Page 18 - Silver Lakes August 2021

BIRDING

Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike
SMALL HIDDEN TREASURES

By Albert Roos

have been living at Silver Lakes since
2005, and every now and again I still
I manage to be surprised. I have been
spending quite some time in our game
reserve these last few months and have
met a few like-minded people: people,
like me, who enjoy the great outdoors
and observing nature. Our conversations
consequently turn to the birds and animals
in the park. One topic is often the bird list
of Silver Lakes and what people have seen.
This brings me to the topic of my article:
Small Hidden Treasures. These are the
small colorful birds that we can find on
the estate and in the game park. There
are quite a few of these birds and for the
purpose of this article, I will limit it to the
Finches and the Waxbills. There is a reason
why I use the term “Hidden”: for the most
part, these small birds are extremely hard
to find.

Our estate’s bird list has five species of
finches listed. These are:
• Malba Finch / Green-Winged Pytilia
• Cut-throat Finch
Green-Winged Pytilia

16 INTRA MUROS AUGUST 2021