Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

Orange-breasted Waxbill

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

9 Replies

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

7 Replies

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

18 Replies

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.

Common Milkweed Locust nymphs

Common Milkweed Locust

Common Milkweed Locusts

Common Milkweed Locust

Ludwig’s Bustard

6 Replies

Neotis ludwigii

Ludwig’s Bustard occurs only in the southern and western provinces of South Africa, Namibia and a corner of southern Angola. The IUCN considers it to be an endangered species, sadly indicating that, mainly due to in-flight collisions with telephone and power lines and wind turbines, their population has declined by at least 50% in the past 30 years.

The Ludwig’s Bustard inhabits open, arid scrubland in the Karoo, Kalahari and Namib, migrating considerable distances over these areas as it follows the rains and the resultant proliferation of seeds, rodents, insects and other invertebrates (it is an omnivore) that follows. They’re usually seen either singly or in small groups though congregations of up to 80 individuals have been recorded.

Male Ludwig’s Bustards are territorial, defending a small patch in which they try to keep and mate with as many females as possible during the breeding season that spans the spring and summer months, and playing no further role in the rearing of the precocial chicks. The female nests in a shallow scrape in the ground, usually surrounded by vegetation, incubating a clutch of 1-3 eggs. Fully grown they stand approximately 85cm tall, with a wingspan of up to 1.8m and weighing between 2.5kg and 4.5kg, males being considerably larger than females.

Ludwig’s Bustard

Ludwig’s Bustards

Ludwig’s Bustard

Ludwig’s Bustard coming in for a landing

Ludwig’s Bustards

Ludwig’s Bustard

Karoo Toad

7 Replies

Vandijkophrynus gariepensis

The Karoo Toad is a medium-sized toad found in the dry Karoo, fynbos and moist mountain grassland from the Drakensberg on the border of the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal to the Atlantic coast of the Northern Cape. It is remarkably well adapted to both the extreme winter cold in the mountains and the high temperatures and dry climate of the West Coast. Adults are only about 7-9cm long, the females being larger than the males by a considerable margin. Like most other toads the Karoo Toad feeds mainly on worms and insects.

Karoo Toad

Karoo Toad in the road

Karoo Toad

(Presumed) Karoo Toad

Fairy Flycatcher

10 Replies

Stenostira scita

The tiny Fairy Flycatcher occurs only in South Africa and Lesotho and marginally into neighbouring Namibia and Botswana. Their distribution in our winter months is much wider than in the rest of the year. Fairy Flycatchers live in the more arid and open regions of the country, preferring areas of thorny shrubland and grasslands with pockets of thorn trees, though they have become increasingly numerous in suburban gardens and plantations. Their diet is restricted to invertebrates, including insects and spiders, and they are usually seen singly or in pairs but only very rarely in small groups.

At the start of the nesting period in our spring season the female constructs a cup-shaped nest using very fine materials in a dense shrub. She also takes sole responsibility for incubating the clutch of 2 or 3 eggs which hatch within 3 weeks of being laid, though the male will provide her with food while she is on the nest. Fully grown Fairy Flycatchers weigh only about 6g and measure approximately 11cm in length.

According to the IUCN the Fairy Flycatcher is not at risk of extinction.

Fairy Flycatcher

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

14 Replies

Tursiops aduncus

The Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin has a wide distribution in the coastal waters off Australia, Asia and Africa’s eastern seaboard. Locally they’re found as far west as Table Bay, living on a diet of fish and squid.

Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphins live in pods numbering between 20 and 2,000 individuals. Females give birth to a single baby at 2-6 year intervals, following a 12-month long gestation. Fully grown, these dolphins measure about 2.6m in length and weigh between 150-230kg, and have a life expectancy of up to 40 years in the wild.

The IUCN considers the Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin to be near-threatened, citing the species’ coastal occurrence which brings them into contact with many negative human-induced factors but also indicating that there’s been insufficient research on their population numbers and trends on a global scale.