Africam - Birds Database
"Clicking on the names in the list will take you directly to the specific bird"
- African Black Duck
- African Comb Duck
- African Crowned Eagle
- African Cuckoo
- African Fish Eagle
- African Green Pigeon
- African Harrier Hawk
- African Hawk Eagle
- African Jacana
- African Openbill
- African Pied Wagtail
- African Spoonbill
- Amur Falcon
- Arrow-marked Babbler
- Barn Owl
- Bateleur
- Bearded Woodpecker
- Bennett's Woodpecker
- Blacksmith Lapwing
- Black-collared Barbet
- Black-crowned Night Heron
- Black-headed Heron
- Black-shouldered Kite
- Blue Waxbill
- Brown-headed Parrot
- Brown-hooded Kingfisher
- Brown Snake Eagle
- Burchell's Coucal
- Burchell’s Starling
- Cape Glossy Starling
- Cape turtle Dove
- Cattle Egret
- Common Greenshank
- Crested Barbet
- Crested Francolin
- Crested Guineafowl
- Crowned Lapwing
- Double banded Sandgrouse
- Eastern Paradise-whydah
- Egyptian Goose
- Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
- Eurasian Hobby
- European or Golden-backed Bee-eater
- European Roller
- Fiscal Shrike or Common Fiscal
- Fork-tailed Drongo
- Gabar Goshawk
- Giant Kingfisher
- Golden-breasted Bunting
- Great Egret
- Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling
- Greenbacked Heron
- Green Woodhoopoe
- Grey-backed Sparrowlark
- Grey Go-Away-bird (Grey Lourie)
- Grey-headed Gull
- Grey Heron
- Groundscraper Thrush
- Hadeda Ibis
- Hamerkop
- Helmeted Guineafowl
- Honey Buzzard (European)
- Hoopoe
- Karoo Korhaan
- Lappet-faced Vulture
- Laughing Dove
- Lemon-breasted Canary
- Lesser Flamingo
- Lesser striped Swallow
- Lilac-breasted Roller
- Lizard Buzzard
- Long-tailed Paradise Whydah
- Magpie Shrike
- Marabou Stork
- Namaqua Dove
- Natal Spurfowl
- Ostrich (Common)
- Painted Snipe (Greater)
- Pearlspotted Owlet
- Pied Crow
- Pied Kingfisher
- Pin-tailed Whydah
- Red-backed Shrike
- Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
- Red-billed Oxpecker
- Red-billed Hornbill
- Red-billed Quelea
- Red-billed Teal
- Red-breasted Swallow
- Red-headed Weaver
- Red-knobbed Coot
- Saddle-billed Stork
- Senegal Lapwing
- Southern Black Flycatcher
- Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
- Southern Ground Hornbill
- Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
- Steppe Eagle
- Swainson's Spurfowl
- Tawny Eagle
- Three-banded Plover
- Verreaux’s (Black) Eagle
- Verreaux’s Eagle Owl
- Village Weaver (Spotted-backed Weaver)
- Wahlberg’s Eagle
- Water Dikkop or Thick-knee
- Wattled Starling
- White-backed Vulture
- White-faced Duck
- White-headed Vulture
- White Stork
- White-throated Swallow
- Wood Sandpiper
- Woodland Kingfisher
- Woolly-necked Stork
- Yellow-billed Kite
- Yellow-billed Stork
- Yellow-fronted Canary
African Black Duck ~ Anas sparsa ~
pictures taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Dark billed & dark-plumaged duck with white speckles on the back.
- When in water it appears long-bodied and short-necked.
- Mostly calls in flight.
- 51-4 cm
African Comb Duck~ Sarkidiornis melanotos ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- The male is larger than the female, and has a large black knob on the bill.
- Usually silent.
- Feeds early morning and late afternoon, relaxes for most of the day.
- Eats seeds of grasses, grains
- 64-79 cm
African Crowned Eagle ~ Stephanoaetus coronatus ~
picture taken from Tembe cam.
