Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

Sickle-winged Chat

Emarginata sinuata

Many birds that live in arid habitats sport a rather dull colouration, and the Sickle-winged Chat, which inhabits fynbos, the open and arid Karoo plains and rocky mountain sides follows the same recipe for blending in with their sparsely vegetated surroundings. They feed mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Sickle-winged Chats are usually seen alone or in pairs. They breed during the warmer parts of the year, building their nest on the ground at the base of a shrub of a tuft of grass and raising a clutch of 2-4 chicks.

The Sickle-winged Chat is endemic to Southern Africa, occurring in the western and central provinces of South Africa, throughout Lesotho and into southern Namibia. The IUCN considers it to be of least concern, given an apparently stable population and wide distribution.

Sickle-winged Chat

Buquet’s Vagrant

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Nepheronia buquetii

Buquet’s Vagrant – also sometimes called the Green-eyed Monster – is a species of butterfly occurring from the Western Cape, through coastal Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal and into the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Adults have a wingspan of about 5cm and can be seen throughout the year.

Buquet’s Vagrant

Southern Tchagra

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Tchagra tchagra

The Southern Tchagra is a secretive bird that rarely ventures into the open and is difficult to see and even more so to photograph, even though they may be quite plentiful in at least parts of their range. They’re found from the Western Cape to the escarpment in Mpumalanga, occupying thickets in fynbos, thorny riverine vegetation, and woodland as well as the margins of evergreen forests. It feeds primarily on insects and other invertebrates, occasionally supplementing their diet with seeds and berries.

Southern Tchagras are monogamous and territorial. They build their cup-shaped nests well hidden inside a densely leafed shrub. The clutch of 2 or 3 eggs take a day or two over 2 weeks to hatch. The chicks grow quickly and leave the nest by the time they’re 2-3 weeks old. Fully grown Southern Tchagras measure around 21cm in length and weigh approximately 47g.

According to the IUCN there’s evidence that the Southern Tchagra is increasing in numbers and expanding its range and therefore lists it as being of least concern.

Southern Tchagra

Southern Tchagra (photo by Joubert)

Southern Tchagra

Karoo Girdled Lizard

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Karusasaurus (Cordylus) polyzonus

The Karoo Girdled Lizard inhabits a large swathe of arid central and western South Africa, extending into southern Namibia, where it prefers rocky habitats and feeds on insects, being especially fond of beetles and grasshoppers. They’re often observed basking on exposed rocks, even in the heat of the day, and some populations hibernate through winter in tunnels dug beneath boulders. Females give birth to usually 2 babies during the height of summer. They grow to about 10cm in length, tail excluded. The IUCN considers the Karoo Girdled Lizard to be of least concern.

Karoo Girdled Lizard

Orange-breasted Waxbill

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Amandava subflava

A beautiful little seed-eating bird that is very patchily distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Orange-breasted Waxbill, or Zebra Waxbill, inhabits moist grasslands and reedbeds. In South Africa it is therefore found mainly in the higher rainfall areas of the northern Free State, eastern North West Province, Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal.

These waxbills take over the disused nests of other birds, converting it to their liking at the onset of the breeding season at the end of summer. The parents incubate the clutch of 3-7 eggs in turns, with the chicks hatching after about two weeks. The chicks grow quickly, fledging before they’re 3 weeks old and becoming independent about a fortnight later.

According to the IUCN the Orange-breasted Waxbill is in no danger of extinction.

Orange-breasted Waxbill

Orange-breasted Waxbills

Orange-breasted Waxbill

Orange-breasted Waxbills

Orange-breasted Waxbill

Spike-heeled Lark

4 Replies

Chersomanes albofasciata

Spike-heeled Larks are nondescript little birds that inhabit open grasslands and scrublands, feeding on a wide variety of insects and other invertebrates. They move around in groups of up to 10 individuals and prefer areas with natural vegetation and seldom venture into cultivated or otherwise disturbed land.

Spike-heeled Larks nest in a scrape on the ground, usually made at the base of a grass tussock or shrub but in more arid areas even a pile of stones or sticks will do, as long as it provides some shade during the hottest hours of the day. It appears that they breed in response to rainfall and clutches may number up to 5 eggs, though 2 or 3 is the norm. The female incubates the eggs which hatch within 2 weeks, but both parents take responsibility for feeding the chicks until they leave the nest – sometimes even before they can fly. The chicks become independent at less than a month old.

