98 http://www.africanhuntinggazette.com
numbers,butAfricandovesandpigeonscan
be found in significant numbers in nearly
every country with hunting. Unlike in
South America,there isa widediversityof
speciesavailable,andthenew SCIprogram
recognizes 12 of them.Theseincludetheblue-
spotted, Cape turtle, cinnamon, emerald-
spotted, laughing, mourning, Namaqua,
olive pigeon(aka Kameron/Cameron),red-
eyedand tambourinedoves, alongwiththe
greenpigeonandtherockdove,thecommon
pigeonofNorthAmerica.Mostcanbefound
ineastandsouthernAfrica.SCIrequiresthat
a huntertakenineofthesespecies to qualify
fortheirawards program.Sandgrouse
Sandgrouse are the most-reveredof Africa’s
gamebirds,havingbeenreferencedin muchof
theclassicAfricanhuntingliterature.Theyare
fast-flyingbirdssimilartoa pigeon,although
they’redressedinnaturalbrownsas aretypical
partridge. The SCI program includes four
species - the Burchell’s, the double-banded,the Namaqua and the yellow-throated. All
arefoundinsouthernAfrica,withNamibia
andBotswanatherecognizedepicenters.To
qualify for the sandgrouse award, three of
thesespecies must be collected.Ducks
Therearemorethantwo-dozenduckspecies
presentacrossAfrica,thoughSCIhasselected
only 12 as part oftheir program, focusing
onthosefoundinsoutherncountries.These
includetheAfricanblack,theCapeshoveller,
theCapeteal,thefulvouswhistlingduck,the
Hottentotteal,thecomb(knob-billed)duck,
thered-billedandyellow-billedteal,theSouth
Africanshelduck,thesouthernpochard,the
white-backedduckandthewhite-facedduck.
Qualificationfortheawardsprogramrequires
thata hunter take a minimum of nine of these
species.Geese
The program classifies three goose species,
including the Egyptian goose, the spur-
wingedgoose(thelargestgooseintheworld)
andthepygmygoose,whichis actuallya duck
despiteits name. Allare widely distributed
acrossmuchofEastandsouthernAfrica.To
qualifyfortheAfricanGeese award, all three
speciesmustbetaken.Birds to be submitted for consideration
in the program are not measured as is
requiredwithbiggameanimals.Rather,SCI
requires that a field photograph showing
the distinguishing characteristics of each
bird be submitted. To protect the ethical
considerations oftheprogram, SCI further
stipulatesthat:
1.Eachspeciesmusthavebeenhuntedbya
legalmethodwithinthecountrywhereit
is harvested;- That each species must have a known
populationstatus;
3.Thatbirdsbeharvestedduringa specified
huntingseasonforthespecies;and
4.Thatthespeciesberecognizedaseitheran
uplandgamebirdorwaterfowlspecies by
theSCIGameBirdsCommittee.
It is notclearfromtheirprogrampromotional
material, but the wording in SCI’s online
description ofthe awardsprogramsuggests
that birds beyond those specifically listed
on the awards submission form would be
acceptedprovidedtheymeetthefourcriteria
identifiedabove.
Formanyyearshuntershavebeenshooting
birdsasanadd-ontotheirbig-gamehunts,a
relaxingdiversionwhentheyhaveanafternoon
off or are looking for a little variety for theGuineafowlarecommonacrossAfrica,but their cunning ways make hunting them a
challenging and rewarding endeavor.Thegreywingpartridgeisoneofthe world’s
most revered upland game birds.Wingshooting Africa:By Ken Bailey