Singing sweet songs, of melodies pure and true

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

‘Rise up this morning,
smile with the rising sun,
three little birds
sit by my doorstep,
singing sweet songs
of melodies pure and true,
singing,
this is my message to you.’

PS : I don't know what's wrong with Blogger's colours, but the image I uploaded is not as dark as this and the back-ground is totally white, no grey...?

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Little White Dove

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

This is Little White Dove, a White Ringneck Dove I found in my garden a year and a half ago, minus a tail and a big wound on her coccyx. After coaxing her down from the tree with some seeds, I managed to capture her and tend to the wound. She recovered quickly, sporting a brand new tail within a few days.
She has now become part of the family, flying around my studio, having regular baths in her favourite bowl, tolerating Tweeti, the Cockatiel’s advances and her and I have long chats, cooing to one another, she just loves participating in conversations!

Ringneck doves are sweet natured and naturally tame. If you should be lucky enough to acquire one, give them a day or two to settle into their new home, and begin to finger tame them. Talk to them and let them get used to your voice and movements. Coax them onto your finger inside the cage, and then gently take them from their cage. They will fly around the room, but will not fly for long and will settle down quickly. Patience and time will pay off, and soon you will have a wonderful new friend…

The White Dove is often thought of as a separate species but it is actually perhaps the most common color mutation of the Ringneck Dove (Streptopelia risoria). This bird is often confused with the domestic white homing pigeon which is used to release at special occasions (weddings, anniversaries, etc.). This bird does not have the homing instinct and should not be released.

These birds have been bred in cages since biblical times as pets and cannot survive in the wild. They often are not able to find food having had it provided to them all their life and because of their white colour they are easy prey for a variety of predators. Thus many of these released birds die or are killed in a relatively short time. Many white doves that have been released end up looking to humans for assistance.

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Guineas are winged wonders

a guinea fowl
molting polka dot feathers—
handmade earrings

W&N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

After years of not seeing any guinea fowl around our property, I was lucky enough to have a visit from them a couple of weeks ago and I was totally thrilled!

Like turkeys, guineas are Galliformes, a group encompassing all chicken-like birds. But while chickens are members of the pheasant family, turkeys and guineas each have a family of their own. Native to Africa, they are known for travelling in large, gregarious flocks. There are seven species of guinea fowl, of which the 'helmeted'  is by far the most common, and certainly the weirdest looking, with its oddly shaped helmet, white, featherless face, bright red wattles, and grey polka-dotted feathers.

Free-ranging guineas spend most of their days foraging. They work as a team, marching chest to chest and devouring anything they startle as they move through the grass. When they discover a special treat—a rodent, for example, or a small snake—they close ranks, circle their prey, and move in for the feast. All the while, they keep up a steady stream of whistles, chirps, and clicks, a sort of running commentary on the day's hunt.

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Amethyst Sunbird female

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
Black Sunbird feeding on the Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker) flowers in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

The Amethyst Sunbird, also called the Black Sunbird (Chalcomitra amethystine) mainly occurs in Africa south of the equator. Its natural habitat is dry savannah but it is extremely fond of gardens.
It goes out of its way to visit a large clump of nectar-bearing plants. Here in my garden, it feeds on nectar from the Aloe, Kniphofia, Halleria lucida (Tree fuchsia) and a nectar mix in one of my bird feeders. It’s diet is supplemented with insects and often hawks flying insects from the trees or bushes, also gleaning them from leaves and branches. Nectar is obtained either from flowers or from garden feeders, which it uses readily (note that in feeding experiments it was found to prefer sucrose rather than sugar).

This Sunbird is not threatened, in fact its range has increased recently due to the spread of wooded gardens.

Swartsuikerbekkie [Afrikaans]

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