Tiny tales about a tinkerbird

I AM watching with great interest a little bird industriously hollowing out a nest on a dead branch of a coral tree near my front door.

For its size this tiny bird, a yellow-rumped tinkerbird, is amazingly industrious and it hasn’t taken it long to excavate a fair-sized hollow. However, it might just be practising as it is not really its breeding season.

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This adorable little bird has a dramatic black and white striped face that contrasts well with his yellow rump and the bright yellow and black wings. He used to be known as a goldenrumped tinker barbet,which reminds us that the tinkerbirds are part of the African barbet family, closely related to the larger barbets that occur in our region.

Here are some interesting facts about this striking little bird.

* It is one of three tinkerbirds that occur in our region. The others are the red-fronted tinkerbird and the yellow-fronted tinkerbird. Two occurrences of a fourth tinkerbird, the vagrant or very rare resident green tinkerbird, have also been recorded in southern Africa.

* It has six larger southern African barbet cousins.

* All barbets and tinkerbirds are fruit eating birds and have large, robust bills they use to dig cavities in dead wood for roosting and breeding.

* The yellow-rumped tinkerbird is a fairly common resident in well-treed areas.

* It occurs in the extreme east of the region, from KwaZulu-Natal northward.

* If you have a resident tinkerbird in your garden you are sure to be aware of its presence. It makes itself heard with a ringing pop pop pop pop song.

Source: Roberts’ Birds of Southern Africa and Sasol Birds of Southern Africa.

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