The critical timing for the trip was to be in
central Mozambique at the beginning of the wet season, usually late November or
early December, the time when the African Pitta starts displaying and calling. The
main tour included time in the Miombo woodlands and wetlands around Harare,
birding the Eastern Highlands area including the Honde Valley, followed by
Mount Gorongosa in central Mozambique, M’Phingwe Camp the Zambezi delta area
and then Rio Savane area close to Beira.
The “off-the-beaten-track”
tour was well organised by Birding Ecotours and capably lead by the talented
Dylan Vasapolli. Participants in the pre-tour included two Canadian and two UK
birders. In Zimbabwe, we met up with Barbara and Neville Maytom, also from
Canada, for the main tour.
As it turned out it was hot and dry in South
Africa, with drought conditions being experienced, rather than the afternoon
thunderstorms which usually commence in September. The wetlands in Zimbabwe
were also dry although we did have some rain in Harare. Mozambique was very dry
and hot and the rains only commenced a couple of weeks after we left. Rio Savane
near Beira was the driest it’s been for many years according to regular
visitors to the area. Whilst the dry and hot conditions did adversely impact on
the birding, we did manage to see many exceptional birds. Miombo Woodlands in Zimbabwe |
Overall it was a pretty intensive tour and requires a reasonable level of fitness to take part in all the birding activities. During the tour it got very hot and humid in places, which required acclimatisation to the conditions to fully enjoy the trip. Dylan never seemed to tire and he kept up a high level of enthusiasm throughout the entire trip, for what involved long days, a lot of driving under adverse conditions and plenty of birding.
With regards to birding, I recorded a total
of 504 birds during the month long trip, with 466 birds for the Birding
Ecotours tour. I ended up with 39 lifers and 63 new birds for Southern Africa,
taking my list for Southern Africa to a respectable 745 species. Some of the
birding highlights and key target birds were as follows:
•
Ayres’s Hawk Eagle – Pretoria
•
Caspian Plover – Mkhombo Dam (NE of
Pretoria)
•
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Steppe Gull) – Mkhombo Dam
•
Western Yellow Wagtail – Marievale
Bird Sanctuary
•
Cape Eagle Owl – Dullstroom
•
Yellow-breasted Pipit – Dullstroom
•
White-backed Night-heron – Groblersdal
•
Short-clawed Lark – Polokwane
•
Cape Parrot – Magoebaskloof
•
Striped Flufftail – Magoebaskloof
•
Emerald Cuckoo – Magoebaskloof
•
Magpie Mannikin – Tzaneen
•
African Barred Owlet – Mapungubwe
•
Rosy-throated Longclaw – Harare
•
Miombo Rock Thrush – Harare
•
Boulder Chat – Harare
•
Eurasian Hobby – Harare
•
African Spotted Creeper – Harare
•
Green-backed Honeybird – Harare
•
Southern Hyliota – Harare and Eastern
Highlands
•
Mottled Swift – Nyanga
•
Robert’s Warbler – Nyanga
•
Buff-spotted Flufftail – Seldomseen
•
Marsh Tchagra – Honde Valley and
Mount Gorongosa
•
Scarce Swift – Honde Valley
•
Red-faced Crimsonwing – Honde Valley
•
Swynnerton’s Robin - Seldomseen
•
Green-headed Oriole – Mount Gorongosa
•
Whinchat – Mount Gorongosa (Mega rarity
for Southern Africa)
•
Speckle-throated Woodpecker –
Gorongosa National Park
•
African Hobby – M’Phingwe
•
African Pitta – M’Phingwe
•
Mangrove Kingfisher – M’Phingwe
•
Livingston’s Flycatcher – M’Phingwe
•
East Coast Akalat – M’Phingwe
•
White-chested Alethe – M’Phingwe
•
Blue Quail – Rio Savane
•
Black-backed Buttonquail – Rio Savane
•
Locust Finch – Rio Savane
I hadn’t been to Zimbabwe for over 20 years
and I had heard that the country was improving with the introduction of the US$
as its currency. Unfortunately, the country was far worse off that it was 20
years ago and has suffered enormously from 35 years of independence under what
was previously a terrorist organisation, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU),
and which is now a corrupt and incompetent government.
Harare was expected to experience significant
power shortages by December 2015, as hydro power supplied from Kariba Dam was impacted
by low water levels, the lowest since the dam was completed in 1958, and poor
management by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC). Without power from Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe would
have to rely on the Hwange, Munyati, Harare and Bulawayo coal fired power
stations, which are producing a combined 600MW against a national demand of
about 1600MW at peak periods.
There was no municipal water in Harare and
all water is drawn from boreholes. The locals use the verges along the streets
to plant subsistence crops such as mealies.