- Very large, powerful and crested eagle, the female is larger than male.
- outer wings and tail are barred white and black
- usually seen solitary or in pairs
- Able to kill animals up to 20 kg. The crowned Eagle will feed on mammals (monkeys, baboons, antelopes, dassies, mongoose) also birds and monitor lizards
- Length : 80-90 cm
African Cuckoo ~ Cuculus gularis ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Very similar to European cuckoo.
- Calls a 2-syllabled hoop-hoop, very similar to the call of the Hoopoe.
- Shy and elusive
- Feeds almost entirely on caterpillars.
- 30-33 cm
African Fish Eagle ~ Haliaeetus vocifer ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Fairly common resident.
- Very distinctive far-carrying call.
- Usually seen in pairs at inland waters.
- Main diet consists of fish but will also eat carrion and waterbirds.
- Pairs often duet as they proclaim their riverine territory.
- Spends lots of his time sitting high in tall trees near water.
- 63-73 cm
Listen to an African Fish Eagle sound-file recorded at Nkorho cam click here
African Green Pigeon ~ Treron calva ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in small flocks.
- Medium to large pigeon.
- Feeds on fruits, especially figs.
- 30 cm
African Harrier Hawk ~ Polyboroides typus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Also known as Gymnogene.
- Large grey hawk with bare yellow face (red when excited)
- Black flight-feathers
- Broad white band across black tail.
- Yellow legs.
- Gymnogene feeds on chicks and eggs of small birds. Will also eats frogs, insects, small mammals, reptiles, bats and when available it may consume oil palm fruit.
- 60-66 cm
~ Hieraaetus spilogaster ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Medium, large eagle.
- Usually seen in pairs.
- Lives of francolin, guineafowl and small mammals.
- 65 cm.
~ Actophilornis africanus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Common to abundant resident.
- Usually in small loose groups, sometimes solitary or in pairs.
- Feeds on insects, molluscs, crustaceans, seeds, waterlily bulbs
- 25-30 cm
~ Anastomus lamelligerus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Previously known as Open-billed Stork
- Forages by jabbing the slightly open bill into mud
- Gap in bill for structural strength at tip while prey extracted from shell.
- Eats snails, molluscs, mussels
- 94 cm
click here to watch a video of the African Openbill
~ Motacilla aguimp ~
pictures taken from Nkorho cam.
- Common resident.
- Eats insects such as butterflies, bees, locusts, ants
- Generally found associated with water.
- 20 cm.
~ Platalea alba ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Feeds by moving its partially open bill in a sideways action below water.
- Usually found singly but can also be encountered in pairs or in groups.
- Feeds on fish and aquatic invertebrates, insects, larvae and molluscs.
- 91 cm
Amur Falcon ~ Falco amurensis ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Also know as Eastern Red-footed Falcon or Eastern Red-Footed Kestrel (in older bird-books)
- Roosts communally in tall trees.
- Feeds on insects such as locusts, grasshoppers, and beetles, and on small birds and occasionally amphibians.
- 28-30 cm
~ Turdoides jardineii ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Common resident.
- Occurs in parties of 6 to 10 birds.
- The call resembles hysterical giggling.
- 23-5 cm
Listen to an Arrow-marked Babbler sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- nocturnal
- The call of the Barn owl is not a hoot as in most other owls, but a screech.
- Eats small rodents.
- 30-33 cm
Listen to a Barn owl sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here
Bateleur ~ Terathopius ecaudatus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Distinctive, bulky looking black eagle with red facial skin and legs and tawny wing coverts.
- Diet includes, mice, birds, snake, carrion, lizard and road kills.
- It has a very short tail and is called a Stompstertarend (Short-tailed Eagle) in Afrikaans.
- Its name is a French word describing a tightrope walker with a balancing pole.This name describes the bird’s characteristic habit of tipping the ends of its wings when flying, as if catching its balance.
- 55-70 cm
~ Campethera bennettii ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in pairs or groups.
