Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

White-faced Whistling Duck

Dendrocygna viduata

Commonly found in vegetated freshwater habitats in open areas – lakes, swamps, large rivers, dams, estuaries, rice fields (can be a pest when they feed on young rice plants) and even sewage treatment installations, with mudbanks and sandbars for roosting, White-faced Whistling Ducks feed on grasses, seeds, buds, aquatic plants and algae, and aquatic invertebrates like worms, molluscs, insects and crustaceans. The sexes are quite alike, both weighing around 740g.

White-faced Whistling Ducks are most active at night, feeding from dusk to dawn, although they do become more diurnally active in winter. Outside of the breeding season White-faced Whistling Ducks often congregate in enormous flocks numbering several thousands – as many as 70,000 have been counted on river deltas in West Africa!

Breeding commences at the start of the wet season and lasts throughout, when they build their nests on dry ground in dense vegetation, mostly but not always near the water, and occasionally in loose groups or colonies. Pair bonds are very strong and they mate for life. Unusually for ducks, White-faced Whistling Duck males actively take part in the incubation of the eggs and care of the ducklings. The nest is a hollow lined with plant material, hidden in and under dense vegetation. The clutch consists of between 4 and 16 eggs, but normally about 7 to 11, and is incubated for about 4 weeks. Parents will feign a wing injury when predators approach, in order to distract its attention away from the ducklings. The ducklings grow quickly and start flying at about two months old, though they often stay with their parents until the next breeding cycle starts. Following the breeding season, adults undergo a three week period of flightlessness while they moult, keeping to densely vegetated wetlands during this time.

The IUCN estimates the global population of the White-faced Whistling Duck at as many as 2.8-million, and growing, and lists the species as being of least concern. It occurs widely and commonly in Madagascar, Sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South America and the Caribbean. In South Africa, this species is found along the coast in the Western and Eastern Cape, and throughout Kwazulu-Natal, the Free State, North West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.

White-faced Whistling Duck at Kumasinga, uMkhuze

White-faced Whistling Duck

White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-faced whistling ducks, Kwelamadoda Pan, iSimangaliso

White-faced Whistling Duck

White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-faced Whistling Duck

White-faced Whistling Duck being chased by an African Black Duck

White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-faced Ducks

White-faced Duck

White-faced Whistling Duck

White-faced Whistling Duck (photo by Joubert)

White-faced Whistling Duck surrounded by Little Grebes

White-faced Whistling Duck (photo by Joubert)

White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-faced Whistling Duck family

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Family of White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-faced Whistling Ducks

White-fronted Bee-eater

30 Replies

Merops bullockoides

White-fronted Bee-eaters inhabit wooded grasslands and savannas, mostly near large rivers or other reliable water bodies, where they feed mainly on flying insects caught on the wing – most notably honey bees, which make up about ¾ of their diet. They weigh between 30 and 40g.

White-fronted Bee-eaters have a complex and interesting social system. They roost and nest colonially (colonies can number between 20 and 300 birds), requiring large sandbanks in which to dig their tunnels, and will also utilise quarries and erosion ditches for this purpose. Each colony is made up of several distinct groups, known as clans, within which there are between 3 and 6 families made up of a monogamous breeding pair (mating for life) and between 1 and 5 non-breeding birds, usually offspring from previous broods, that will assist their parents to raise a brood. Breeding reaches a peak in spring and early summer. Nesting tunnels are 1-1.5m long with a chamber at the end and dug by both parents and their helpers at the onset of the breeding season. Females lay between 2 and 5 eggs, and cases have been noted of unattached females lying eggs in the nests of unrelated birds when they are not at their post. The eggs are incubated for three weeks by both parents and helpers, and the chicks then fledge at between 3 and 4 weeks old, after which their parents start teaching them to hunt.

The IUCN views the White-fronted Bee-eater as being of least concern, with a widespread, common and increasing population. In South Africa the species is distributed over most of the Free State, Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and a few locations in the Northern and Eastern Cape into which it appears they are expanding their range of late. Outside of our borders, these bee-eaters are found in a wide area of East and Central Africa, avoiding the arid regions in the south-west.

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted bee-eater

White-fronted bee-eaters

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater nest colony

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater in flight

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater (photo by Joubert)

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater (photo by Joubert)

White-fronted Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater (photo by Joubert)

White-fronted Bee-eater snacking on a Guineafowl butterfly

White-fronted Bee-eater

Dark-capped Bulbul

21 Replies

Pycnonotus tricolor

The Dark-capped, or Black-eyed, Bulbul, occurs in savanna and woodland habitats with a reliable supply of fruiting trees and bushes, and is especially common in the gardens and parks of our towns and cities. They feed primarily on fruit, berries and seeds, but will also eat nectar, flower petals and small invertebrates (especially termites). Dark-capped Bulbuls are mostly seen singly, in pairs or in loosely associated small groups, and adults weigh between 30 and 48g.

Nests are cup-shaped formations of roots, grass and twigs placed among dense leaves in trees or bushes. In South Africa they breed almost through the year (except the harshest parts of winter), with a peak in the summer. The female incubates the clutch of 2-3 eggs for around two weeks while the male defends their territory and brings food back for her at the nest. The chicks leave the nest around two weeks after hatching, although they usually can’t fly by then and stick around their nesting tree for a while longer.

In South Africa the Dark-capped Bulbul is found in the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, extreme eastern Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West Provinces. It also occurs over most of Africa southwards from the Cameroon in the west and Ethiopia in the east, with the exception of the arid western parts of southern Africa. The IUCN considers the Dark-capped Bulbul to be a race of the Common Bulbul (P. barbarus) distributed over almost all of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, and the Nile Valley, but it differs in having a conspicuously yellow vent compared to the white vent of the Common Bulbul.

Dark-capped Bulbul

Dark-capped Bulbuls

Dark-capped Bulbul

Dark-capped Bulbul (photo by Joubert)

Dark-capped Bulbul

Dark-capped Bulbul (photo by Joubert)

Dark-capped Bulbul

Chinspot Batis

9 Replies

Batis molitor

The Chinspot Batis is a common inhabitant of savanna and woodland, and more recently also orchards and gardens, where it feeds almost exclusively on insects and spiders foraged from among the bark and leaves of trees and shrubs. They avoid forests and exotic plantations.

These very active little birds (adults weigh only about 12g) move around singly or in pairs, often in mixed groups together with other small insectivorous bird species.

Both sexes build the cup-shaped nest of shredded leaves bound together with spider web and camouflaged with lichen in a fork of a (often thorny) tree. Breeding takes place in spring and summer, when 1-4 eggs are incubated by the female for around 18 days. During this time the female rarely leaves the nest as the male supplies her with food. Both parents take care of the chicks, which leave the nest at around 16-18 days old but stay with their parents for another 6-14 weeks. The male defends the pair’s territory year round.

The Chinspot Batis occurs widely from Kenya (in the east) and Angola (in the west) southwards and is listed as being of least concern by the IUCN. In South Africa it can be found from the Eastern Cape, through Kwazulu-Natal, to Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and the eastern parts of the North West Province.

Chinspot Batis (male)

Chinspot Batis (female) with grasshopper prey

Chinspot Batis (female)

Chinspot Batis (male)

Chinspot Batis (female)

Chinspot Batis (male)

Chinspot Batis (female)

Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis (female)

Chinspot Batis (male)

Chinspot Batis (female)

Chinspot Batis (male)

Chinspot Batis

Female Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis (photo by Joubert)

Chin-spot Batis on its nest

Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis (photo by Joubert)

Female Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis

Chinspot Batis female (photo by Joubert)

Chinspot Batis in Mopani

Chinspot Batis

Pink-backed Pelican

14 Replies

Pelecanus rufescens

Pink-backed Pelicans inhabit a variety of large water bodies and wetlands, including dams, lakes, slow-moving rivers, marshes, lagoons, estuaries and sheltered bays. They are diurnal in habit and feed exclusively on fish and amphibians caught underwater in their large bill pouches. Although one of the smaller kinds of pelican, at a weight of up to 7kg with a wingspan of up to 2.9m, it is still a very large bird.

Although they normally forage singly or in small groups, Pink-backed Pelicans breed communally in colonies numbering from 15-500 pairs, often associating with other species of waterbird at these localities. Pairs are monogamous, and usually build their stick-platform nests in the tops of trees (rarely on the ground) and use them for several consecutive years. In South Africa they breed in the summer rainy season, though further north breeding has been recorded throughout the year. Both sexes incubate the clutch of 1-4 eggs for a period of around 35 days. There’s much squabbling among the nestlings, often leading to smaller chicks dying of starvation or falling from the nest. The chicks start flying at about 3 months old.

The Pink-backed Pelican occurs patchily and irregularly in the provinces of South Africa’s northeast, with the iSimangaliso Wetland Park‘s Lake St. Lucia and Nsumo Pan probably the most reliable spots for viewing this species in our country, hosting an estimated 600 – 900 individuals at one of only three known nesting sites of this species in the country. They’re considered vulnerable in South Africa, suffering due to wetland loss and degradation. North of our borders the Pink-backed Pelican occurs over most of Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and is considered of least concern, with a stable population, by the IUCN.

Pink-backed Pelicans in flight over Nsumo Pan

Pink-backed Pelican in flight

Pink-backed Pelican at dawn

Pink-backed Pelican in flight

Pink-backed Pelicans – iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Pink-backed Pelican

Pink-backed Pelicans

Pink-backed Pelicans feeding

Pink-backed Pelican in flight over Umlalazi Nature Reserve

Pink-backed Pelicans

Pink-backed Pelican

Pink-backed Pelicans

Pink-backed Pelican

Tawny Eagle

11 Replies

Aquila rapax

A species of dry, open woodlands, savannas and semi-deserts, Tawny Eagles have a very wide prey base; hunting anything from amphibians to mammals up to the size of rabbits and young warthogs, and regularly feeding on roadkill or carrion or food stolen from other birds of prey. Tawny Eagles have a wingspan of up to 2m, and weigh up to 3kg.

These large eagles are mostly seen alone or in pairs as they are territorial and resident year-round. They breed on large nests built of sticks and bones on top of isolated trees or utility pylons. They’ll also take over the similarly constructed nests of other large birds like storks and vultures. In South Africa most pairs breed in winter. Clutches contain 1 – 3 eggs and is mainly incubated by the female for a month-and-a-half. For the first few days after hatching the female broods the chicks and the male brings back food to the nest for both her and the chicks. The chicks take their first flight at about 12 weeks old and remain with the parents for another 6 weeks or so thereafter.

Although the Tawny Eagle is still listed as “least concern”, the IUCN notes that its populations are declining over much of its African range, possibly due to persecution through poisoned carcasses and deliberate shooting. The largest part of the population occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa (with the exception of the equatorial forests and southern South Africa) and on the Indian subcontinent, with smaller populations in North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. In South Africa, where they are considered vulnerable, Tawny Eagles are commonly encountered in the north of Kwazulu-Natal, the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo (where there is an estimated 670 in the Kruger National Park), the Limpopo Valley and the Kgalagadi Tranfrontier Park, but seldom elsewhere, indicating that its populations in this country are now mostly confined to major conservation areas, as with many other large raptors.

Tawny Eagle

Tawny eagle, Shisha (Kruger Park)

Tawny Eagle

Tawny Eagle (photo by Joubert)

Tawny Eagle

Tawny Eagle with hare prey

Tawny Eagle

Tawny Eagles feasting on a monitor lizard (photo by Joubert)

Tawny Eagle in flight

Tawny Eagle (photo by Joubert) – bird being cared for at Dullstroom Bird of Prey & Rehabilitation Centre

Tawny Eagle

African Jacana

12 Replies

Actophilornis africanus

Often seen walking across floating vegetation or the backs of hippos with its exceptionally long toes, the African Jacana is a species closely associated with permanent or seasonally flooded wetlands, pans, dams, ponds and rivers, with floating vegetation (especially waterlilies) and densely vegetated banks for cover. African Jacanas forage singly, in pairs or in family groups, sometimes gathering in small flocks, feeding on insects, worms, crustaceans and molluscs.

Male African Jacanas are highly territorial and, unlike most other kinds of birds, it is the male that is responsible for incubating the eggs and rearing the chicks – the female departs to find another mate as soon as the eggs have been laid, mating with several males over the course of the breeding season. While breeding has been recorded throughout the year there is a definite peak in the summer months. Three to five eggs are laid precariously on a platform of clammy plant material set down on floating vegetation, and incubated by the male alone for just over 3 weeks. The male then looks after the chicks for the next two months until they become independent. When they are small, the male picks up the chicks under his wings and carries them around. At an average of 140g, the male African Jacana is considerably more lightly built than the female (average 230g).

With a stable population, estimated at a million birds, distributed over most of Sub-Saharan Africa, the IUCN considers the African Jacana as being of least concern. In South Africa they occur widely and commonly in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal, is less commonly encountered in the Free State, North West, Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, and almost entirely absent from the Northern Cape.

Jacana at Sweni Hide

African Jacana

African Jacana (immature)

African Jacana

African Jacana at Leeupan

African Jacana ( (photo by Joubert)

African Jacana showing off its very long toes

African Jacana

African Jacana (photo by Joubert)

African Jacanas

African Jacana

African Jacana (photo by Joubert)

Young African Jacana

African Jacana

African Jacana (photo by Joubert)

African Jacana

African Black Duck

6 Replies

Anas sparsa

African Black Ducks are mostly found on shallow, fast-flowing, rocky streams and rivers, often in mountainous or wooded areas, though they do also utilise other natural and man-made water bodies nearby. They follow an omnivorous diet, feeding on aquatic plants, grain, fruits and berries, insects, fish eggs, crustaceans and tadpoles. African Black Ducks are diurnal, doing most of their foraging at dawn and dusk, and weigh around 1kg.

African Black Ducks are territorial throughout the year, each pair occupying a considerable stretch of river. They are usually seen singly or in pairs, rarely congregating in large numbers (when they do, it is usually unmated or immature birds without a territory gathering at a popular roost). The breeding season spans most of the year with a peak in autumn and winter in South Africa. The nest is a cup of plant material lined with down, usually built on the ground on islands and river banks near the water, and surrounded by dense grass, reeds or driftwood. The female is responsible for building the nest, incubating the eggs (of which there are between 4 and 11 in a clutch) and caring for the chicks. Incubation takes about 4 weeks, the ducklings fledge at between 2 and 3 months old, and then stay with their parents for another month or two.

Despite a decreasing population, caused by degradation of their preferred riverine habitats and hybridization with feral populations of the exotic Mallard, the IUCN lists the African Black Duck as being of least concern. They are widespread over much of southern, central and east Africa, and in South Africa occurs in all our provinces, though only patchily in the arid Northern Cape.

African Black Duck

White-faced Whistling Duck being chased by an African Black Duck

African Black Duck enquiring whether his lady was suitably impressed?

African Black Duck

African Black Duck in flight

African Black Duck

African Black Ducks

African Black Duck

African Black Ducks

African Black Duck

African Black Duck (photo by Joubert)

African Black Ducks

African Black Duck

Nile Crocodile

31 Replies

Crocodylus niloticus

One of Africa’s most dangerous animals, the Nile Crocodile is also by far the largest and one of the most widespread reptiles found on the continent. Adults measure on average around 3.5m long , but the largest accurately recorded specimen (from Tanzania) had a length of 6.45m and weighed 1090kg!

Nile Crocodile

Crocodile at the Sabie Bridge

Nile crocodile

Lurking crocodile

Nile crocodile

Crocodile camouflage

Bold, begging crocodile and terrapins near Olifants

Bold crocodile near Olifants

Monster crocodile on the bank of the Luvuvhu

Crocodile

Nile crocodile

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile at the Wildlife Centre

Baby Nile Crocodile

Huge Nile Crocodile slipping into the Mfabeni swamp

Nile Crocodiles

Nile Crocodiles inhabit rivers, marshes, lakes, lagoons and estuaries, and even venture out to sea at times. From hatching crocodiles are entirely carnivorous, feeding at first on small fish, insects, crustaceans and frogs. Fish also make up about ¾ of the diet of adult Nile Crocodiles, though they are capable of drowning animals up to the size of an adult buffalo when the opportunity presents itself! Such a large meal can sustain the crocodile for many weeks. When a meal is too large to swallow in one gulp, Nile Crocodiles will take a large bite and then spin their bodies in the water to tear a mouthful of flesh from the carcass. We’ve also seen Nile Crocodiles using their bodies and tails to trap schools of fish against the bank and pick off their hapless prey one at a time.

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile at the mouth of Lake St. Lucia

This Nile Crocodile lays claim to the pool in front of the Sweni Wilderness Trail Camp

Crocodiles lining the bank of the Orpen Dam

Crocodiles next to Orpen Dam

Enormous Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Huge Nile Crocodile at the Lower Sabie causeway

Nile Crocodile at Biyamiti Weir (photo by Joubert)

Crocodile Trio

Nile Crocodiles

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile using its body to trap fish against the bank (photo by Joubert)

Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Nile Crocodile

Often living in close proximity to sizable human populations, it is no surprise that Nile Crocodiles are responsible for hundreds of human deaths annually, especially when people are directly reliant on waters inhabited by crocodiles for their daily needs (fetching drinking water, fishing, washing clothes, bathing, etc).

Big adult Nile Crocodiles sharing a piece of shoreline

Basking Nile Crocodile

Crocodile lazing on a rock in the Vurhami stream

This crocodile may seem fast asleep, but if anything ventures into the water he’ll be quick to react.

Crocodile in the Sabie

Swimming crocodile

Crocodiles at Lake Panic

Crocodile and hippo sharing the Shingwedzi

Crocodile feeding on hippo carcass in the Nwanetsi River near Satara

Nile Crocodile

At times, Nile Crocodiles can congregate in huge numbers, especially when water resources dwindle during the dry season or at a favourite nesting area. They are surprisingly fast on land, and capable of running at up to 17km/h! By day they like to bask in the sun on a rock or sandbank with their mouths wide open when they start to overheat, preferring to stay in the water at night. They hunt mostly at dawn and dusk, approaching prey on land with only their nose and eyes breaking the surface of the water.

Nile Crocodile

Nle crocodile slipping into the water

The crocodiles at Nsemani Dam seems to have acquired a new fashion of mud on their backs 😉

Nile crocodile

Crocodile on shore

Crocodile, S41

A huge crocodile interfering with the flow of the Sabie River

Massive crocodile at Lake Mankwe

Bold, begging crocodile near Olifants

Nile crocodile at Sunset Dam

Nile Crocodile

Adult male Nile Crocodiles are territorial, and often get involved in deadly battles with other males. In South Africa the mating season stretches through winter, with the females then moving to a favourite, suitably sunny spot high enough above the floodline, to dig their nest – a hole in the sand between 20 and 45cm deep. Here she lays up to a 100 eggs, which she then covers again with sand. She diligently guards the nest for the next three months until the eggs hatch. The hatchlings call out to their mother, who digs them out and moves them, very carefully, to the water in her mouth. She looks after them for another 2 to 6 months in a nursery area, which is usually a densely vegetated stretch of water (they feed themselves from hatching). The eggs and hatchlings are a delicacy for a wide range of predators both on land and in the water, and despite the mother’s best efforts only about 2% of eggs laid reach maturity. The temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines the sex of the babies – lower temperatures produce females. Young crocodiles spend much of their time out of the water catching insect prey. It is estimated that Nile Crocodiles can live to an age of 100 years in the wild.

Young Nile Crocodile basking next to a small pool

Crocodile on shore

Crocodiles in the Sabie River

A deep pool in the Sweni, home to a nursery of baby crocodiles

Crocodile along the Ngwenyeni stream

Nile crocodile at Sunset Dam

Big Nile Crocodile male

Nile Crocodile juvenile

Big crocodile at Batlhako Dam

Baby Nile Crocodile

Medium-sized Nile Crocodile

Enormous Nile Crocodile at Sunset Dam

Nile Crocodiles

Young Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodiles

Huge Nile Crocodile

Baby Nile Crocodile going for a stroll!

Small crocodile blocking a causeway

Crocodile at Girivane

Nile Crocodile

Big Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Baby Nile Crocodile (photo by Marilize)

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodile (photo by Joubert)

Ground Hornbills striding past a young Nile Crocodile

Big Nile Crocodiles makes Pioneer Dam a dangerous place

Enormous Nile Crocodile at Grootvlei Dam

Grootvlei Dam harbours many Nile Crocodiles

Nile Crocodile

Nile Crocodiles

Nile Crocodile

The IUCN lists the Nile Crocodile as “lower risk / least concern“, and while the species is threatened by habitat loss, environmental poisoning and poaching their numbers across their distribution range are estimated at between 250,000 and 500,000. It is found from the upper reaches of the Nile in Egypt, and most of West Africa south of the Sahara, southwards through Equatorial and East Africa to Angola in the West and to South Africa’s east-flowing rivers from the Tugela nortwards. They are also found on Madagascar and farmed for their meat and leather in several countries. In South Africa wild Nile Crocodile populations are considered to be vulnerable. The country’s largest wild populations are to be seen in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Kruger National Park, while the Crocodile Centre on the outskirts of the town of Saint Lucia in Kwazulu-Natal is a must visit for anyone interested in this species as well as the two other African species of crocodiles (few authorities have as yet recognised the West African Crocodile (C. suchus) as a seperate species).

Slender-snouted Crocodile

Dwarf Crocodile

St. Lucia Crocodile Centre

Better heed the signs!

Blacksmith Lapwing

14 Replies

Vanellus armatus

Blacksmith Lapwings inhabit grasslands (dry or wet), mud flats or agricultural fields, golf courses and sports fields, almost always within a kilometre or two from a reliable water source, and feed on insects, worms and aquatic invertebrates. They are usually seen alone or in pairs, though they do at times congregate in flocks that number a hundred or more in response to a locally abundant food supply, especially outside the breeding season. Blacksmith Lapwings get their name from their call, which sounds almost like a blacksmith’s hammer hitting an anvil, and weigh around 160g with a wingspan just short of 80cm.

While they may breed throughout the year, nesting in this species reaches a peak at the end of the dry season in South Africa. Pairs nest well away from others of their kind and are highly territorial during the breeding season. The nest is a shallow scrape out in the open on the bare ground or among short grass, and near water, lined with vegetation, stones or mud. Both parents incubate the clutch of 1-4 eggs for around 4 weeks. Breeding birds will aggressively defend their eggs and chicks against anyone or anything that venture too close. The hatchlings fledge at about 40 days old, and then become independent about a month later.

The Blacksmith Lapwing has an increasing population distributed over much of Africa south of the equator and is considered of least concern by the IUCN. It can be found almost anywhere in South Africa.