Despite noting that their populations are probably declining due to expanding agriculture, the IUCN lists the Spike-heeled Lark as being of least concern. The species is found in parts of every South African province with its core distribution extending into neighbouring Botswana, Namibia and beyond into Angola, with isolated populations in the DRC and Tanzania.

Spike-heeled Lark

Tasman’s Girdled Lizard

7 Replies

Cordylus tasmani

Tasman’s Girdled Lizard occurs only in a limited area of the Eastern Cape, around (and on islands in) Algoa Bay. Here it lives in dead aloes and trees and on rocky outcrops and subsists on a diet of insects and other invertebrates. These are small lizards, growing to only about 7cm (tail excluded). Tasman’s Girdled Lizard is considered by some authorities, including the IUCN, to be a form of the more widely spread Cape Girdled Lizard.

Tasman’s Girdled Lizard

World Wildlife Day 2025

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In celebration of World Wildlife Day we take a look back at the 53 species of Southern African wildlife we featured in detail here at DeWetsWild through the past twelve months.

Zitting Cisticola

Large Striped Swordtail

Cape Teal

Natal Plum / Large Num-num

Blue-billed Teal

Perennial Glasswort

Marbled Leaf-toed Gecko

African Reed Warbler

Marsh Owl

Sandman Butterfly

Southern Pochard (photo by Joubert)

Pea Blue butterflies

Willow Warbler (photo by Joubert)

Caspian Tern

Purple Roller (photo by Joubert)

Broad-billed Roller

Large-leaved Dragon Plant

Streaky-headed Seedeater

Little Bittern

African death’s-head hawkmoth

Freshwater Crab

Chimpanzee

Little Blenny fish in a rock pool at Mission Rocks

Common Tree Euphorbia in fruit

Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbia

Wild Date Palm blowing in the wind

Barn Swallow

Marico Flycatcher

Veined Tip

Red-sided Skink

Ground Pangolin

Red-capped Lark

Black-striped Hairtail

Spotted-necked Otter

Knob Thorn

Millipede

Striped Skaapsteker

Red-billed Spurfowl

African Veined White slurping nectar from an Impala Lily flower

Flat-crown Tree

Common Scimitarbill

Gemsbok walking through Wild Rosemary (aka Kapokbos) in seed

Star Lily (Hypoxis) flowers

Bradfield’s Hornbill

Chocolate Bells

Common Brown Water Snake

Buff-streaked Chat

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins

Fairy Flycatcher

Karoo Toad

Ludwig’s Bustard

Common Milkweed Locust

Barn Owl

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Tyto alba

The species of owl with the widest distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica, the Barn Owl is also found throughout South Africa and often in close association with human habitation. While it may roost in mine shafts and on buildings in towns and cities, in natural environments Barn Owls roost in trees and caves in any habitat with suitable numbers of prey. Barn Owls are almost completely nocturnal and feed on an extremely wide variety of creatures, ranging from insects and other invertebrates, small reptiles and birds to mammals the size of hares and rabbits.

Barn Owls nest at any time of year, using roost sites in building, hollows in trees or caves in which the female incubate clutches of about 6 eggs for approximately a month while the male provides her with food. When food is scarce chicks that hatch earlier may sometimes cannibalise their younger siblings. The chicks may stay in the nest for up to 2 months before taking their first flight, and usually start hunting for themselves at about 3 months of age.

With a worldwide population estimated at as many as 10 million, the IUCN considers the Barn Owl to be of least concern.

Barn Owl

Barn Owl fast asleep at Fish Eagle Picnic Spot

Barn Owl

Barn Owl in flight (photo by Joubert)

Common Milkweed Locust

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Phymateus morbillosus

The vibrant colours of the Common Milkweed Locust, both in the adults and in the nymphs, serves as a warning to any would-be predators that these insects are not only foul-tasting but also potentially lethally toxic. They feed on poisonous plants, incorporating the toxins into their own tissues. The females lay their eggs in late summer with the nymphs then appearing the following spring and maturing slowly over the next 2 years. They’re found in open habitats over most of South Africa and usually in groups congregating on their favourite food plants.