- Feeding mainly on the ground.
- 22 cm
~ Dendropicos namaquus ~
- Male has only the top of the crown red, females has a black corwn
- common resident
- 23-5 cm
~ Vanellus armatus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- also known as Blacksmith Plover
- When disturbed it makes a loud metallic sounding "clink, clink" resembling the sound of someone hammering a piece of metal.
- Feeds on insects, worms, snails, seeds, small mollusks, and crustaceans.
- 30 cm
Listen to a Blacksmith Lapwing sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Lybius torquatus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Common resident.
- The call is a loud duet sounding like "too-puddely-too-puddely-too-puddely-too-puddely"
- Eats invertebrates, fruits, nectar.
- 19-20 cm
Listen to a Black-collared Barbet sound-file recorded at Elephant Plains cam click here.
~ Nycticorax nycticorax ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- active mainly at night
- Will stand at water’s edge and wait to ambush prey.
- Eats small fish, crustaceans, frogs, aquatic insects, and small mammals.
- 56 cm
~ Ardea melanocephala~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Large waterbird found throughout Southern Africa.
- Differs from Grey Heron in black top to the head and back of the neck and grey bill and legs.
- Seen solitary, as it waits for prey at the edges of inland waters.
- Breeds in trees or in reeds over water.
- It lives off frogs, insects, fish, crabs & small birds.
- 97 cm
Black-shouldered Kite ~ Elanus caeruleus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Small raptor with pure white underparts and grey upperparts
- Usually seen solitary or in pairs by day.
- Hunts from perch or by hovering, frequently hunts at dusk.
- Diet : rodents, shrews, small birds, reptiles and insects
- bird on picture is a juvenile (pink legs), adult has yellow legs.
- Lenght about 30 cm
Blue Waxbill ~ Uraeginthus angolensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- A small bird (12-13 cm)
- Seen in pairs and groups.
- Feeds on the ground.
- Diet : seeds and insects.
- 12-14 cm
~ Poicephalus cryptoxanthus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually founds in pairs or small groups.
- Feeds on seeds, nuts, berries, flower, fruit and nectar.
- 23 cm
~ Halcyon albiventris ~
pictures taken from EP pan cam.
- Common resident
- The call is a loud descending "kik-kik-kik-kik"
- Eats mainly insects and lizards.
- 23 cm
~ Circaetus cinereus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- usually seen singly
- Hunts & eats large snakes.
- 71 cm
Burchell's Coucal ~ Centropus burchellii ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Found singly or in pairs in reeds, dense riparian and bushveld thickets
- Eats grasshoppers, crickets, crabs, snails, small snakes, frogs, mice, birds' eggs, nestlings and sometimes fruit.
- Calls most frequently early morning but may continue throughout the day
- Call is a cascade of bubbling notes.
- 44 cm
Listen to a Burchell’s Coucal sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Lamprotornis australis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- The largest starling.
- Seen in pairs, small parties or flocks
- Has a variety of harsh, warbling, croaking and chirring call notes.
- Feeds on the ground.
- 30-34 cm
Listen to a Burchell’s Starling sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Lamprotornis nitens ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen in pairs or small flocks
- foreages arboreally or on ground
- Eats insects, fruit, nectar of aloes
- 22-23 cm
~ Streptopelia capicola ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Very common bird in South Africa.
- Forages on the ground.
- Usually in pairs, the male repeating the main cooing "work harder" "work harder"
- 28 cm
Listen to a Cape turtle Dove sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
Cattle Egret ~ Bubulcus ibis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen in large or small flocks often in the company of cattle or large game animals.
- Cattle Egrets don't eat ticks, but use the animals to flush grasshoppers and other insects from the grass.
- Eats insects, mostly grasshoppers, and also worms.
- 54 cm
~ Tringa nebularia ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen singly.
- 32 cm
~ Trachyphonus vaillantii ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Usually found singly or in pairs.
- Nests in holes in trees.
