OKAVANGO: A Field Guide (Southbound Field Guides)
Lee Gutteridge
Language: English
Pages: 800
ISBN: 0958489106
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
After The South African Bushveld-A Field Guide from the Waterberg, this is the second comprehensive field guide to be published in southern Africa that covers a detailed cross-section of the most prominent animals, plants, birds, fish, insects and tracks and signs of a particular region. It includes a detailed natural history section for a greater understanding of the geology, habitats and ecology of the region. This book negates the need to carry more than one guide book when visiting the Okavango. Contents include: Geology, Habitats, Ecology, Mammals (and diseases), Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Scorpions, Spiders, Insects, Butterflies and Moths, Fish, Flowers, Trees, Grasses, Tracks and Signs, Fungi, Aquatic Plants and more. Lee Gutteridge was born in Sheffield, England, in 1973. His family moved to South Africa in 1982. Since his first encounters with snakes in the mid-eighties he has been passionate about African wildlife. He is now a professional field guide with 19 years' of bush experience. He is the principal trainer of the Entabeni Nature Guide Training School. Passionate about the learning and sharing of knowledge, his first book, the best-selling South African Bushveld-A Field Guide from the Waterberg, was published in 2008. He has also co-authored San Rock Art: A Field Guide (2011). He lives in the eastern Waterberg with his wife Sarah and his two children, Kellen and Savannah. Tony Reumerman was born and raised on the Highveld of South Africa and from an early age developed an interest in bird, insect and plant life. He was schooled at St. John Bosco College in Daleside where his interest in natural history unfolded, becoming an obsession during his years as a soldier and later as a microbiology student. Excursions into wildlife areas in southern Africa became so regular that he decided to pursue his passion and work as a field guide. He was to spend eight years guiding, managing and training other guides at Sabi Sabi Game Reserve in the Kruger region before moving, in 2000, to the Okavango where he joined Wilderness Safaris. He heads up the training team and has an avid interest in mammal behaviour, photography, botany and ornithology. Tony is based in Maun where he lives with his wife Andrea and son Aidan.
These are small- to medium-sized, 12–15mm in length, soft-bodied and parallel-sided. Although the common name suggests they look like flies, males have very large eyes and resemble beetles when stationary, with a yellow thorax and brown wing covers (elytra). They have a light-producing organ on the last two segments. Females and larvae are worm-like, with numerous overlapping segments, and also have a light-producing organ. Two subfamilies occur: Luciolinae (fireflies)—both sexes are winged and
it has a spotted or mottled throat, a dark-brown coat and is much smaller in size. It has claws on the feet, unlike the fingered hands of the Cape clawless. There are distinct webs on the feet. It has a streamlined body and is well adapted to aquatic life. Unlike the Cape clawless, these delightful animals are regularly seen, especially in small clear channels and often close to lodges where they have habituated to boat and human activities. This diurnal fish eater enjoys clear water and catches
such a compromising position. Odd-toed ungulates (order Perissodactyla) Plains zebra Pitse yanaga (Pitse) Formerly Equus burchelli antiquorum now reclassified to Equus quagga This unmistakeable animal has a horse-like body with black and white stripes which continue on the belly. There are faint, brownish stripes on the rump and back between the darker stripes, commonly referred to as shadow stripes. These are not always in evidence and vary from individual to individual, as do the dark
Linyanti Swamp to the north, where elephant populations are many times larger than in the Okavango. Components of the Okavango ecosystem Following the description and workings of the Okavango by Map Ives in the introduction, this chapter looks at the resultant habitat formation. To really appreciate the particular and unique variety of Okavango habitats one has to take cognizance of one key fact: the topographic relief along the length of the delta is nominal. The variation in gradient is only
favourite. Typical flock of Red-billed queleas Breeding female Red-billed quelea Breeding male Red-billed quelea (white form) Breeding male Red-billed quelea (yellow form) Breeding male Red-billed quelea (red form) Rail African rail The African rail is a common, but secretive, species. They are seldom seen, but are sometimes spotted wandering around the edges of reedbeds in the early morning. They nest in a bowl of reeds and other plant material in reeds above the water. They feed on