Endangered Birdsby Chabala Chisenga | 09-05-2018 03:51 |
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Endangered Birds Top of the list of Southern Africa?s endangered birds is the Egyptian vulture. This bird lives in East Africa , but occasionally comes south to Zambia and Botswana . Other endangered birds of prey include the Cape vulture, the lappet-faced vulture and the bateleur eagle, although all can be seen in Zambia – especially in national parks. Countrywide, populations are falling simply because the birds don?t get enough to eat, as small animals and other prey are taken by human hunters or find their own habitats reduced. The ground hornbill, a black turkey-sized bird with a prominent red bill, is also threatened in farming areas, although in the protected environs of national parks sightings are common. One of Africa ?s rarest birds is the shoebill stork which is found in one place in Zambia, and just a few other places in Africa. Also near the top of the endangered list in Africa is the wattled crane, a tall, long-necked wading bird with characteristic nodes (or wattles) under its bill. It inhabits wetland areas, which are a particularly threatened habitat as they are drained to provide farming or housing land, flooded under dams, or silted up because of soil erosion. Compared with some other countries in Southern Africa, the chance of seeing wattled cranes in Zambia is quite good – especially in Kafue National Park. Another wetland bird, which occurs notably in the Zambezi Valley between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is the African skimmer. It is also threatened by human intervention, this time by power boats: Their wakes flood the skimmers? nest sites. Source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/zambia/wildlife/endangered-species |