- Very vocal, the call being a thrill that can continue sometimes for long periods.
- Feeds on insects, eggs and fruits.
- 23 cm
Listen to a Crested Barbet sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
~ Peliperdix sephaena ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Usually found pairs or small groups.
- Noisy, often calling throughout the day
- Call is a shrill "kwerri-kwetchi, kwerri-kwetchi"
- Forages for food on the ground
- 32 cm
~ Guttera pucherani ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Has a rattling alarm call.
- Forages for food on the ground.
- Usually seen in small groups or in flocks
- Feeds on insects, butterflies, bees, wasps, locusts and ants.
- 50 cm
~ Vanellus coronatus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Also known as the Crowned Plover
- Favours areas of bare and open ground.
- Frequently flies about and calls at night.
- Often seen in pairs or groups
- Eats insects
- 30 cm
Listen to a Crowned Lapwing sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Pterocles bicinctus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in pairs or flocks.
- Mainly crepuscular, lying up by day in shade of rocks or vegetation
- Eats small dry seeds
- 25 cm
~ Vidua paradisaea ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Brown Sparrow-like bird.
- On the pictures you can see a male in breeding plumage.
- During the breeding season the male has a golden brown breast and yellow white abdomen with broad, elongated black tail feathers (up to 36 cm long and 3 times the length of its body).
- Outside the breeding season, males and females are almost indistinguishable
- Seen in small flocks.
- 12-38 cm
~ Alopochen aegyptiacus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in pairs, but sometimes in family groups.
- Can be found at any inland waters.
- Eats grass, seeds, leaves and bulbs
- 71 cm
Listen to a Egyptian Goose sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Turtur chalcospilos ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually solitary or in pairs.
- Heard more than seen, often spotted feeding on the ground.
- Feeds off seeds, berries and flying ants
- 20 cm
Listen to a Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
Eurasian Hobby ~ Falco subbuteo ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Uncommon summer visitor
- Hunts mostly at dusk
- Seen singly or in small flocks
- separable from the immature and female Amur Falcon & from the immature Red Footed Falcon by its heavily streaked underparts, darker underparts and plain grey unbarred uppertail.
- 30-35 cm
European or Golden-backed Bee-eater
~ Merops apiaster ~
picture taken from Nkorho & Elephant Plains
- Common resident and summer visitor
- Normally seen in flocks.
- Aerial feeder, eats various flying insects in addition to venomous bees.
- 25 cm
~ Coracias garrulus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Fairly common summer visitor
- Usually solitary, sometimes roosts communally
- Feeds on insects (beetles, locusts, crickets, bees), scorpions, frogs, lizards
- 30 cm
Fiscal Shrike or Common Fiscal
~ Lanius collaris ~
picture taken from Tembe cam.
- Pied, heavy-bodied, heavy-billed bird with white wing-bar extending to the shoulder.
- often aggressive towards other birds
- Usually solitary, sometimes in pairs
- Perches on bushes, fences, trees dropping to ground to catch prey
- Feeds on insects, spiders, small rodents and small birds, lizards, seeds
- 23 cm
~ Dicrurus adsimilis ~
picture taken from NK and EP cam.
- Usually solitary or in pairs.
- Black bird, easily identified by its forked-tail
- Aggressive and fearless bird. It will harass raptors and other birds much larger than him.
- Insect-eater, flycatches or takes prey from the ground.
- 25 cm
Listen to a Fork-tailed Drongo sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here
~ Melierax gabar ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- common resident.
- Usually seen in pairs.
- Can sustain flight of about 70 km/hour for up to 5 min.
- Eats mostly small birds, mammals, reptiles and insects
- 28-36 cm
~ Megaceryle maxima ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Much larger than any other kingfisher species.
- Feeds in or around water mainly. Feeds on fish, frogs and crabs.
- Usually occurs singly or in pairs
- Perches on a branch, bridge or wire where it watches the water. Their flight is rapid and direct, sometimes they will hover briefly before plunging into the water.
