There are over 900 bird species in Southern Africa, including 20% of the world’s birds of prey. This section will give you an overview of the more commonly encountered species in the bush.
Eagles
There are 17 species of this impressive bird of prey in Southern Africa. For the purposes of this section, we will cover three of the commonly seen species, the Bateleur, the African Fish Eagle, and the Martial Eagle.
Bateleur – Terathopius ecaudatus
This eagle has mainly black plumage, with a red face, legs and feet, and is therefore easily identified. It often appears to be ‘tailless’ when in flight, and it can be observed giving impressive flight displays when courting, rolling through the sky and diving at speeds of up to 50mph, hence the name bateleur, which means acrobat or tight-rope walker in French.
They feed on a wide variety of prey, from other birds to small mammals and reptiles, and also on carrion – which makes up the most significant proportion of their diet. As such, when you see a bateleur in the area, perhaps in a tree or circling above, it could be a sign that there has been a kill nearby. Their nests are built amidst the shaded canopy of high trees, and both sexes will incubate the eggs.
African Fish Eagle – Haliaeetus vocifer
As the name suggests, this eagle is a master fisher, and can be observed grabbing fish out of the water. It has a white head and breast, with dark brown shoulders and black wings. Like the bateleur, it likes to build nests in tall, inaccessible trees, although unlike the bateleur it will build nests on the very top of the canopy, rather than being exclusively shaded within the branches.
When fishing, the birds swoop onto the water, immersing their feet under the water to grab the fish. They have tiny hooks (called spicules) on the pads of their feet which assist them in grabbing hold of the fish. However, they do eat other animals too, preying on reptiles and other birds, and even dining on carrion if the opportunity arises. They have a shrill, high pitched call that can often be heard when they are in the area.
Martial Eagle – Polemaetus bellicosus
The largest of the eagles, the martial can be identified by its dark brown head and upper breast, with white / brown-spotted plumage covering its lower body. Being so large, they are able to tackle a huge variety of prey, including small antelopes, warthogs, jackals, hares and other species of large bird such as herons and geese.
The martial eagle often roams the skies kilometers up, swooping down on its prey in a long, gradual dive, finally speeding up nearer the prey and crushing the victim in its powerful talons. They have incredible eyesight, being about 10 times as powerful as our own, and therefore identify their prey from great distances away.
When attending to their eggs, the female will incubate for most of the time and the male will go out hunting and will bring food back to the nest. The nests are built high up in trees, and a significant number have been found in electricity pylons.
Vultures
The scavengers of the bush, there are 8 species present in Southern Africa, the most common being the White-backed Vulture. All vultures have large, hooked bills, huge wingspans and most species have bald necks. They generally scavenge on carcasses when the primary predator and the hyaenas have finished with it.
Vultures are a good sign of a kill site, as they typically soar in a circular motion above a kill site, swooping down to land in surrounding trees to await their turn on the carcass. However, they often circle in hot air currents to survey the surrounding area so it is not always a sure sign of a kill. If the circling birds drop out of the sky and land on nearby trees, there is probably a kill in the area.
Vulture feathers around or near to watering sites are a good indication that the water will not be fit for human consumption, as vultures carry a myriad of harmful bacteria on their bills, which is then transmitted to the water they drink from.
White-backed Vulture – Gyps africanus
With a white plumage, and blackly coloured bills, legs and feet, these common vultures have a wingspan of up to 2.2m. They seem to prefer species of acacia tree in which to build their nests, and nest sites have often been found within the home ranges of lion prides.
Vultures have an interesting eye structure, with the very centre of their vision being highly magnified, and the surrounding vision being wide ranging with a lack of detail. It is thought that vultures use both keen vision and an observation of predators to find carrion. The White-backed vultures will often mob a kill site in large numbers, displacing the other scavengers.
Lappetfaced Vulture – Torgos tracheliotus
The largest African vulture, the lappetfaced has a red, wrinkled head and face, with a black plumage, and is often regarded as the archetypal vulture.
