Anton Reichenow and the birds of Africa
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465289 , vital:76590 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2023.2263165
- Description: The first handbook of the birds of Africa was completed in 1905 by Anton Reichenow (1847–1941). Based in the Berlin museum for almost 50 years, he described 152 African taxa that are still recognised as valid species today, and was considered by his contemporaries as a key figure in the development of African ornithology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465289 , vital:76590 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2023.2263165
- Description: The first handbook of the birds of Africa was completed in 1905 by Anton Reichenow (1847–1941). Based in the Berlin museum for almost 50 years, he described 152 African taxa that are still recognised as valid species today, and was considered by his contemporaries as a key figure in the development of African ornithology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024
South African birds in a Canadian museum: the legacy of colonial service by Lionel E Taylor
- Craig, Adrian J F K, Dean, W R J
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Dean, W R J
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449550 , vital:74829 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2024.232
- Description: The Beaty Biodiversity Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, holds a collection of 498 specimens of 275 bird species presented by Lionel E Taylor, who worked in South Africa for the Department of Forestry from 1902 to 1911. Most specimens are in very good condition, and many have date and locality information; about one-third were collected around Irene, outside Pretoria, in Gauteng province, where Taylor lived before relocating to Canada. Full details can be accessed from the museum’s website. The history and composition of this collection is described here briefly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Dean, W R J
- Date: 2024
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449550 , vital:74829 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2024.232
- Description: The Beaty Biodiversity Museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, holds a collection of 498 specimens of 275 bird species presented by Lionel E Taylor, who worked in South Africa for the Department of Forestry from 1902 to 1911. Most specimens are in very good condition, and many have date and locality information; about one-third were collected around Irene, outside Pretoria, in Gauteng province, where Taylor lived before relocating to Canada. Full details can be accessed from the museum’s website. The history and composition of this collection is described here briefly.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024
Anton Reichenow and the birds of Africa
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448786 , vital:74760 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2023.2263165
- Description: The first handbook of the birds of Africa was completed in 1905 by Anton Reichenow (1847–1941). Based in the Berlin museum for almost 50 years, he described 152 African taxa that are still recognised as valid species today, and was considered by his contemporaries as a key figure in the development of African ornithology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2023
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/448786 , vital:74760 , https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2023.2263165
- Description: The first handbook of the birds of Africa was completed in 1905 by Anton Reichenow (1847–1941). Based in the Berlin museum for almost 50 years, he described 152 African taxa that are still recognised as valid species today, and was considered by his contemporaries as a key figure in the development of African ornithology.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023
The forest avifauna of Arabuko Sokoke Forest and adjacent modified habitats
- Chiawo, David O, Kombe, Wellington N, Craig, Adrian J F K
- Authors: Chiawo, David O , Kombe, Wellington N , Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449953 , vital:74867 , https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.19.440426
- Description: Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF) is the largest area of coastal forest remaining in East Africa and a major Important Bird Area in mainland Kenya. The study analysed data from point count surveys over 15 months in three land use types; primary forest (PF), plantation forest (PL), and farmlands (FM), and compared these to the first comprehensive bird checklist for the forest, as well as recent surveys from other studies. Avifaunal diversity and abundance were compared using multivariate analysis to determine bird responses to different land use characteristics. The primary forest held a distinctive bird community, while the bird communities of farmlands and plantation forest were more similar to each other. Land use had a significant effect on overall avian diversity and abundance. The current forest avifauna was divided into forest specialists (16 species), forest generalists (26 species) and forest visitors (30 species). Seven species of forest specialist and generalists recorded prior to 1980 may no longer occur in the forest. Of 38 specialists and generalists recorded in our point counts, 19 were also recorded on farmland and 28 in plantations. One forest specialist, the Green Barbet, was most encountered outside the forest. Future research should focus on habitat use by these bird species, and the extent of movement by forest birds between the remaining patches of coastal forest. Patterns of habitat use by birds in the area suggest that vegetation heterogeneity and habitat complexity are especially significant in sustaining diverse and abundant bird populations. The management of plantations and farmland will be critical for the conservation of forest generalists and forest visitors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
- Authors: Chiawo, David O , Kombe, Wellington N , Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2021
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449953 , vital:74867 , https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.19.440426
- Description: Arabuko Sokoke Forest (ASF) is the largest area of coastal forest remaining in East Africa and a major Important Bird Area in mainland Kenya. The study analysed data from point count surveys over 15 months in three land use types; primary forest (PF), plantation forest (PL), and farmlands (FM), and compared these to the first comprehensive bird checklist for the forest, as well as recent surveys from other studies. Avifaunal diversity and abundance were compared using multivariate analysis to determine bird responses to different land use characteristics. The primary forest held a distinctive bird community, while the bird communities of farmlands and plantation forest were more similar to each other. Land use had a significant effect on overall avian diversity and abundance. The current forest avifauna was divided into forest specialists (16 species), forest generalists (26 species) and forest visitors (30 species). Seven species of forest specialist and generalists recorded prior to 1980 may no longer occur in the forest. Of 38 specialists and generalists recorded in our point counts, 19 were also recorded on farmland and 28 in plantations. One forest specialist, the Green Barbet, was most encountered outside the forest. Future research should focus on habitat use by these bird species, and the extent of movement by forest birds between the remaining patches of coastal forest. Patterns of habitat use by birds in the area suggest that vegetation heterogeneity and habitat complexity are especially significant in sustaining diverse and abundant bird populations. The management of plantations and farmland will be critical for the conservation of forest generalists and forest visitors.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021
Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus at Etosha Pan, Namibia: what is the origin of this isolated population?