- Males has a chestnut breast, Female has a chestnut belly.
- 43-46 cm.
~ Emberiza flaviventris ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Fairly common resident of woodland and savannah.
- Usually solitary or in pairs.
- Eats insects, seeds and buds.
- 16 cm
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Previously known as Great White Egret - Ardea albus.
- It will often wait motionless for prey, or slowly stalk its victim.
- Main food source is fish and frogs.
- 95 cm
Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling
~ Lamprotornis chalybaeus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- One of the three short-tailed starlings.
- Male and female have same plumage colour.
- Feeds on invertebrates, fruits, seeds.
- 21 cm
~ Butorides striatus ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Solitary and shy.
- Runs with ease over branches and reeds. Can stand motionless for long periods.
- Feeds on fish, frogs, small reptiles, insects, spiders, molluscs invertebrates, fruits, seeds.
- 41 cm
~ Phoeniculus purpureus ~
pictures taken from Elephants Plains cam.
- Previously known as Red-billed Woodhoopoe.
- Overall plumage is blue-green metallic black, white patches in the wing and on outher feather of their long tails.
- Often seen hanging upside down while proving crevices in the bark looking for the arthropods.
- Seen in family parties.
- The call is a loud cackling, which starts slowly and then builds to a crescendo with more birds joining in.
- 30-36 cm
~ Eremopterix verticalis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Previously known as Grey-backed Finchlark.
- This species, usually found in the more arid, western part of South Africa, does migrate to the Kruger area in times of drought.
- Often seen in large flocks.
- Eats seeds.
- 12-13 cm
Grey-headed Gull ~ Larus cirrocephalus ~
picture taken from flamingo cam.
- Found in open coast and coastal and freshwater wetlands.
- Breeding adult has all grey hood, pale yellow eyes and red bill & legs, non-breeding adult has a grey smudge on the ear coverts only.
- 42 cm
~ Corythaixoides concolor ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Found in pairs or small groups.
- These birds are characterized by a very distinct “kweh-h-h-h” or "G'way" call, giving them their name, grey go-away bird. They use this call to warn the other birds in their flock of impending danger.
- Eats fruit, flowers, buds and leaves.
- 47-50 cm
Listen to a Grey Go-Away-bird sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here
More information about the Grey go-away bird can be found here
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Wades in shallow water.
- Feeds off fish, frogs, reptiles, crabs etc.
- 100 cm
More information about the Grey Heron can be found here
~ Psophocichla litsipsirupa ~
picture taken from Elephants Plains cam.
- Runs well on the ground
- Seen solitary or in pairs.
- Feeds insects, mollucs and other invertebrates.
- 22 cm
Hadeda Ibis ~ Bostrychia hagedash ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Very noisy especially early morning and evening.
- Lives mainly off insects, spiders & snails.
- 76 cm
Listen to a Hadeda Ibis sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Lives near most inland waters.
- Feeds mainly off frogs and fish.
- The hamerkop is very well known for its huge domed nest
- 56 cm
~ Numida meleagris ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Highly gregarious.
- Found in open grasslands, savannah and bushveld.
- Feed on seeds, bulbs, tubers and numerous other types of food.
- 53 to 58 cm
~ Pernis apivorus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Summer migrant to most of Europe and Western Asia, wintering in tropical Africa.
- Specialist feeder, living mainly on the larvae and nests of wasps, although it will also take other small prey.
- Faces many problems on its way to Africa, such as hunting, especially around the Mediterraenean Sea, the weather and the long Sahara Desert Crossing.
- 54-60 cm
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen singly or in pairs.
- Crest normally held down, being raised when bird is attentive or alarmed.
- Eats insects.
- 27 cm
Listen to a Hoopoe sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
Karoo Korhaan ~ Eupodotis vigorsii ~
picture taken from Leopard cam.
- Seen in pairs or small parties.
- Male and female are alike.
- 56-60 cm
~ Torgos tracheliotus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Powerfully build vulture.
