AFRICAN BUSH TRAINING

  Learn more at https:abt-edu.com The purple-crested turaco (Tauraco porphyreolophus) is a species of bird in the family Musophagidae. It clambers acrobatically through riverine woodland and savanna thickets. In flight it explodes from the canopy with distinctive deep red panels in the wings. It produces a distinctive croaking “khoh-khoh-khoh-khoh….” that gets progressively louder before suddenly stopping. The Purple-crested Turaco is a fruit-eater. Its glossy and colourful plumage makes this bird very attractive for humans. Turacos have been hunted in the past for their beautiful red flight feathers used as adornments by African people. Today, this species has adapted to suburban life, especially in Durban. The Purple-crested Turaco is frugivorous and feeds on fruits from numerous plant species. It forages in canopy, picking the fruits by perching at the end of the branches. This bird does not feed on the ground, except in captivity. The small fruits are swallowed whole, whe...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com It mainly eats insects, gleaning prey from the leaves and trunks of trees, often flying to the ground to feed on ants or some fallen fruit. The following food items have been recorded in its diet: Invertebrates Formicidae (ants) Coleoptera (beetles) Lepidoptera (caterpillars) Fruit Both sexes construct the nest, which is a tidy cup made almost entirely of  Acacia  tree bark, collected from trunks and branches about 50-90 metres from the nesting site and lined with grass and rootlets. It is usually bound with spider web to a fork in the main stem of a plant, or occasionally onto a horizontal branch. Most of the construction work is done in the early morning, and it is usually complete after about 4-6 days. Egg-laying season is from August-january, peaking from October-November. It lays 2-3 eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for about 15-17 days.The chicks are fed and brooded by both parents, leaving the est at about 18-20 ...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com The African dusky flycatcher is 13 cm long and weighs around 11 g. Its upperparts are plain brown, with the only facial marking being an indistinct narrow eye-ring. The chin is plain pale grey, and the rest of the underparts are grey-brown with indistinct streaks. The short, straight, laterally flattened bill is black, the legs and feet are grey, and the eyes are brown. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is spotted with buff above, and is whitish spotted with brown below. The African dusky flycatcher has soft, high-pitched "tzeeet" and tsirit calls. The African dusky flycatcher builds a cup-shaped nest in a tree cavity a few metres above the ground, and lays two or three green eggs. The hole in the tree is normally reused in the next breeding season. This species is monogamous, mating for life. The African dusky flycatcher is usually seen singly or in pairs. It forages from an open perch for insects typically taking its prey in a s...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com It is found in Southern Africa and is one of the least colorful turaco's, many of which are as colorful as parrots. The Grey Go-Away is named for its call and it is a very social bird, often living in groups of up to 30 birds. It has a preference for open thornbush country, often near water. The grey go-away bird subsists on leaves, fruit, flowers, buds and the occasional small invertebrates. It feeds on a wide variety of trees, but is particularly fond of acacia trees, Mopane trees, Jackalberry trees and cultivated fruit such as guavas. Grey Go-away-bird is gregarious and moves in groups of up to 20 birds very busy and hopping into trees. Nest is a loose platform made with sticks and twigs of about 20 to 24 cm in diameter, situated at 3 to 20 metres above the ground. Both sexes build the nest, often hidden among dense foliage but not necessarily. Female lays 1 to 4 eggs, usually 3, white or pale blue, and slightly glossy. Incubation lasts about ...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com A small, pudgy, blackish waterbird with reddish eyes, a yellowish bill, and diagnostic pink-red legs. The immature is browner, with duller legs and bill. It scuttles along the edges of swamps and other water bodies, preferring reedbeds and emergent vegetation to forage on, sometimes quite boldly. Like most crakes, it walks tentatively with its head lowered, picking and probing for insects, plant matter, and other food. The distinctive call is an odd, wheezy bubbling and chattering “cheeew-t-t-t-t treeew, t-t-t-t-t-treew”. Diet: Invertebrates, insects, fish, frogs, seeds of aqautic plants, and bird eggs. Crakes can often be seen consuming parasites off of large animals such as hippos. Reproduction: The black crake is incredibly territorial of its nest. Often it will attack other crakes or even larger birds to defend its territory. The nest usually consists of reeds and other aquatic plants. Up to six eggs may be produced, with the average being three eg...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com Swainson's spurfowl or Swainson's francolin (Pternistis swainsonii) is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae.  It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the Shona language in Zimbabwe, this bird is called the chikwari and is considered a delicacy by outdoor and hunting enthusiasts. Swainson's spurfowl was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist. Diet: Seeds, berries, insects Reproduction: Francolins split into pairs during the breeding season. Most species, if not all, vigorously defend the area around their nest site against others of the same species. Nests are found on the ground, usually under cover and are shallow scrapes with a greater or lesser amount of plant material used as lining. The known clutch size ranges from 2-12 eggs, with the average believed to be between 4-6 eggs. Social Structure: Swainson's francolins are commonly f...

