Animalia Life

Burhinus capensis
TAXONOMY
Oedicnemus capensis Lichtenstein, 1823, Cape of Good Hope. Four subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Spotted thick-knee, Cape dikkop, Cape thick-knee; French: Oedicnиme bistriй; German: Dominikanertriel; Spanish: Alcaravбn Venezolano. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 16–17.5 in (37–44 cm) Most obviously spotted thick-knee, rich rusty-brown with bold black arrow- head spots, whiter below with fine streaks and white on the face, behind the eye, and on the throat. The bill base, eyes, and legs are rich yellow. This is an elongated species, long-winged and long-tailed.
DISTRIBUTION
Found in a narrow sub-Saharan band from Senegal on the west coast to the Horn of Africa in the east, with a small, isolated population in Arabia; extends south, more widely and commonly, through East Africa to Zambia and in a broad zone across the south of the continent. The
DISTRIBUTION
reflects unsuitable areas of the Sahara in the north and the Congo basin forests in West Africa.
HABITAT
Semi-arid areas away from marshes and rivers, but sometimes more or less wooded in dry savannas or around clumps of trees and bushes near open grasslands; such cover is important in providing daytime shade and shelter. Sometimes found on playing fields, parkland, and near coastal beaches.
BEHAVIOR
Seeks shade and cover by day; pairs or small groups remain quiet and still until dusk except on dull, cloudy days when they may feed.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Typical plover-like feeding action involves a steady forward walk and a swiveling, tilting motion to pick up food from the ground in the bill. Large insects are favored, but a number of crustaceans and frogs are eaten, as well as a limited amount of vegetable matter, mainly seeds. It feeds mostly at night and entirely on the ground.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Pairs are monogamous, probably established for several seasons, breeding in the dry season or at the beginning of seasonal rains. The nest is a simple hollow made on bare ground with the feet, sparsely lined with small pebbles, grass, leaves, and dried animal droppings. Lays two eggs (less often one or three) and incubation lasts 24 days; chicks fly at eight weeks.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Its ability to cope with human activity and limited alteration of open habitats allows the spotted dikkop to thrive in quite wellpopulated areas, so long as disturbance and persecution remain slight and housing or industrial development is absent. Generally quite numerous in suitable areas, one of the more common and most secure thick-knees.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Most African people take little or no specific notice of the spotted dikkop in areas where nocturnal noise from an assortment of birds and mammals is common.

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