- It’s the dominant vulture at carcasses.
- Other vultures often rely on Lappet-faced Vultures to open a carcass
- 115 cm
~ Streptopelia senegalensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Very common resident.
- Solitary, in pairs or in flocks at water or feeding places.
- Eats seeds, fallen grain, termite alates, other insects and their larvae, small snails.
- 25 cm
Listen to a Laughing Dove sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
Lemon-breasted Canary
~ Serinus citrinipectus ~
picture taken from Tembe cam.
- Very small size.
- Seen in pairs while breeding, otherwise in small flocks
- Eats seeds
- 9-10 cm
~ Phoenicopterus minor ~
picture taken from Flamingo cam.
- Gregarious
- Despite being the world's most numerous flamingo, this bird is classified as near threatened due to its lack of suitable breeding sites.
- Feeds mainly on blue-green algae.
- 102 cm
~ Hirundo abyssinica ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen in pairs and small flocks.
- Eats mainly aerial insects, but also seeds.
- 16 cm
~ Coracias caudata ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Very attractive roller with lilac throat and breast and blue belly.
- It feeds off insects and a large variety of small creatures.
- Often seen perched on bushes, trees and fence poles or telephone wires
- 36 cm
More information about the Lilac-breasted Roller can be found here
Listen to a LIlac-breasted Roller sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Kaupifalco monogrammicus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- A small, stocky grey hawk, distinguished by diagnostic white throat with vertical black streak.
- 35 cm
- Hunts mainly reptiles and large insects, but also small mammals and birds.
Listen to a Lizard Buzzard sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
~ Vidua paradisaea ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen in small groups.
- Breeding male has very distinctive plumage.
- 12-38 cm
~ Corvinella melanoleuca ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Previously know as Long-tailed Shrike.
- Common resident.
- Eats insects and small reptiles.
- Often seen in small groups from 3 up to 10 birds.
- 40-50 cm
Listen to a Magpie Shrike sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
~ Leptoptilos crumeniferus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Huge, bare-headed and bare-necked Stork with a distensible fleshy pouch on the lower foreneck.
- Generaly seen in groups of a few birds, sometimes large flocks.
- Can be found with vultures around carcasses.
- Marabous are often found around fishing villages, slaughterhouses and rubbish dumps.
- Will eat about any kind of animal dead or alive, living prey including small rodents, reptiles.
- 152 cm - their wingspan approaches 2.9 m.
Namaqua Dove ~ Oena capensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- common in drier areas
- Plumage is mostly grey. Male has black face and black breast and bib with bright yellow bill (see pic)
- feeds on small seeds of grasses, sedges and weeds
- 24-27 cm
~ Pternistis natalensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Previously know as Natal Francolin.
- Seen in pairs.
- Often heard calling at dusk and dawn.
- 30-38 cm
Listen to a Natal Spurfowl sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
Ostrich (Common) ~ Struthio camelus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Flightless bird.
- Male utters a lion-like roar.
- Usually seen in pairs or groups.
- + 2m.
~ Rostratula benghalensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Uncommon nomadic resident.
- found on muddy shorelines of dams, pans and swamps.
- needs vegetation to offer immediate refuge.
- 28-32 cm.
- Glaucidium perlatum ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Often active by daylight
- Small, earless owl
- Has a unique whistling call
- It has mock eyes at the back of his head to confuse the predator as to which way the owl is facing.
- Feeds on a variety of prey
- 19 cm
Listen to a Pearlspotted Owlet sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in small flocks.
- Omnivorous.
- 46-52 cm
Listen to a Pied Crow sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here
Pied Kingfisher ~ Ceryle rudis ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Usually seen in pairs, but sometimes in loose groups.
- Hunts from perch or by hovering over water.
- Feeds on fish, crustaceans and insects.
- 25-29 cm
~ Vidua macroura ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in small parties of one male and several females.
- Male is aggressive to other birds when feeding or defending territory.