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465347 , vital:76596 , https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v137i3.2017.a4
- Description: There is an isolated breeding population of Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus around Etosha Pan, in northern Namibia, despite a lack of regular reports of the species from adjoining regions of Botswana, southern Namibia or even north-western South Africa. A search for historical records of Blue Cranes north of South Africa suggests occasional vagrancy to southern Namibia, eastern Botswana and perhaps Zimbabwe, with consistent sightings of resident, breeding birds only from Etosha since 1918. It is apparently not a relict population. While the natural establishment of a breeding population by rare vagrants appears unlikely, there is no documented evidence for the alternative explanation that birds were deliberately introduced to this locality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465347 , vital:76596 , https://doi.org/10.25226/bboc.v137i3.2017.a4
- Description: There is an isolated breeding population of Blue Cranes Anthropoides paradiseus around Etosha Pan, in northern Namibia, despite a lack of regular reports of the species from adjoining regions of Botswana, southern Namibia or even north-western South Africa. A search for historical records of Blue Cranes north of South Africa suggests occasional vagrancy to southern Namibia, eastern Botswana and perhaps Zimbabwe, with consistent sightings of resident, breeding birds only from Etosha since 1918. It is apparently not a relict population. While the natural establishment of a breeding population by rare vagrants appears unlikely, there is no documented evidence for the alternative explanation that birds were deliberately introduced to this locality.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Wing moult and sexual dimorphism in the Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Craig, Adrian J F K, Bonnevie, Bo T, Hulley, Patrick E
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Bonnevie, Bo T , Hulley, Patrick E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449593 , vital:74832 , https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2989/00306525.2012.662918
- Description: Based on ringing data from the Western Cape, Underhill et al.(1995) demonstrated that there was a bimodal distribution of wing-length measurements in the Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor, and they described the timing of wing-moult in this region. Hanmer (1997) reported similar results for Lesser Honeyguides from Mozambique and Malawi. This species remains poorly studied, and we have examined size dimorphism and wing moult for a sample of birds from the Eastern Cape region: 44 museum specimens from the Albany Museum (Grahamstown), East London Museum and the Ditsong Museum (formerly Transvaal Museum, Pretoria), together with ringing data for 94 birds. Wing-length of both museum specimens and ringed birds was measured in the standard manner (maximum chord); weight to the nearest 0.5 g was recorded with a Pesola spring balance. Each bird was checked for wing moult, which was recorded as 0 for an old feather and 5 for a fully grown new feather (de Beer et al. 2001). These moult scores were converted to percentage feather mass grown using a primary feather mass index, Passer9 (Bonnevie 2010a), for analysis using the model of Underhill and Zucchini (1988), as implemented in R (Erni et al. in press), with the data subsampled to prevent non-moulting birds from biasing the estimates (Bonnevie 2010b).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Bonnevie, Bo T , Hulley, Patrick E
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/449593 , vital:74832 , https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2989/00306525.2012.662918
- Description: Based on ringing data from the Western Cape, Underhill et al.(1995) demonstrated that there was a bimodal distribution of wing-length measurements in the Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor, and they described the timing of wing-moult in this region. Hanmer (1997) reported similar results for Lesser Honeyguides from Mozambique and Malawi. This species remains poorly studied, and we have examined size dimorphism and wing moult for a sample of birds from the Eastern Cape region: 44 museum specimens from the Albany Museum (Grahamstown), East London Museum and the Ditsong Museum (formerly Transvaal Museum, Pretoria), together with ringing data for 94 birds. Wing-length of both museum specimens and ringed birds was measured in the standard manner (maximum chord); weight to the nearest 0.5 g was recorded with a Pesola spring balance. Each bird was checked for wing moult, which was recorded as 0 for an old feather and 5 for a fully grown new feather (de Beer et al. 2001). These moult scores were converted to percentage feather mass grown using a primary feather mass index, Passer9 (Bonnevie 2010a), for analysis using the model of Underhill and Zucchini (1988), as implemented in R (Erni et al. in press), with the data subsampled to prevent non-moulting birds from biasing the estimates (Bonnevie 2010b).
