Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

Green-backed Heron

Butorides striata atricapillus

The Green-backed Heron, also known as the Striated Heron in many parts of its range, is a shy species inhabiting aquatic habitats (swamps, estuaries, lakes, rivers, streams, floodplains and mangrove stands), with a well-vegetated border. Here they feed on a wide-range of mostly water-related prey such as worms, insects, molluscs, crabs, frogs, fish (often attracted with a piece of bait, like floating bread) and even small vertebrates.

These relatively small herons (length 40cm, weight 215g) are mainly active from dusk to dawn. Green-backed Herons are monogamous and pairs usually breed well away from others of their species and only occasionally in small colonies. Their nests are shallow platforms constructed of twigs and reeds in the branches of trees of bushes. They breed throughout the year with a peak coinciding with the rainy season. Clutches of 2-5 eggs are incubated by both parents for 3-4 weeks. The chicks can fly strongly by the time they’re about 5 weeks old.

While this species has a wide distribution across the world (Asia, Australia, the Americas and Africa south of the Sahara), they’re confined mostly to the wetter eastern and northern provinces of South Africa. The IUCN lists the species as being of least concern, though they do note that the population is probably in decline due mostly to loss of habitat.

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed heron

Green-backed Heron

Got it! Green-backed Heron catching dragonflies

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

An immature Green-backed Heron being very distrustful of a large Nile Crocodile

An immature Green-backed Heron in flight (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron (immature)

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron swallowing a huge Tilapia (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Green-backed Heron

Immature Green-backed Herons

Green-backed Heron

Southern Black Flycatcher

10 Replies

Melaenornis pammelaina

The Southern Black Flycatcher inhabits open, tall woodlands, often along rivers or otherwise near water, and the edges of forests. They’ve also adapted to plantations and gardens. They feed mainly on a wide variety of insects, often pounced on from a low perch such as a branch or fence post, but do include nectar and berries in their diet as well.

This species closely resembles both the Square-tailed Drongo and the Fork-tailed Drongo, which it appears to be mimicking and often associates with. Adults reach up to 20cm in length and weigh up to 32g. They are usually encountered in pairs or small family groups.

The breeding season in the Southern Black Flycatcher spans spring and summer. Nests are cup-shaped formations of dry grass and twigs, built in hollow tree trunks or tangled vegetation. Clutches contain up to 4 eggs, incubated for 2 weeks. Both parents take care of the chicks, which fledge between 2 and 3 weeks old.

The Southern Black Flycatcher occurs widely in east, central and southern Africa, and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In South Africa they can be found in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and parts of Gauteng and the North West Province.

Southern Black Flycatcher

Fledgling Southern Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Southern Black Flycatcher

Black Flycatcher

Bronze Mannikin

33 Replies

Spermestes cucullata

With an adult weight of just 10g, the Bronze Mannikin is one of the smallest birds occurring in South Africa. These diminutive seed-eaters’ preferred habitat is grassy areas in moist woodlands, riverine thickets and on forest edges, and they have adapted well to planted suburbia, even expanding their range as a result. They are very dependent on an easily accessible supply of fresh drinking water.

A highly gregarious species, Bronze Mannikins breed through most of the year, excluding mid-winter, reaching a peak in summer. Both sexes co-operate to build the nest, the male bringing the grass to the female who puts together an untidy, ball-shaped structure in a bush or tree, or occasionally on buildings. Two to eight eggs are laid and incubated for about 2 weeks by both parents. The chicks are reared by both the male and female and become independent at 6 weeks of age. They frequently nest in suburban gardens. Outside of the breeding seasons small groups sleep together in larger nests built communally for the purpose.

