Yellow-throated longclaw, Macronyx croceus, photographed at Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, Africa.
Image: Dan Logen, 8 January 2010 [velociraptorize].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens with 1.4 x extender ISO 500, f/7.1, 1/500 sec.
Question: If you compare this African mystery bird to yesterday's North American mystery bird, you will notice that they look almost the same. Can you identify these two birds and tell me why they look so similar?
Response: This is a yellow-throated longclaw, Macronyx croceus. This beautiful African mystery bird closely resembles the Meadowlarks which are found in North America due to a phenomenon known as convergent evolution, a situation where two distantly related species independently develop a very similar trait. In this case, the markings of the meadowlarks and the yellow-throated longclaw are very similar despite the fact that these birds evolved on different continents on opposite sides of the earth. But these similarly-coloured and patterned birds live in remarkably similar habitats -- dry savanna, semi-arid prairies and grasslands -- and have similar life histories -- they consume insects and nest on the ground.
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