They are usually the last of the scavengers to arrive at a kill site, and they will dominate the site until there are no remains left. They are the only vulture species that are able to eat the bone and break through the tough skin of animals such as elephant and rhino.
Unlike some of the other vultures, the lappetfaced prefer to pick at the outer remains of the carcass, rather than pushing their heads inside the carcass to get to the softer meat like the other species.
They generally build very large nests, sometimes up to 1m in diameter, usually high up in tall trees. Like all vultures, the incubation and feeding of the nestlings is shared between the male and female vulture.
Owls
There are 12 species of owls in Southern Africa, all are nocturnal hunters but you will see them in the daytime also.
Spotted Eagle Owl – Bubo africanus
With a spotted / blotchy grey-brown plumage, and the characteristic tufts on its ears, the spotted eagle owl is commonly encountered on night drives through the bush.
Preying on insects, rodents and small reptiles, the owl will often perch near roads and like some other bird species they wait for the game viewing vehicle to disturb the small animals near the roadside and then swoop down to collect their meal!
Pearl-spotted Owl – Glaucidium perlatum
The pearl-spotted is the smallest of the African owl species. As the name suggests, it has white spots covering its brown plumage on the upperparts of its body. It also has an odd feature of ‘false eyes’ on the back of its head – dark spots that appear to be eye sockets.
This owl also has an unusual hunting tactic. Rather than swooping out from the skies, it will perch in low branches surveying the ground below. When it spots its prey, it jumps down on top of it. However, it has also been known to catch small birds in flight.
Red-billed Oxpecker – Buphagus erythrorhynchus
This little bird is a useful bushveld inhabitant to know if you are out walking in the wilderness. It has brown plumage with a red bill, and it feeds on the ticks that prey on buffalo, rhino and other large mammals.
The oxpecker will give a warning call when it spots another animal or human nearby, and therefore knowing the sound of this call is very useful as it can be a good warning that you are in the presence of rhino or buffalo.
The birds, whilst eating ticks, actually gain their nourishment from the blood of the animal inside the tick. Therefore they also have the nasty habit of keeping animal wounds open in order to keep a good supply of blood to dine on!
Helmeted Guineafowl – Numida meleagris
These noisy ground birds are often encountered on game drives, and can be quite the trouble-maker on bush walks, responsible for giving many a guide and game ranger heart palpitations as they dash out of thick scrub making a racket and scaring the life out of anyone in their presence.
They have a grey plumage with black lines and white speckles, and a distinctive blue head. They roam around during the day in flocks of up to 20 birds, surveying and picking at the ground for insects and seeds, much like a pheasant or turkey, which it is related to.
Although they are primarily ground dwellers, they are quite capable of flight and they will fly into trees and bushes when disturbed or frightened, making a huge racket as they go!
Red-billed Hornbill – Tockus erythrorynchus
The Hornbills are often encountered in the bush, and are one of the bird species who appears not to mind game vehicles driving quite close to it.
They are characterised by their large, hooked bill. This bill has an interesting use – when the female hornbill lays her eggs, she finds a nest inside a hollow tree, and the male will enclose her in this hole, building a wall across it and leaving a gap perfectly sized to fit his bill through. He will then feed the female through this hole until the chicks have hatched.
The hornbills primarily eat insects, and like some other bird species they wait besides the road until the game viewing vehicle has passed, overturning rocks and giving the hornbills access to the insects underneath.
Cape Turtle Dove – Streptopelia capicola
The cape turtle dove is common throughout Southern Africa, and occurs in rural areas and cities as well as in the bush. Their distinctive and repetitive “coo-coor-coor” song is one of the prevailing sounds of the bush, and you will hear this almost everywhere you go. It even features as background sound in various nature documentaries!
The bird has a light grey plumage of varying shades, and a distinctive black half-collar on its neck. They feed on insects and seeds, and you more often hear them than see them.
