Birds of Southern Africa von Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton, Niall Perrins, Dominic Rollinson

Photograped at Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

This weaving kit includes all the yarns needed to weave these Rollerbird Bumberet Towels that were designed by Jean Newsted for Long Thread Media. Designer Jean Newsted's comments on how she came up with inspiration for these brilliantly colored towels: "When my daughter was in southern Africa, she sent me a postcard of a colorful lilac-breasted roller bird. In a workshop given by Ruby Leslie, she wove a sample in her variation of a traditional bumberet weave. This weave struck me as the perfect vehicle to show off the beauty of a roller bird because it allows using many warp colors in a fascinating yet orderly fashion." Yarns: Aurora Earth 8/2 cottons. Equipment needed: 4-shaft loom, 23" weaving width; 10 dent reed Dimensions: Weave either two or four generous sized towels 18.5" x 24" hemmed Instructions needed: Winning-Towels-Handwovens-21st-Century-Towel-Contest available from Long Thread Media. This kit includes all yarns needed to weave this project.  The pattern can be found in the Handwoven magazine noted above.  You will need to purchase this magazine if you don't already own a copy.

Chrysococcyx caprius Photo by Adam Riley (Stellenbosch Birds) Common name: dideric cuckoo (en); cuco-bronzeado-maior (pt); coucou didric (fr); cuclillo didric (es); goldkuckuck (de) Taxonomy: Order Cuculiformes Family Cuculidae Range: This species is found in sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan to South Africa. Size: These birds are 18-20 cm long and weigh about 35 g. Habitat: The dideric cuckoo is generally found along the edges of tropical forests, dry savannas and scrublands, hot deserts, rural gardens and parks. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 2.400 m. Diet: They mainly feed on caterpillars, but also termites and sometimes the eggs of their hosts. Breeding: Dideric cuckoos breed in October-March. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs on the nests of other birds, namely weavers, sparrows, wagtails, tit-babblers, buntings, cisticolas, robins and flycatchers. They remove the eggs of the host and lay 1-2 eggs per nest, laying up to 24 eggs per breeding season. The eggs are incubated by the hosts for 19-22 days and within 3 days of hatching the chicks eats any other eggs or chicks that were not present at the time of laying. The chicks fledge 21-24 days after hatching. Conservation: IUCN status - LC (Least Concern) This species has an extremely large breeding range and is reported to be generally common throughout much of this range. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.

The ostrich is the world's largest and heaviest bird. With long, muscular legs, ostriches can run up to 70 km/h (43 mph). Learn more at Animal Fact Guide!

Buy Mammals of Southern Africa - Poster (9781919866499): NHBS - Jonathan Kingdon, Korck Publishing

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