Bokmakierie ( Telophorus zeylonus, family: Malaconotidae)

bokmakierie kruger national park birds The Bokmakierie (Latin name Telophorus zeylonus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 746 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 700 also a picture of the Bokmakierie on page 721. The Bokmakierie belongs to the family of birds classified as Malaconotidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Bokmakierie is also known by these other names: Bakbakiri.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

Near endemic species is one that is confined to a specific geographical region rather than a single country for example. Certain birds in The Kruger National Park are near endemic to Mozambique, and Zimbabwe for example. One such example is the Bokmakierie and this species depends upon a certain type of habitat for survival. Destroy that habitat and the bird becomes endangered.

In terms of distribution of the Bokmakierie in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Bokmakierie : see above distribution map.

Bokmakierie Bush ShrikeIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Bokmakierie is a smallish bird but somewhat larger than a house sparrow. The height of the Bokmakierie is about 23 cms and its weight is about 65 gms

The male and female Bokmakierie have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is yellow.
  • Eye is brown.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is yellow.
  • Back is yellow.
  • Legs are blue.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Bokmakierie feeds on the ground, and on the wing mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Bokmakierie is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Telophorus zeylonus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Bokmakierie is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 2 to 5

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Bokmakierie are: grasslands

You will normally see the Bokmakierie in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Ingqwangi

Zulu ... iNkovu

Afrikaans ...Bokmakierie

German ... Bokmakiri

Portuguese ... Boquemaquire

French ... Gladiateur bacbakiri

Dutch ... Bokmakierie-Klauwier

First bird in list | Previous bird viewed | Next KNP bird | Last bird in list

For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 746

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za