Babbler Arrow-marked (Turdoides jardineii) female feeding Levaillant’s Cuckoo – Kruger NP South Africa

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Babbler Arrow-marked (Turdoides jardineii) female feeding Levaillant’s Cuckoo – Kruger NP South Africa

It was just before sunrise at the Olifants Camp gate that I spotted the silhouette of the two birds but could not distinguish them.  I took the photo at a massive ISO 26,00 (normally ISO400 or less) so quite remarkable to get the image I achieved. Only until I processed the picture did I realise it was an Arrow-marked Babbler feeding a Levaillant’s Cuckoo.  It is always surprising that the smaller host Babbler (24cm) continues to believe that its Cuckoo chick (up to 38cm) is a Babbler.  What baffles me is that when the Cuckoo matures it sounds like a cuckoo rather than learning the call of its surrogate mother unlike homo sapiens?

  • Species:Arrow-marked Babbler (Turdoides jardineii)
  • Bird Type:Female feeding Levaillant's Cuckoo
  • FamilyBabblers (Timaliidae)
  • Date Taken20190213
  • Location:Olifants
  • Area:Kruger Mpumalanga
  • Country:South Africa
  • Region:All Africa South of Sahara
Photo File Ref: BOA40007a Babbler Arrow-marked (feeding Levaillant's Cuckoo) Oilfants 3 Kruger NP South Africa Feb19 PH4_8502
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