The  sunbirds  are placed into the taxonomic family, Nectariniidae, which was so  named  because most of these birds feed on (you guessed it), nectar. Their thin downward-curving bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues are adapted specially for nectivory. Distribution and habitat  Occurs from Angola to southern Tanzania south to southern Africa, where it is common to locally abundant across northern Namibia, northern and south-eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and north-eastern South Africa. It generally prefers semi-arid savanna woodland. Brood parasites  It has been recorded as host of the Klaas's cuckoo. Food  It mainly eats nectar supplemented with arthropods, often joining mixed-species foraging flocks in the day, along with other sunbirds at large sources of nectar. In the late afternoon it regularly hawks insects aerially and gleans invertebrates from foliage. Breeding  The nest (see image) is built solely by the female in ab...

Learn more at https://abt-edu.com DURATION: 21 Days Full-time   The FGASA APPRENTICE THEORY INDABA is all about ensuring that the highest's standards are maintained in the introduction of new guides to the   industry?   The FGASA APPRENTICE THEORY INDABA brings ‘self-study” and part-time students together, once month, for three weeks in the bush at the AFRICAN BUSH TRAINING campus to attend lectures on all the modules prescribed by FGASA for the   Field Guide Level 1 (NQF2) qualification.   During the three weeks in the bush our qualified and registered FGASA trainers will ‘walk’ you through the syllabus preparing you the best they can for the national exam sittings.   Although the focus is primarily on theoretical training we also do practical work in the Kruger National Park to ensure that students are able to put the theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom into practice when operating out in the bush.   STUDENT FEE: R ...

Learn more at https://africanbushtraining.com 3 Months Full-time This Course prepares students for active participation in the African Eco-tourism and Game Lodge industry, by nurturing competent guides, with well formulated career paths in the various speciality fields of a professional guide.  This includes a good knowledge and understanding of the African wilderness and the development of vitally important additional skills such as bush craft, snake handling, first aid, tracking, birding, wildlife photography and environmental education. COURSE CONTENTS: FGASA Apprentice Field Guide (NQF2), Snake Handling, First Aid, Environmental Education, Bush Craft/Survival, Wildlife Photography, Wilderness Tracks/Signs, Advanced Birds Birding Contact us at info@africanbushtraining.com

The White-browed Sparrow-weaver was collected and formally described by Andrew Smith a Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist. Smith organised an expedition to the interior and he travelled to near the Botswana border in 1834-35, collecting many new birds, reptiles, mammals and other along the way. It ranges from 17 to 19 cm (6.7 to 7.5 in) in length and is characterized by a broad, white eyebrow stripe and white rump visible in flight. While the male white-browed sparrow-weaver sports a black bill, the female's bill is horn-colored (light gray); that of the juvenile is pinkish-brown. In Zimbabwe, the white-browed sparrow-weaver shows faint brown spotting across its white breast. The white-browed sparrow-weaver is monogamous, co-operative and colonial. There are a single breeding male and female in each group. The breeding pair, assisted by the helpers, build an untidy straw like ball nest, with more than one entrance hole. The second entrance will be closed whe...

Appearance The Brown Headed Parrot is another green bird with a brownish grey head. It has yellow under the wings at the front which unfortunately can only be seen properly when in flight. The iris is a greyish yellow. Brown heads have a basically whitish beak, with black on the tip of the upper mandible. How much black is present depends on the individual. Some brown heads have yellow eyes but they are a dark, grayish yellow. Others have light gray eyes even as adults. All juvenile brown heads have dark gray, almost black eyes, which lighten to their adult color by the time the bird is a year old. Brown heads have a brown shade of gray which gradually fades into the green on the neck. The brown head's scientific name, cryptoxanthus, means literally 'hidden yellow' and refers to the yellow coloring on the underside of the wing. Brown heads are small parrots. They're about 9' long including the short tail. Diet They feed on a variety of seeds, nuts, berries, flowers,...

Learn more at https://africanbushtraining.com They roam African savanna and desert lands and get most of their water from the plants they eat. Though they cannot fly, ostriches are fleet, strong runners. They can sprint up to 69 kilometers an hour. They may use their wings as "rudders" to help them change direction while running. An ostrich's powerful, long legs can cover 3 to 4 metre in a single stride. These legs can also be formidable weapons. Ostrich kicks can kill a human or a potential predator like a lion. Each two-toed foot has a long, sharp claw. Ostriches live in small herds that typically contain less than a dozen birds. Contrary to popular belief, ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand. The old saw probably originates with one of the bird's defensive behaviors. At the approach of trouble, ostriches will lie low and press their long necks to the ground in an attempt to become less visible. Their plumage blends well with sandy soil and, from a distanc...

Go to our website at www.africanbushtraining.com Birding as a hobby has grown tremendously in popularity in the past decade, and these days, visitors that come to the African wilderness areas want to do more than simply spot large game. Owing to this development on the ecotourism front, we have developed our five-day Birding in the Bush course. From the theory of birds and bird identification, to going into the wild to experience it by physically identifying and learning about bird behavior on drives and walks guided by professional ABT instructors. We are confident that any person, with the appetite to learn, will leave us enriched, and with greater confidence in being able to pass on the wonders and beauty of South African bird life to family, friends or clients. SUBJECTS Evolution Anatomy and physiology Habitats and environments Bird identification Bird behavior Ethics And much more.. Contact ABT at info@africanbushtraining.com