False Goliath beetle A helicopter in the forest? No: that’s the noise of a goliath beetle flying past. These huge insects are among the world’s heaviest, with the grubs of some species weighing more than a mouse. 111 msafiri Red- billed quelea This small member of the weaver family is the world’s most numerous bird, despite being confined to Africa. Flocks millions- strong, pulsing like giant shoals of fish, can strip a harvest in hours. Gorilla The immense power of a gorilla would surely bag it an Olympic weight- lifting medal. In fact this massive animal already scales the podium as the world’s largest primate: mature silverback males may exceed 220kg. Goliath frog Believe it or not, Africa’s largest frog is bigger than its smallest antelope ( the bijou royal antelope). The goliath frog, confined to coastal rivers in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, can weigh up to a massive 3kg. Sociable weaver The sociable weaver, a sparrow- like bird of the Kalahari, builds the world’s largest colonial nest. This immense twig- and- grass structure may span more than 5m and contain individual apartments for over 100 pairs of weaver bird. Eg- eating snake If medals were awarded for eating then the African egg- eating snake, which can swallow an egg three times the size of its own head, would surely scoop gold. Howe does it manage such a massive mouthful? An ability to dislocate its jaws is the trick. TORSTEN BREHM/ NATUREPL. COM T. J. RICH/ NATUREPL. COMANDREW MURRAY/ NATUREPL. COM Kim Taylor/ NATUREPL. COM BRUCE DAVIDSON/ NATUREPL. COM

False 112 Cicada This ear- splitting insect generates its relentless noise not by stridulation ( rubbing together legs or wings, as crickets do), but by the rapid, rhythmic contraction of organs on its abdomen called ‘ timbals’. Only males produce the sound. msafiri Barking gecko Forget the lusty roar of black- maned lions: the true sound of the Kalahari is the clicking of male barking geckos as dusk draws them to their burrow entrances. The noise builds as each rival takes up the challenge, like a chorus of shaken matchboxes. Spotted hyena The questioning ‘ whoop’ of spotted hyenas embodies a night in the African bush. It serves to call wandering individuals together so they can pirate a kill and share the spoils. Hadeda ibis Melodic it is not. But the raucous braying of this bird heralds its arrival as surely as a trumpet fanfare – from the gardens of suburban Jo’burg to the lakeshores of Nakuru. Greater ( thick-tailed) bushbaby This, the largest bushbaby, has the loudest territorial call: piercing infant- like shrieks that leave no doubt about the origins of its name. Males patrol the treetops all night long. No dummy or bottle will shut them up. Trumpeter hornbill A ‘ bushbaby’ heard by day is probably one of these big-beaked birds, whose wailing calls help keep the feeding party together. Listen out for the whoosh of wings overhead as they lurch from tree to tree. Tree hyrax If a ‘ bushbaby’ sounds unhappy, then you may well be listening to a tree hyrax, whose crescendo of nocturnal cries climaxes in choking screams. African fish eagle Some celebrate the ringing cry of the fish eagle as the truest evocation of Africa. To others it sounds just like a jumped- up seagull. Either way, this striking raptor gets top marks for effort as it throws back its head in yodelling duet with its mate. Some animals are more remarkable for the racket they make than what they look like. Indeed, with many species, this may be the only evidence that they’re there at all. WILDLIFE WilIAM Gray THE NOISY THE BIG FIVE CAN FOSTER A RATHER BLINKERED VIEW OF THE NATURAL WORLD, WITH LION- LESS GAME DRIVES DEMED A FAILURE Hippo If a fish eagle ( see 9) hasn’t already told you that a river is close, then hippos surely will. Their deep, resonant grunts – amplified by the great barrel of a body – roll for kilometres downstream. Anup Shah/ NATUREPL. COM ichael D. Kern/ NATUREPL. COM RICHARD DU TOIT/ NARICHARD DU TOIT/ NATUREPL. COMNick Garbutt/ NATUREPL. COMTUREPL. COMBRUCE DAVIDSON/ NATUREPL. COM Jose B. Ruiz/ NATUREPL. COM Tony Heald/ NATUREPL. COM