The Shaft-tailed whydah is near-endemic to the southern African region, its range extending only slightly into Angola to the north. Within the region, however, its range is limited to the semi-arid and arid savanna....
The preferred habitat of the Emerald-spotted wood-dove is, as its name implies, a variety of wooded areas, and they are particularly at home in acacia woodland and riparian forests. It can be quite a...
One of the more distinctive of the bird calls heard when visiting northern Namibia or the wetter parts of the southern African region is a two-syllable “chick-weeu, chick-weeu“, where the first syllable carries a...
Also known as the Dabchick, the Little grebe is, not unexpectedly, the smallest of the grebes found in the southern African region, and is also the most common and widespread. It is found almost...
Within the southern African region the Woolly-necked stork is limited to the wetter northern areas, which is not surprising as its preferred habitat is wetlands and rivers. It is also found in large parts...
Black-faced waxbills are a fairly common sight throughout most of the drier areas of the southern African region, being absent only from the wetter eastern and southern parts of the region. They are also...
Rather sadly, the beauty of the Red-billed firefinch, and particularly the beauty of the males, has made it a very popular cage bird in large parts of the world. Sad, because I think that...
The Hartlaub’s babbler, previously, and quite appropriately, called the Southern white-rumped babbler, is noisy in the manner of the babbler family and is most often heard well before it is seen. Within the southern...
In the drier areas of southern Africa, particularly in the semi-desert of the Kalahari spreading from Namibia into Botswana and central South Africa, the Double-banded courser is not an uncommon sight. Preferring open plains...
Whenever we leave Windhoek and travel north to the wetter part of Namibia, one of the sounds that is guaranteed to bring a smile to our faces, and a flood of memories to mind,...
The beautiful little Chinspot batis is a fairly common bird, found throughout large parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. In the southern Africa region it is found in the wetter west and...
The side view of the African openbill presents an unusual picture as its large bill appears badly constructed and doesn’t close in the fashion of other birds. There is a clear gap of approximately...
The Brubru is a fairly unobtrusive shrike that is quite difficult to see clearly as it hops about in the thickly leaved tree canopies that it favours. It is found through most of sub-Saharan...
One of the most common of the larger, easily recognized birds often seen along the quieter roads in southern Africa is the Helmeted guineafowl. They gather in fairly large flocks and are somewhat reluctant...
The Afrikaans name for the Familiar chat is “Gewone spekvreter” which means “Common fat-eater“, a strange name that it apparently earned during the 1800’s when the Voortrekkers were migrating northwards from the Cape of...
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