- 12-34 cm
Red-backed Shrike ~ Lanius collurio ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- the bird you see here on the pictures is a female.
- Common Summer visitor.
- Perches on a low branch and still-hunts
- 18cm
~ Bubalornis niger ~
pictures taken from Nkorho & Elephants Plains cam.
- These weavers have a large communal nest. (see picture 3 of nests in tree behind lodge and picture 4 (nest at EP))
- The bird seen on the second picture is probably a juvenile male, whose bill has a lighter colour - described as horn colour in Roberts)
- Eats insects, seeds and fruit.
- 24 cm
~ Buphagus erythrorhynchus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually found in small groups.
- Eats ticks from giraffe and other large mammals.
- 20-22 cm
Red-billed Hornbill ~ Tockus erythrorhynchus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam
- Usually found in small flocks or pairs.
- Eats insects, seeds.
- 42-50 cm
Listen to a Red-billed Hornbill sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here
Red-billed Quelea ~ Quelea quelea ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam
- Occurs in large flocks.
- Breeding colonies may be huge, involving tens of thousands and cover many hectares of bush.
- Feeds on seeds and grains.
- Even when seen in small flocks, they appear co-ordinated, flying and feeding together. they appear to move in waves.
- 11-13 cm
~ Anas erythrorhyncha ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Not migratory, but will fly great distances to find suitable waters.
- Highly gregarious outside breeding season and forms large flocks.
- Quiet species, sounds made are soft and audible only at close range
- 48 cm
~ Hirundo semirufa ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Also known as Rufous-chested Swallow.
- It inhabits open grasslands and is usually solitary.
- It feeds off aerial arthropods.
- 24 cm
~ Anaplectes rubriceps ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Breeding males has the read head and mantle, non-breeding males and immatures look like female
- Eats mainly insects and spiders, also seeds and fruits
- 15 cm
~ Fulica cristata ~
pictures taken from Tau cam.
- The only all-black waterbird with a white frontal shield and bill.
- Common resident found in dams, pans and lakes.
- 43 cm
Saddle-billed Stork ~ Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- usually seen singly or in pairs near shallow waters of large rivers, dams, floodplains and marshes.
- Feeds on fish, frogs, lizards, grasshoppers.
- 145 cm
More information about theSaddle-billed Stork can be found here
Senegal Lapwing ~ Vanellus lugubris ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Feeds mainly on insects and other small invertebrates.
- A medium sized bird, about 23 cm
- prefers woodland savanna as habitat
Listen to a Senegal Lapwing sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
~ Melaenomis pammelaina ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Slightly smaller than Forktailed Drongo, tail notched and not forked like that of the Forktailed Drongo.
- Catches insects in flight, or mostly on ground, returning to perch.
- Feeds on insects, nectar of aloes, small fruits
- 19-22 cm
~ Passer difussus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Eats seeds and insects.
- 15-16 cm
~ Bucorvus leadbeateri ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Found in family groups.
- Carnivorous, eats reptiles, frogs and small mammals.
- 90 cm
Listen to a Southern Ground Hornbill sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
~ Tockus leucomelas ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Found solitary or in pairs.
- Mainly lives off rodents and insects.
- 48-60 cm
Listen to a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
More information about the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill can be found here
Steppe Eagle ~ Aquila nipalensis ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- Fairly common Summer visitor.
- Eats termites and is often seen consuming them on the ground.
- Also raids breeding colonies of Queleas.
- 75 cm
~ Pternistis swainsonii ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Often heard calling at dusk and dawn.
- 34-9 cm
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Scruffy appearance, colour variable from dark brown to blond
- Shaggy leg feathering
- Hunts by stooping from perch or in flight
- Eats mammals up to size of hare, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and carrion
- 65-72 cm
~ Charadrius tricollaris ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Usually seen in pairs.
- Found at inland lakes and dams.
- Feeds on insects, molluscs, crustaceans, worms.
