Birds featured thus far were those that I found to occur most commonly in Zimbabwean traditional beliefs and folklore. However a number of gaps still exist as only those that could be corroborated by at least three separate individuals were included in the original book text. Unless specifically mentioned, these have also been omitted in this blog.
Taxa dealt with in this post are those that I identified specifically during interviews with individuals of Shona origin, but for which I was unable to confirm from three individual sources. These (and some other taxa) warrant further investigation.
Cisticolas
Cisticolas are believed to be the king of birds by some Shona people, who substitute the Fork-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) with a cisticola in their version of popular orature. This tale tells of the drongo that won the title by having the presence of mind to ride on the back of an eagle (or vulture) in order to remain airborne for the longest period during a competition with a cisticola to determine who would be king.
This substitution of cisticolas for the drongo may be derived from the fact that most cisticola species remain relatively inconspicuous for most of the year, and are usually only seen and heard calling during decent from relatively lofty flight displays over their grassland breeding habitat. The Cloud Cisticola (Cisticola textrix) is a classical example in this regard. It also seems possible that this tale is derived from similar European beliefs surrounding the Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) as described in the book Birds and People.
Shona names for cisticolas – Timba, Dimba
For further information on the Cloud Cisticola visit:
https://ebird.org/species/clocis1
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/cloud-cisticola-cisticola-textrix
Additional Reference:
Cocker, M & Tipling, D. (2013). Birds and People, Jonathan Cape, London, England.
Pin-tailed Whydah
The Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua macroura) is common in open habitats, including agricultural fields. During breeding, the adult male sports a long black tail, white underparts and bright reddish bill, while in non-breeding plumage, both male and female are substantially duller in appearance. The female remains relatively drab in all seasons, only changing bill colour during breeding. During the breeding season, males are particularly active and appear somewhat disruptive whilst in display to numerous females. A belief of some Shona is that the male is particularly vain and always attracts at least six females into his ‘harem’. The male thus is referred to as ‘the King of six’. In addition, the male is said to be ‘de-plumed’ by birds of prey following every breeding season to humble him. I was unable to adequately corroborate this, and it is also possible that this is derived from a similar tale historically told by people of Afrikaans origin, who name this bird ‘Koningrooibekkie’ or ‘King red-beak’.
Shona names for the Pin-tailed Whydah – Tsekedzamakaya, Tzidikidzamutsetse
For further information on this species visit:
https://ebird.org/species/pitwhy?siteLanguage=en_AU
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/22719988
Bee-eaters, Swallows, and Martins
The arrival of migratory bee-eaters, swallows, and martins from the north coincides with the spring and summer rains, and thus these birds were believed to herald precipitation by some individuals of Shona origin that I interviewed. While this seems perfectly plausible I was unable to corroborate this information from three independent sources, and thus did not include these taxa in the original text.
Shona name for bee-eaters – Gamanyuchi, Pfunyepfunye
Shona name for swallows and martins – Nyenganyenga, Mherepere
For further information on bee-eaters visit:
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.info/birds/meropidae/index.htm
For further information on swallows and martins visit:
http://www.biodiversityexplorer.info/birds/hirundinidae/index.htm
Calls of the Southern Red Bishop and Common Bulbul
The songs of the Southern Red Bishop (Euplectes orix) and the black-eyed Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) were also mentioned as being harbingers of imminent rainfall, indicating that planting of crops should commence. Although I was unable to adequately corroborate the importance of the call for both taxa, the Red Bishop seems plausible as it does share similar nest building attributes with the related weavers, being particularly active in this regard prior to the rains. The reason as to why the bulbul is included in this category seem less clear, as they actively call year round. I concluded that this may be the result of confusion between taxa.
Shona names for the Southern Red Bishop – Chikenya, Nyamafuro
Shona name for the Common Bulbul – Chigwenhure
For further information on the Southern Red Bishop visit:
https://ebird.org/species/redbis/
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/22719186
For further information on the Common Bulbul visit:
https://ebird.org/species/combul2?siteLanguage=en_AU
http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/7187
In further posts I will cover bird names listed for all Zimbabwean taxa in alphabetical order.
Birdlore 