Knock, knock, who’s there?

Last year I stayed at Vilagama Private Game Lodge near Mookgophong. There’s a big marula tree on the property and I heard the sound of a bird pecking at wood. I could hear the bird in the canopy but I couldn’t see it, so I pulled up a chair and waited. After a while, a crested barbet made an appearance. It had been inside the tree trunk the whole time – I couldn’t believe how it managed to squeeze through such a tiny hole! WILLIAM MARSHALL, Pretoria