- 18 cm
~ Aquila verreauxii ~
picture taken from Black Eagle cam.
- Seen in pairs in rocky hills and mountains.
- preying on medium-sized mammals such as hares, large birds
- 84 cm
Verreaux’s (Giant) Eagle Owl ~ Bubo lacteus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen solitary or in pairs.
- Mostly nocturnal.
- Largest owl in the world.
- Has pink upper eyelids
- Varied diet, eating mammals, birds, frogs. Can kill mammals the size of hare and hedgehog.
- 60-65 cm
Listen to a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
More information about the Verreaux's Eagle Owl can be found here
Village Weaver ~ Ploceus cucculatus ~
picture taken from Elephant Plains cam.
- also known as Spotted-backed Weaver
- Breeds in small colonies, many nests can be seen hanging from one tree (see picture).
- Feeds on nectar and insects.
- 15 cm
~ Aquila Wahlbergi ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Lives of reptiles, birds and mammals.
- 55-60 cm
~ Burhinus vermiculatus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- previously known as Water Dikkop.
- Normally solitary.
- Inhabits rivers, dams and lakes.
- Feeds on insects, mollusks and crustaceans.
- 40 cm
Listen to a Water dikkop or thick-knee sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here .
Wattled Starling ~ Creatophora cinerea ~
picture taken from EP cam.
- Gregarious.
- Eats insects, snails and fruits.
- 21 cm
White-backed Vulture ~ Gyps africanus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Most common vulture.
- Very gregarious.
- Main food is carrion and bone fragments.
- 90-98 cm
~ Dendrocygna viduata ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Often seen in large flocks. Spends much of the day resting on shorelines or sandbanks.
- Lives of budds, seads, grains, insect larvae and mollusks.
- 48 cm
~ Trigonoceps occipitalis ~
Juvenile
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Occurs singly or in pairs. At carrion, greatly outnumbered by other vultures.
- Like the lappet-faced vulture they are able to eat skin, ligament and bones.
- Although they are often one of the first vulture species to arrive at a kill, they tend to feed on scraps dropped by, or stolen from other raptors, and eating them away from the other vultures.
- 85 cm
White Stork ~ Ciconia ciconia ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- White storks nest in central and Eastern Europe, spending the winter in Africa.
- Carnivorous, diet includes frogs, lizards, mice, large insects and small snakes.
- 117 cm
~ Hirundo albigularis ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Common summer resident.
- Lives off flying insects.
- 17 cm
Wood Sandpiper ~ Tringa glareola ~
picture taken from Nkorho cam.
- Seen singly or in small groups.
- Common summer visitor.
- Feeds on aquatic insects and their larvae and molluscs.
- 20 cm
~ Halcyon senegalensis ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Seen singly or in pairs.
- Pairs greet each other with spread wings.
- 23-4 cm
Listen to a Woodland Kingfisher sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
Woolly-necked Stork ~ Ciconia episcopus ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Found singly or in pairs.
- Mostly silent.
- Gathers at grassfires to prey on the animals fleeing from the fire.
- Eats fish, toads, frogs, crabs, snakes, lizards, molluscs and large insects.
- 86 cm
Yellow-billed Kite ~ Milvus aegyptius ~
picture taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Common summer visitor
- Distinguished from the Black kite by the yellow bill and brown head and more deeply forked tail.
- Often seen in large aggregations at food sources mixed with Black kites.
- 55 cm
Yellow-billed Stork ~ Mycteria ibis ~
picture taken from Tembe cam.
- Usually gregarious in small parties
- Forages by walking slowly in shallow water with bill immersed and held slightly open.
- Feeds on fish, frogs, insects, worms and small mammals.
- 97 cm
~ Serinus mozambicus ~
pictures taken from Nkorho pan cam.
- Small Canary.
- Also known as Yellow-eyed Canary
- Often seen in small groups.
- Eats seeds.
- 12 cm
Listen to a Yellow-fronted Canary sound-file recorded at Nkorho pan cam click here.
