Exploring Pigeon Valley:The Red-fronted Tinkerbird

This is the 73rd article in an ongoing series that highlights the riches of Pigeon Valley, the urban nature reserve in the heart of Glenwood. The focus of this article is on the Red-fronted Tinkerbird.

Recently this series presented the Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, the companionable little bird that is so frequently encountered in this area.

Imagine my pleasure the other day when I caught a glimpse of its relative, the much less frequent Red-fronted Tinkerbird, which tends to appear in winter and spring, usually on the edges of Pigeon Valley.

With its bright red spot on the head, it is instantly recognisable.

The little blocks of colour on its feathers remind me of a Mondrian painting.

The call of the Red-fronted is a remarkably prolonged repeated single note. In the Zululand reserves, there seems always one calling near you on a summer day, though generally hidden in the foliage.

ALSO READ: Exploring Pigeon Valley:The Black-headed Oriole

Its range in Southern Africa ends a bit north of there, though there is another population in north-east Africa.

In Durban, one tends to assume that you are hearing a Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird until you realise that the duration and the tempo are very different.

I recently wrote of the Hairy Mistletoe, and this little bird is particularly dependent on the fruit of such mistletoes, thus helping these species to spread.

Crispin Hemson chairs the Friends of Pigeon Valley, a group that undertakes clearing of alien plants, keeps records of bird and mammal sightings and alerts management to any problems.

The Friends have a monthly walk at 7.30am on the second Saturday of each month. Email: friendsofpigeonvalley1@gmail.com.

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