Bronze Mannikins are common throughout their range, which extends over much of Sub-Saharan Africa, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. In South Africa they are abundant in Gauteng, North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu Natal, from there extending south-westwards along the coast as far as Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin collecting palm strands for nest building

Bronze Mannikin juvenile

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin juveniles watching an adult intently

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin juveniles and adults

Bronze Mannikin juveniles

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikins

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikins picking seeds from the lawns in Crocodile Bridge

Bronze Mannikin

Immature Bronze Mannikins

Bronze Mannikins

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin youngsters

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin youngsters

Bronze Mannikin adult and youngsters

Bronze Mannikins

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikins

Bronze Mannikin

Red-headed Finch

20 Replies

Amadina erythrocephala

Red-headed finches inhabit dry savanna and grassland habitats, where they feed mainly on seeds and small insects. They are dependent on a reliable supply of drinking water and is therefore highly nomadic, especially in the dry season. They are frequently encountered in urban and agricultural areas, where the provision of water has aided an expansion of their distribution. Red-headed Finches grow to 14cm in length and weigh up to 27g.

Red-headed finches are usually encountered in flocks of varying sizes, often mixed with other small seed-eating birds. They breed throughout the year inside the abandoned nests of other birds or in holes in trees or buildings, with most eggs laid from late summer to spring. Females may lay as many as 11 eggs, though clutches usually number 4 to 6 eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for around 2 weeks, with the hatchlings leaving the nest when they’re between 2 and 3 weeks old.

The IUCN considers the Red-headed Finch to be of least concern, describing their population as common and stable. In South Africa they occur across portions of all our provinces, with their distribution further extending into Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Unfortunately there is a market for wild caught Red-headed Finches in the pet trade.

Red-headed finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (female)

Red-headed Finch pair (male – left and female – right)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch (female)

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch pair

Red-headed Finch (male)

Red-headed Finch males

Red-headed Finch pair

Red-headed Finches

Female Red-headed Finch

Red-headed Finch

Red-headed Finch (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope

27 Replies

Hippotragus niger

To us, the Sable is the most majestic of all the antelope – the proud bulls with their gracefully curved horns, pitch-black bodies and contrasting white stomachs make a sight to behold! The Sable is a large antelope, weighing from 180 to 270 kg and standing up to 1.4m high at the shoulder. Bulls are only slightly larger than the cows.

The Sable Antelope inhabits open woodland and savannas, with medium to long grass, large trees and few shrubs. They are seldom far from water as they need to drink daily. They are almost exclusively grazers, consuming only small quantities of leaves and herbs, especially in the dry season.

Sable Antelope (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope cows

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope

Adult bulls maintain territories through ritual display and serious fights, and attempt to keep passing herds of cows and their calves in their area so that they can mate with receptive females. Breeding herds number about 20 animals, though larger, temporary groups of up to 200 may form in areas of good grazing. Males that aren’t able to hold territories come together in small bachelor herds. A strict hierarchy applies in both the bachelor and breeding herds, and appears to be based on age – the older the animal the higher its rank. Sable Antelope are most active in the early mornings and evenings, sometimes into the night, and rest in the shade during the heat of the day. Sable can be very dangerous and defend themselves valiantly against predator attacks – when cornered they will back into a thorny bush and face the attacker head-on with powerful swipes of those magnificent horns – even lions have been killed by Sable!

Most Sable calves are born in the rainy season, after a gestation of about 9 months. Cows leave their herds a few days before their calves are born and the calf then stays hidden for 2 to 4 weeks, during which time the mother nurses it twice daily, before joining up with the herd again. Young bulls are expelled from the herds at about three years of age to join bachelor groups, until they can establish their own territory at 5 – 6 years of age. Females remain in their maternal herds. Lions and crocodiles are the only natural threat to adult Sable Antelope, but leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and wild dogs take a heavy toll on calves, especially while they are kept hidden those first few weeks of life. Sable have a life expectancy in the wild of between 10 and 18 years.

