SANParks.org Forums

Here is a Black Headed Heron eating one of many Grasshoppers in the flowers at Addo this morning. I put this in to apologise for my previous Pic on this thread of the "Little Egret" where in fact my pic is actually of a Cattle Egret at Hapoor dam....Addo this morning where there were hundreds walking around in the veld. I should have known better and obviously was not concentrating when I opened the post after I got back from Addo.

{Edit by DQ: put up a leaner version of the photo. Peter's original 6 Mb photo}

At Addo 2 months ago.

I found this nesting site and managed to get some pics of the juveniles too!

Juvenile seen on Mahonie loop (Punda Maria).

Richard

Didn't have a working camera handy , but a juvenile black-headed heron paid a visit to our back yard in Barberton today. We watched him from inside the house for about 20min, during which he caught at least 3 lizards (he spent some time out of sight and might have caught 1 more).

It was great to watch him hunt. As soon as he spotted his prey, he started wiggling his body (like a cat, almost) and would keep wiggling, with neck extended, slooowly moving his feet to get closer and finally, strike and take a few seconds to swallow the lizard.

In our bird book/on the net we couldn't find an explanation for this wiggling of the body prior to attack, but we think it might be a trick to fool the prey - surely the lizards would have seen it approach?

They are common in the Western Cape. I saw about a dozen yesterday at the Paarl Bird Sanctuary.

Incidentally if I had a camera: A sign said PBS; please close the gates!?

Saw my first one in KTP in 2001. Have never seen one in Kruger.

my contribution
seen in WCNP in 2005.
I also saw one in KTP in the middle of the dunes...thought it was more a waterbird
but never seen one in Kruger

They are common here in the Cape elpaco, but up north there are more grey herons.

Blackheaded Heron or Blacknecked Heron
Swartkopreier
Ardea melanocephala

Habitat: Open grassland, fallow Fields, edges of inland waters and forest clearings
Food: Frogs, fish, crabs, insects, rodents, birds (up to the size of a laughing dove), small reptiles, worms, spiders, scorpions, snails and golden moles.
Habits: Solitary when feeding, either standing and waiting for prey or stalking slowly. Roosts colonially in trees, reedbeds and on islands up to 30km from feeding grounds. Flight slow.

The greyheaded heron doesn't have two tones of colour on the under wing (White in front and black behind) but rather one even grey colour. The blackheaded heron in flight:

Please,can anyone help me?

I know these are Heron,but which one?

The pix were taken in KTP Sept.Oct.07.
Are they both the same?



Thank you .

I saw the same in KTP an April 2007
it's a blackheaded heron (héron mélanocéphale)... but I'm not a specialist

You are spot-on anne-marie... with calls like that you will soon be considered a "specialist"

Please help me identify this bird.

I think it is a juvenile Goliath Heron.

According to one bird book we looked at it is possible that it is a Juvenile black heron.

It was spotted at the entrance road to Ngotso Dam in April 2008.

Black headed do occur in the park. I reckon this is a juvenile BH. Goliath has a much larger bill and would be less likely to be found in veld than BH would.

Niall.