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Sunbird Movements: a Review, with Posslble Models
- Craig, Adrian J F K, Hulley, Patrick E
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Hulley, Patrick E
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447856 , vital:74679 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1994.9639672
- Description: Based on current fieldwork, we propose four possible models to explain the winter influx of sunbirds which we have observed: the birds may be (1) “winter residents”, which move annually to a wintering area and remain there; (2) “shoppers”, which periodically investigate feeding areas within their home range and feed opportunistically where nectar is most abundant; (3) “tourists”, which successively visit a series of sites on a regular itinerary; (4) “nomads”, which move unpredictably to new areas whenever food supplies decline. and have no home base. Current data on sunbird movements are reviewed, and in a few cases the winter resident model is unlikely, but generally it is not yet possible to eliminate any of the hypotheses. Moult cycles based on both field and museum studies may provide additional information, as movements are unlikely while active wing-moult is in progress; some species show interrupted wing-moult, which may be associated with long-distance flights.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K , Hulley, Patrick E
- Date: 1994
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447856 , vital:74679 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1994.9639672
- Description: Based on current fieldwork, we propose four possible models to explain the winter influx of sunbirds which we have observed: the birds may be (1) “winter residents”, which move annually to a wintering area and remain there; (2) “shoppers”, which periodically investigate feeding areas within their home range and feed opportunistically where nectar is most abundant; (3) “tourists”, which successively visit a series of sites on a regular itinerary; (4) “nomads”, which move unpredictably to new areas whenever food supplies decline. and have no home base. Current data on sunbird movements are reviewed, and in a few cases the winter resident model is unlikely, but generally it is not yet possible to eliminate any of the hypotheses. Moult cycles based on both field and museum studies may provide additional information, as movements are unlikely while active wing-moult is in progress; some species show interrupted wing-moult, which may be associated with long-distance flights.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1994
Co-operative breeding in the Pied Starling
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447786 , vital:74674 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1987.9633905
- Description: Pairs of Pied Starlings Spreo bicolor build the nest, but only the female incubates. After the chicks hatch, subadult and juvenile birds help feed the young. Helpers also feed young after they leave the nest. In most cases parents contribute more than the helpers which may attend several different nests. Associations between members of the same breeding group may persist for up to three successive seasons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 1987
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447786 , vital:74674 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1987.9633905
- Description: Pairs of Pied Starlings Spreo bicolor build the nest, but only the female incubates. After the chicks hatch, subadult and juvenile birds help feed the young. Helpers also feed young after they leave the nest. In most cases parents contribute more than the helpers which may attend several different nests. Associations between members of the same breeding group may persist for up to three successive seasons.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1987
Breeding condition of male red bishops under artificial photoperiods
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447761 , vital:74672 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1985.9639572
- Description: Testis development, as indicated by bill colour changes, and moult were followed over two years in nine birds kept under constant conditions of 14 h light:10 h dark. All birds maintained at least partial nuptial dumage throughout this period, but most continued normal cycles of wing moult. The testes continued to show cycles of enlargement and regression.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1985
- Authors: Craig, Adrian J F K
- Date: 1985
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/447761 , vital:74672 , https://doi.org/10.1080/00306525.1985.9639572
- Description: Testis development, as indicated by bill colour changes, and moult were followed over two years in nine birds kept under constant conditions of 14 h light:10 h dark. All birds maintained at least partial nuptial dumage throughout this period, but most continued normal cycles of wing moult. The testes continued to show cycles of enlargement and regression.
- Full Text: false
- Date Issued: 1985
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »