Category Archives: South African Wildlife

The inhabitants of South Africa’s wild places

Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollis capensis

The Little Grebe, or Dabchick, is a small (120-190g, 20-29cm long) resident waterbird, commonly seen in pairs or small groups on shallow wetlands, ponds, lakes, pans, dams and other quiet freshwater habitats (rarely in fast flowing rivers). They feed on aquatic prey, including fish, amphibians, crustaceans and insects, mostly caught under water, and in turn are preyed upon by large predatory fish.

In South Africa, Little Grebes breed mostly in the spring and summer months. Solitary pairs build a floating platform of plantmaterial, anchored to some underwater structure, for a nest. Before leaving the nest the parent bird always covers the eggs, of which there may be up to seven in a clutch, with some nest material. After hatching the chicks are often carried on their parents’ backs when swimming. At the end of the breeding season the Little Grebes moult and are then flightless for a short time.

Despite a declining population, estimated at as many as 3.5-million, the IUCN consders the Little Grebe of Least Concern, owing to a wide distribution across Africa, Asia and Europe. Little Grebes occur all over South Africa wherever suitable habitat is to be found.

Little Grebe

Little Grebe with chicks

Little Grebe chick

Immature Dabchick

Little Grebe

White-faced Whistling Duck surrounded by Little Grebes

Little Grebe

Little Grebe (photo by Joubert)

Little Grebe

Dabchick (Little Grebe) on nest

Dabchick

Great Crested Grebe

14 Replies

Podiceps cristatus infuscatus

The Great Crested Grebe is a relatively big (up to 1.5kg, 45-56cm long, with a wingspan of up to 73cm) waterbird inhabiting large bodies of open water (mostly dams, lakes and pans, and rarely rivermouths and protected bays) where they feed on fish, crustaceans, amphibians and aquatic insects pursued underwater.

Locally, breeding seems to occur at any time of the year, on platforms of floating plant material anchored to emergent plants such as reeds or in flooded thickets. These birds are well known for their elaborate mating display. Clutches usually contain only two eggs, and the chicks are often carried on the parents’ backs.

Great Crested Grebes have a wide distribution across Europe, Asia and Australasia, with a limited occurrence in Southern and East Africa. The IUCN estimates their population at as many as 1.4-million and considers the species of Least Concern. In years past this grebe suffered greatly due to hunting for the plume trade, but today gill-netting is a more serious threat to their survival, especially so in East Africa where they are now rare. Great Crested Grebes are locally common residents in South Africa and occur mostly on the central Highveld (Gauteng, Northwest, Mpumalanga and Free State Provinces) and the Eastern and Western Cape.

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebes

Great Crested Grebe

African Darter

10 Replies

Anhinga rufa

African Darters have a wingspan of up to 1.3m and weigh in at as much as 1.7kg.

Darters are common residents at most wetlands, lakes, dams and slow flowing rivers, and occasionally lagoons and estuaries. They swim low in the water, usually with only their neck and head above the water, and can stay underwater for up to a minute when pursuing prey. African Darters feed mostly on fish, and occasionally frogs, water snakes and crustaceans, which are swallowed whole and head first.

Breeding occurs in colonies (often mixed with other species) in trees and reedbeds, mostly during the summer months. Nests are platforms built of sticks, on which both parents incubate the 3-6 eggs with their feet. Darter feathers are not waterproof, explaining why they are often seen sunning themselves on rocks and dead tree branches with wings outstretched. Some birds loose all their feathers when they moult after the breeding season, and then are flightless for a short period.

African Darters occur over most of Africa south of the Sahara, and can be seen almost all over South Africa, even occurring in the arid west of the country along the course of the Orange River. Despite a declining population (estimated at between 25,000 and 127,000) in many range states, the IUCN considers the African Darter of “least concern”.

African Darter

African Darter in flight

African Darter

African Darter in flight

African Darter

African Darter and Reed Cormorant

African Darter

African Darter (photo by Joubert)

African Darter

Little Egret

7 Replies

Egretta garzetta

The Little Egret is a relatively small, white heron weighing about 500g with a wingspan of around a metre and characteristic yellow toes, believed to aid in attracting prey to within striking range.

Little Egrets forage singly or in small groups in shallow, open wetlands, on the margins of rivers, dams, lakes, lagoons and waterlogged pastures and agricultural fields, and in the intertidal belt along the coast. They feed mostly on small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, molluscs, insects and other invertebrates

Breeding in this species coincides with the rainy season (in South Africa mostly the summer months), usually nesting in colonies numbering dozens up to thousands of pairs and often in association with other species of egret, heron, ibis and cormorant. They build their nests of sticks on cliffs, in reedbeds or trees, usually over the water, or on the ground on safe islands. Clutches of up to 5 eggs are incubated by both parents for a little over 3 weeks, and the chicks fledge at about 6 weeks old.

The IUCN estimates that there may be over 3-million (and the population is growing) Little Egrets distributed over Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Vagrants have become established in the Caribbean and now appear to be spreading into North and South America. In South Africa the Little Egret is a common resident (subject to local movements to the coast during winter) all over the country, with the exception of the arid Northern Cape where it is mostly seen only along the course of the Orange River.

Little Egret

Little Egret (photo by Joubert)

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

15 Replies

Bubulcus ibis

The well-known Cattle Egret is a small (280-450g) white heron (egret) with a wingspan of less than a metre.

Cattle Egrets usually forage in small groups numbering 10 – 20, but can at times be found in flocks of thousands where food is abundant. These birds inhabit open grasslands, savannas, pastures and meadows, swamps and marshes. They’re a familiar sight wherever large wild or domestic herbivores are grazing, catching insects and small vertebrates disturbed by their big neighbours’ movements. They will also peck ticks and other parasites from these bigger animals.

As with most other egrets, Cattle Egrets breed colonially in groups numbering from a dozen to several thousand pairs, often in mixed species congregations. Nests are built of sticks in trees and reedbeds, often over or surrounded by water. In South Africa breeding reaches a peak in the summer months. Clutches of one to five eggs are incubated by both parent birds for about three weeks, while chicks become independent at about 45 days old.

With a growing population estimated at as many as 10-million, and an expanding distribution on every continent except Antarctica, the IUCN considers the Cattle Egret to be of Least Concern. Their rapid range expansion in the past 100 years is directly correlated with the expansion of cattle farming across the globe. In South Africa they occur in every province, although they’re not very common in the xeric northwest of the country. They’re also much more numerous during the warm summer months, with many birds migrating to central Africa to escape the harshest of winter in our southern climes.

Western Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets (photo by Joubert)

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egrets in flight over the sea at the estuary of Lake St. Lucia

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Cape Buffalo and cattle egret

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret (photo by Joubert)

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egrets

Cattle Egret

Red-billed Quelea

30 Replies

Quelea quelea

Some of the most impressive sights of our recent visit to the Satara area of the Kruger National Park was the enormous flocks of Red-billed Quelea occupying the grasslands of the central plains. Following the good rains that bought respite from an awful drought, the savannas are heavy with a rich harvest of seeding grasses, and literally millions of the little birds are making the most of the abundant foodsource. When their population reaches a peak, as it currently has, there could be as many as 33-million Red-billed Queleas swirling in cloudy swarms over the Park!

Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017

The Red-billed Quelea is a small (20g) seed-eating sparrow-like nomad inhabiting grasslands and grainfields (causing enormous losses to farming communities). Swarms that could number in the millions descend on watering holes at least twice daily. While feeding they “roll” over the grasslands in a wave-like motion, most impressive to witness! While seeds make up the vast majority of their diet they do catch small insects as well, especially when raising chicks.

Nesting occurs communally in the rainy months and hundreds, even thousands, of nests are woven per tree (prefers thorn trees) by the males. Breeding colonies could consist of more than 2 million monogamous pairs, and is a magnet for every imaginable predatory bird, reptile and mammal that is large enough to take adults and chicks. Clutches normally number three eggs and the female incubates them for only 12 days, whereafter the chicks fledge within another two weeks!

The Red-billed Quelea may well be the most abundant bird on the planet, with an estimated population as large as ten billion, and as such is considered as being of least concern by the IUCN. It occurs widely in the savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa and can be found in every one of South Africa’s provinces, where it must number in the hundreds of millions.

(The photos in the following gallery were taken on visits to the Kruger Park and elsewhere)

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea female

Female Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Quelea female

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Quelea pair

Red-billed Quelea female

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Flock of Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea (photo by Joubert)

Red-billed Quelea

Red-billed Queleas

Red-billed Quelea

Great Egret

23 Replies

Ardea (Egretta) alba

At almost a metre tall with a wingspan of 1.7m and a weight of up to 1½kg, the Great Egret (or Great White Heron) is the largest of the white herons (or egrets) occurring in South Africa.

Great Egrets normally forage alone or in small, loosely associated groups, although they do sleep and breed in large colonies of up to a thousand pairs (often with other kinds of herons as well as cormorants and ibises). They are usually seen in flooded grasslands, along rivers and dams and at estuaries and lagoons, where they prey mainly on fish and frogs and occasionally on other vertebrates. Nests are built of sticks, over water in sturdy trees or reedbeds or on islands. In South Africa most breeding occurs during the rainy summer season. Both sexes incubate the clutch of up to 6 eggs for a little over 3 weeks, and then feed the chicks on regurgitated food until they are able to fly within two months of hatching.

Great Egrets occur on all the continents except Antarctica, and is commonly encountered over most of Africa south of the Sahara. Owing to its enormous distribution and large population, the IUCN considers the species of Least Concern. In South Africa, they are absent only from the arid west of the country.

Great Egret

Great White Egret

Great White Egret struggling to swallow a Tilapia

Great Egret

Black-headed Heron

20 Replies

Ardea melanocephala

Unlike most other herons, the Black-headed Heron isn’t closely associated with water, and they are mostly seen stalking grasslands, scrublands and cultivated fields and only infrequently in marshes or next to waterbodies, for prey that ranges from insects to mammals, reptiles and birds the size of doves.

Black-headed Herons stand about 90cm tall with a wingspan of 1.5m and weigh around 1½ kilograms.

Pairs are monogamous and nest colonially (up to 200 pairs) with other herons of their own kind or in mixed-species congregations with herons, ibises and cormorants. Nests are large platforms built of sticks in high trees, reedbeds or cliffs, in which clutches of 2 to 4 eggs are incubated. In South Africa breeding has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in the summer months.

Black-headed Herons are commonly encountered over most of South Africa, even in suburban parks, open plots and road verges in cities and towns. It is also common over most of Sub-Saharan Africa and the IUCN considers it to be of Least Concern with an increasing population, benefiting from the clearing of land for agricultural enterprises .

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron on the Kamberg Road

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Heron (photo by Joubert)

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Herons

Black-headed Heron

Black-headed Herons

Black-headed Heron

Black Heron

Black-headed Heron

Goliath Heron

26 Replies

Ardea goliath

Weighing in at between 4 and 5kg and standing up to 1.5m high with a wingspan of over 2.3m, the Goliath Heron is the biggest of its kind.

Goliath Herons are found along large rivers, dams, swamps, lakes and estuaries, usually lined with extensive stands of reeds or papyrus, where they prey on fairly large fish, frogs, crabs and small reptiles and mammals. Despite their large size, Goliath Herons often loose their prey to African Fish Eagles. They readily wade into fairly deep water well away from the shore and will mostly fly over the water along watercourses rather than over land. Monogamous pairs usually nest alone, although sometimes in loosely associated colonies (also with other species of herons), in large nests built of sticks or reeds in trees, reedbeds or on rocky islands. in South Africa nesting has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in spring. Clutches usually consist of 4 or 5 eggs, incubated for between 3 and 4 weeks with the hatchlings leaving the nest at about 5 weeks of age but being cared for by the parents for up to another three months.

Goliath Herons can be found on the wetter eastern parts of South Africa and along the Orange River in the dry west of the country, and further occurs over most of Africa south of the Sahara and in a few spots in Asia and the Middle-East. They are considered of Least Concern by the IUCN.

Goliath Heron

Goliath Heron with its catch

Goliath Heron

Goliath Herons at their nest

Goliath Heron

Grey Heron

16 Replies

Ardea cinerea

The conspicuous and well-known Grey Heron is widespread over most of Eurasia and Africa, being a seasonal migrant over much of that range. The South African population however is resident throughout the year. It is a large heron, standing a metre tall and weighing up to 2kg.

Grey Herons frequent shallow pans, dams, slow flowing rivers, marshlands, lagoons, estuaries and sheltered rock pools in coastal waters, and are seldom seen away from aquatic habitats such as these. They breed communally, often in mixed colonies together with other types of herons, egrets, ibisses and cormorants, in reedbeds, stands of tall trees near water or on cliffs. in South Africa nesting has been recorded throughout the year, with a peak in spring and early summer. Nests are platforms built of sticks and reeds, and often used year after year, being ever expanded until it becomes too bulky to stay intact. Clutches contain three to five eggs, incubated by both parents for around 25 days. Chicks fledge at about two months old. Grey Herons are active by day (especially around dawn and dusk), hunting for fish, frogs, crabs and other aquatic invertebrates, and small mammals and birds. At night they sleep in tall trees or on cliffs, often in groups.

The IUCN evaluates the Grey Heron as “Least Concern” thanks to its wide distribution and large population (estimated at as many as 3.7-million). They occur commonly all over South Africa, although in the drier western parts of the country they are concentrated along the coast and major river courses, and have benefited from the building of artificial waterbodies and planting of exotic trees in especially arid areas.

The Grey Heron closely resembles the larger Great Blue Heron that occurs in North America and the Caribbean.