Nothing much seemed to be happening, with only Cape Turtle and Emerald-spotted Wood doves, Red-capped Larks and a few Burchell’s Sandgrouse apparently the only visitors at the waterhole.
Suddenly, in the shade of a step in the limestone formation, a movement next at the water caught my eye. The next moment an African wild cat leapt up to catch a dove coming in to land, but the bird managed to avoid the little predator. Some 10 minutes later the cat noticed a Cape Turtle Dove that had landed on the limestone step; again, its lightning-fast attack was unsuccessful and the dove escaped unscathed.
The wild cat settled in the shade again, effectively camouflaged, and closely tracked the arrival of every bird. It launched a few more attempts, but all were either aborted or unsuccessful. At 07h51 the cat once again leapt straight up, twisted around a metre above the ground and fell back to earth, head first. With its front paws it had snaffled an Emerald-spotted Wood Dove in mid-air, but then fallen before it could secure its prey between its teeth and had to release the dove.
This story is from the September/October 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
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This story is from the September/October 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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