures. Spreading awareness about the

issue and educating farmers about the ill effects that some agro-

chemicals have on vultures will reduce the use of human chemicals

preparations in animals.

If you like bird watching, you can join BirdLife Botswana; the

organization is involved in reporting vulture sightings and you can

assist them to find vultures in your area. Once you've spotted one or

more vultures, you can record observations on their behaviour and

send them in to us.

If you have no time or inclination to volunteer, you could donate

money towards vulture conservation. The cost of producing

education materials are high and your donation would be welcome.

Your contribution will make a difference towards saving these highly

endangered species from extinction.

Report any suspected poisoning events and the person you suspect

to have done so.

So what are you waiting for... get up and do your bit!

I LOVE VULTURES! (by Tsogo Dudu Bethel )

This is what a full dam looks like…..

Our campsite from a nearby hilltop. Thanks to Mark Bing for allowing us to stay on his farm.

The remains of a village last occupied in 1750, originally by the Bakgwatlheng, who were then driven out by the Bangwaketse.

Modern day explorers waded through thigh high grass whilst placing their feet very carefully among the remains of the stone walls

We didn’t see many birds, but this was a beautiful cabbage tree. (Cussonia paniculata). At the edge of its natural range and threatened by frequent grass fires.