Hadedas are really strange birds and I enjoy watching them. Everymorning when I feed the dogs, they come and sit on the wall and wait for them to leave their food, so that they can come and eat the chunks. Once they have taken a chunk they go to our fountain and they dip it into the fountain before eating it. They are starting to get very brave - well three of them at least - and yesterday I watched as one of them flew down on to the grass while Zippa - the Ridgeback - was eating. This bird walked towards the other dog bowl, and then quickly turned and walked away, but a few seconds later it turned and came a bit closer. Eventually after 4 efforts like this (and all this while I am standing in my pj's at the front door with camera in hand to capture the right picture!) it eventually came and ate out of the one bowl while Zippa was eating out of the other. I could not believe it. The morning before, they were doing this while Izzy (the sausage dog) was eating. Anyway, this is what I managed to capture:
Hadeda watcher signing off...
1 comment:
Well, Hadedas have certainly evolved since the Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa was published in 1985. According to this bird book, Hadedas 'forages on ground by probing with long bill', but in 2007 they don't probe the ground anymore but are probing dogs' food bowls and their diets have changed from insects, crustaceans, spiders, snails, reptiles and earthworms to dog chunks. So this is another animal who is adjusting to its habitat invaded by humans.
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