With a relatively stable population of 75,000 distributed from southern Kenya to northern South Africa, the IUCN considers the Sable Antelope as being of least concern overall, with at least half of this population occurring in protected areas. Outside of formal conservation areas they are becoming increasingly rare due to hunting and loss of habitat. An isolated population in Angola, known as the Giant Sable (H.n.variani) numbers only between 200 and 400 and is considered critically endangered. In South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe the Sable is regarded a valuable game ranching animal (mostly for trophy hunting) and as a result has been introduced widely onto private land, also outside their historical distribution range, representing the only sub-populations that are actually increasing in number and now make up about a quarter of the total population. South Africa’s biggest natural population occurs in the Kruger National Park, where their numbers have dropped significantly over the years due to competition from other herbivores. They can also be seen, amongst others, at Marakele, Mokala and Pilanesberg National Parks, at Loskop Dam and Willem Pretorius Game Reserves and in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve.

Sable Antelope

Kgaswane scenery towering above a herd of sable antelope

This time we had good views of the magnificent sable antelope for which Kgaswane is so well known

Sable antelope in the distance

Sable Antelope females and calves

Sable Antelope cow

Sable Antelope bull and cow

Sable Antelope

Sable antelope

Sable Antelope calf

Sable Antelope bull and harem

Sable Antelope on the S36 between Tshokwane and Talamati

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope cow

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope

Sable Antelope just outside Senyati’s camping area

Cape White-eye

26 Replies

Zosterops virens

Cape White-eyes are familiar birds in many South African suburbs, where their confiding attitude and characteristic song make them a well-loved garden bird. They inhabit a wide variety of naturally woody habitats, from forests to mountain scrub, as well as plantations and orchards. They feed primarily on insects, but will include fruits, flowers and nectar in their diet.

Cape White-eyes are social little birds, weighing only about 11g and growing to 12cm in length and usually seen in pairs or small flocks. They breed throughout the year, though mostly in summer, with both pair mates constructing the small cup-shaped nest from fine materials and spider web, well hidden deep in the dense foliage of a tree or shrub. Clutches contain 2-4 eggs and are incubated by both parents for almost 2 weeks, with the chicks taking to the wing for the first time when they’re about 14 days old.

The Cape White-eye occurs widely over Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa (with the exception of the more arid parts of the Northern Cape, Free State and North West provinces), with a few scattered records from Botswana and Mozambique. The IUCN lists the Cape White-eye as being of least concern.

Cape White-eye

Cape White-eyes

Cape White-eye

Southern Boubou

17 Replies

Laniarius ferrugineus

The shy Southern Boubou is heard far more often than it is seen and engages in a melodious duet that is often quite unique to the pair in note-combinations and pitch. They inhabit forests, thickets, dense coastal shrublands and riverine vegetation where they forage in the tangled undergrowth for insects, worms, snails, lizards, eggs, fruits, nectar and seeds. They have also adapted to well-planted gardens in some towns and cities. Adults grow to 22cm in length and weigh around 60g.

Southern Boubous are usually seen singly or in monogamous pairs that claim a small, lifelong territory for themselves. The females are responsible for building the shallow cup-shaped nest (using grass, twigs and roots) in a densely-leaved plant, but both parents take turns to incubate the clutch of 2 or 3 eggs for a little over two weeks and feeding the newly hatched chicks, which fledge at about 2 weeks old and stay with their parents for up to 3 months longer. Their breeding season spans spring and summer.

Apart from South Africa (where it is found from the Western Cape coast and adjacent interior, through the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal to Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West Province) the Southern Boubou occurs only in southern Mozambique, Swaziland and a small portion of Botswana and Zimbabwe along the course of the Limpopo River. It is considered to be of least concern by the IUCN.

Southern Boubou

Deadly battle between a Southern Boubou and a Boomslang

Southern Boubou

Cape Wagtail

17 Replies

Motacilla capensis

One of South Africa’s most familiar garden birds, the Cape Wagtail is usually seen in pairs of small family groups, and named for the family’s characteristic “pumping” of the tail while sitting or walking. They occupy any natural habitat that offers open ground near or adjacent to even the smallest water source (they love to bath) and have adapted superbly to farms, parks and gardens. Cape Wagtails feed primarily on insects and other invertebrates, as well as human scraps in urban settings. Adults are about 20cm long and weigh around 21g.

