Woken this morning by the ringing call of an African Fish Eagle in the Palmiet Valley. Well, a Palmiet Right Bank Undershrub Minnow Eagle really, giving a beautiful rendition of the fish eagle cry from under a bush just outside my window. Five forty four ay emm.
To claim ownership of the talented mimicry, this was followed by the Natal Robin’s signature descending preep-proop preep-proop, immediately followed by a medley of crowned eagle-fish eagle repeated three times, both calls done really well, just like the originals, but quiet and close. So you might say more a ‘Ground Eagle-Minnow Eagle’ piano diminuendo medley.
Here’s a robin recorded by Mick Jackson at Bazley doing the crowned eagle and more:
This was rudely interrupted by a squadron of nasal flautists – Westville Pterodactyls launching themselves off my roof and receding down into the valley. No piano here; this was forte crescendo. All except one with a fear of heights who was rooted to the roof apex going Ma! WHY!!?
A herd of gumbooted elephants then thumped onto the roof right above my head, leaping off the strelitzias and the Aussie camelfoots and gallumphing across as only vervets do, causing the pterodactyl straggler to lose its fear of heights and baleka.
Now all that was left was a different, ascending proop-preep proop-preep. The softer chirp of a bladder cricket or katydid in the shrubbery.
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Natal Robin – Red-capped Robin-Chat
piano diminuendo – soft and getting softer
forte crescendo – loud and getting louder
Westville Pterodactyls – Hadeda Ibis
baleka – bugger off; fly away; fluck, as in ‘where’s that bird?’ ‘It flucked’
bladder cricket – bladder grasshopper really, but maybe a katydid?
The recording is from Xeno-Canto – sharing bird sounds from around the world.
Bewilderbeast Droppings 