Gone are the schools days where the excuse was "the dog ate my homework," now I've found a new one "the mongoose ate my diary" - literally!
A few weeks ago, on one of the grassland areas on Thanda, the Crowned Lapwings started to nest. I took pictures of the adults, the nests and the eggs, and hoped to get some of the chicks before submitting my ranger's diary this week. Unfortunately, something beat me to it. From spoor in the surrounding area, indications are that a White tailed mongoose made a night visit and ate the eggs in the two nests that I was monitoring. Therefore - I have no diary because the mongoose ate it!
The Crowned Lapwing prefers dry, open habitats, be it a grassland, airfield, or even a city park. These birds nest on a shallow scrape on the ground, lined with bits of soil, small stones and dry plant fragments. The eggs are a dark yellowish buff to deep khaki or olive brown, boldly spotted with black and grey. The lapwings rely on the fact that its eggs are colored such that they match the background so closely that they are indistinguishable from it, unfortunately not so with darkness and a hungry mongoose on the loose.
The White tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is primarily nocturnal and terrestrial. By day they will rest in abandoned aardvark burrows, termite mounds, or in cavities under tree roots. The generic name Ichneumia derives from the Greek "ichneumon," meaning "a tracker". The specific name albicauda is derived from the Latin, albus for "white", and cauda for "tail." They feed mainly on insects, but have a diverse diet and may also consume rats, mice, shrews, lizards, snakes and small birds. They are also known to eat the eggs of wild birds, breaking the shell by throwing the egg backwards between their hind legs against a hard object, as in the case of the Lapwings eggs, and my "unfinished" diary.
A few weeks ago, on one of the grassland areas on Thanda, the Crowned Lapwings started to nest. I took pictures of the adults, the nests and the eggs, and hoped to get some of the chicks before submitting my ranger's diary this week. Unfortunately, something beat me to it. From spoor in the surrounding area, indications are that a White tailed mongoose made a night visit and ate the eggs in the two nests that I was monitoring. Therefore - I have no diary because the mongoose ate it!
The Crowned Lapwing prefers dry, open habitats, be it a grassland, airfield, or even a city park. These birds nest on a shallow scrape on the ground, lined with bits of soil, small stones and dry plant fragments. The eggs are a dark yellowish buff to deep khaki or olive brown, boldly spotted with black and grey. The lapwings rely on the fact that its eggs are colored such that they match the background so closely that they are indistinguishable from it, unfortunately not so with darkness and a hungry mongoose on the loose.
The White tailed mongoose (Ichneumia albicauda) is primarily nocturnal and terrestrial. By day they will rest in abandoned aardvark burrows, termite mounds, or in cavities under tree roots. The generic name Ichneumia derives from the Greek "ichneumon," meaning "a tracker". The specific name albicauda is derived from the Latin, albus for "white", and cauda for "tail." They feed mainly on insects, but have a diverse diet and may also consume rats, mice, shrews, lizards, snakes and small birds. They are also known to eat the eggs of wild birds, breaking the shell by throwing the egg backwards between their hind legs against a hard object, as in the case of the Lapwings eggs, and my "unfinished" diary.
Michelle Swemmer - Field Guide