While there is a distinct peak in breeding attempts during spring and early summer, Cape Wagtails have been recorded as breeding throughout the year. Their nests are built in trees, bushes or earthen walls, and even in man-made structures, using a wide range of plant and other materials, Monogamous pairs stay together through several successive breeding seasons, raising clutches of 1-5 chicks that hatch after an incubation period of two weeks. The chicks leave the nest at around two weeks old but only become independent of their parents about 6 weeks later.

Cape Wagtails are patchily distributed from Kenya and Uganda to southern Africa. It occurs virtually all over South Africa and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN, having recovered from a population decline following the introduction of domestic insecticides in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Cape Wagtails

Cape Wagtail

Cape wagtail

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtail nest

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtail welcoming us to our chalet (photo by Joubert)

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtails

Cape Wagtail

Speckled Mousebird

24 Replies

MousebirdColius striatus

Mousebirds are a uniquely African order of six species, named for their habit of clambering around the branches of trees and shrubs in a very rodent-like manner. Speckled Mousebirds, both the largest and the most widely distributed of the family, inhabits thickets, moist savannas, woodlands and forests, and particularly the edges of these, as well as well-wooded drainage lines, exotic plantations and suburban parks and gardens in otherwise unsuitable areas (such as the grasslands of our Highveld). They feed on fruit, berries, seeds, leaves, buds, flowers and nectar. Adults are around 35cm long (their tail making up roughly half of this) and weigh about 55g.

Speckled Mousebirds congregate in small flocks of 5 to 20 birds, moving around from tree to tree one after the other, and often in association with other kinds of mousebirds. Breeding in Speckled Mousebirds have been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in spring and summer. Nests are untidy cups of grass lined with fine material built in trees or shrubs. Clutches of 1 to 7 eggs are incubated by both parents for a period of two weeks. Some males may have active nests with more than one female. Chicks start leaving the nest to clamber around the branches when they’re about 10 days old, and become independent at only three weeks of age. Breeding pairs may have as many as 6 helpers assisting to raise their latest brood.

The IUCN describes the Speckled Mousebird as common and widespread with an increasing population and distribution, listing it as being of least concern. They occur from Cameroon in the west to Ethiopia in the east and then southwards to South Africa, being absent from the equatorial forests and arid south-west of the continent. In South Africa they can be found in all our provinces, excluding the driest parts of the Free State, Northern Cape and North West Province.

Speckled mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird raiding apricots

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled mousebird

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds in a bare tree

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird at Jack’s Picnic Spot

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebird sharing on the spoils of a monkey raid

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Speckled Mousebirds

Speckled Mousebird

Southern Tree Agama

25 Replies

Acanthocercus atricollis atricollis

As their name would suggest, the Southern Tree Agama is a mainly arboreal lizard, coming to ground only to move from one tree to another and to feed on ground-living insects. They inhabit open savanna landscapes, especially those dominated by thorn and miombo (Brachystegia) trees, and feed on ants, termites, caterpillars, grasshoppers, beetles and other invertebrates. Adults grow to between 12 and 15cm long, excluding the tail. Breeding males are very colourful and not nearly as well camouflaged as the females, non-breeding males and young.

Southern Tree Agamas are diurnal, sleeping at night in hollow trunks or under loose bark. Males are territorial and will fight each other viciously. Their breeding season spans spring and summer, when females dig a hole in moist soil in which they lay between 5 and 14 eggs that hatch in about 3 months.

The Southern Tree Agama occurs patchily from eastern Africa southwards to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. The IUCN considers this species of least concern. In South Africa they are commonly encountered in the provinces of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and nothern Kwazulu-Natal. They are very tolerant of humans and is a common sight in the rest camps of the Kruger National Park.