As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Rewrite the bird books: new breeding site found for one of world's rarest birds

17 Feb 2018

The White-winged Flufftail (Critically Endangered) has just been confirmed to be breeding in South Africa – not only Ethiopia as previously thought – thanks to a discovery by BirdLife South Africa’s hidden camera traps. This sheds new light on the bird’s conservation.

By Jessica Law

Everything we thought we knew about the White-winged Flufftail Sarothrura ayresi has been shaken up by recent footage captured by camera trap technology. At Middelpunt Wetland in South Africa, a site previously thought to cater only to non-breeding visiting Flufftails, strange photos were recorded. They depicted intriguing wing-flapping behavior, with both males and females displaying their white wing feathers. Could it be that something more than feeding was going on? It seemed almost too good to be true. But later, the ultimate proof appeared – the unmistakable image of a rotund, speckled juvenile scuttling through the undergrowth. This new knowledge changes everything.











No comments:

Post a Comment