The police roadblocks were very frequent in Zimbabwe
and most seem to be staffed with corrupt police officers. At one roadblock,
south of Harare, we were asked to show that we had two fire extinguishers. When
it was politely pointed out that only one was required, they produced a sheet
of regulations and insisted that two were required. They were embarrassed when
the sheet clearly showed that only one was required. Then they demanded to see our
two red triangles. We thought we had two, however the rental company had let us
down and we could only produce one. The police offices then fined Dylan and
threated to lock him up as he had misled them. After a lot of discussion, the
shifty eyed cop then asked if we had something to drink, and Dylan gave him a
dollar to buy something. Then it was all smiles and we headed off.
Mozambique on the other hand, one of the
poorest countries in the world, was at least showing signs of improvement, with
new roads being constructed by the Chinese. However, the downside of this
investment by the Chinese, is that the forests are being stripped of the
hardwood trees and exported to China, as was evidenced by the large number of
trucks seen transporting the huge logs.
Both Zimbabwe and Mozambique were quite depressing
to visit, with the wide scale deforestation, run down infrastructure, potholed
roads, lack of intensive farming, run-down hotels, litter on the roadsides
etc., with the countryside dominated by mud huts, subsistence farming and slash
and burn practices. The conditions, in
particular in Mozambique, were far worse than Madagascar, a country which has
many more tourists and attracts a lot more attention. In central Mozambique
there didn’t appear to be any decent tourist facilities, other than the couple
of places we stayed at, which serve both birders and hunters.
At least the hunting concessions have
increased the number of game species through intensive anti-poaching measures.
We didn’t see much in the way of game species in Mozambique except for small
buck, such as Duiker and Bushbuck, being sold on the sides of the road.
There is still quite a bit of political
tension in Mozambique, between the Frelimo (ruling party) and Renamo
(opposition), and we saw about four vehicles on the side of the road which had
been shot up and burnt out. We later heard that this was from a recent ambush
of a Renamo convoy. There were a number of police and military roadblocks in
Mozambique but we didn’t have any problems with them.
Trip
Report
Saturday
7th November: ArrivalFlew from Melbourne to Sydney and then Johannesburg on Qantas, leaving Melbourne at 5:45am and arriving in Johannesburg at 4:30pm, with a nine-hour time change. Had a good flight with Qantas and it only took 25 minutes in Johannesburg airport to clear customs, pick up my luggage and get my AVIS rental car.
Spent the next five nights at Dunvegan Execu
Lodge in Edenvale, which is very comfortable, reasonably priced, provides great
meals and has good security.
Sunday
8th November: Mkhombo DamLeft early in the morning for the two-hour drive to Mkhombo Dam Nature Reserve for my two key targets, the nomadic Caspian Plover and national rarity Lesser Black-backed Gull. Mkhombo is an undeveloped nature reserve at what was previously known as Rhenosterkop Dam and has a reputation for producing rarities over the years. The roads are at best rough sandy tracks and fine for a rental car when its dry, however these tracks quickly become impassable with rain.
Took a bit of time finding the birding area around
Geddes Bay, as the area is very rural and there are no signs or roads leading
to the site, only rough tracks. After birding at various locations along the
shoreline, I eventually managed to locate the Caspian Plover and had some excellent
views. After chatting with some other birders, I also found the Lesser
Black-backed Gull, which had puzzled local birding experts as to what
subspecies it actually was.
Subsequent comments provided by Trevor
Hardaker from Lou Bertelan, a top gull expert, were: “It is pretty much clear that it is a Steppe Gull, Larus (fuscus)
barabensis, hardly any doubt possible imo. This "2nd winter plumage",
which looks advanced in comparison to Larus cachinnans, together with the
contrasting two-toned bill with pointed tip but not too long, and adult type
feathers are pale grey (much too pale for heuglini!)”
Saw a total of 60 species for the morning
with some of the highlights for the day including large flocks of Black Heron
fishing, Grey Plover (uncommon for inland areas), Black-winged Pratincole, over
100 African Quailfinch including some close-up views on the ground, and about
five Goliath Heron.
Monday
9th November: East Rand MallVisited First National Bank to get some cash, which took over an hour, and then some shopping at the East Rand Mall.
Tuesday
10th November: Pretoria and Rietvlei
Drove through to Pretoria early in the
morning to the stake out for Ayres’s Hawk Eagle on a ridge overlooking
Weskoppies Hospital. Just after 7:20am had a single Ayres’s Hawk Eagle fly over
giving great views and photos. Ayres's Hawk Eagle |
Drove through to Rietvlei Nature Reserve for some birding and game viewing. Saw just over 60 species at Rietvlei but didn’t manage to locate African Finfoot which had been recently reported at this site. Rietvlei is a 3,870 hectare on the southern outskirts of Pretoria. The reserve primarily comprises of Highveld grasslands and provides good endemic birding and excellent game viewing.
Cape Longclaw at Rietvlei |
Wednesday 11th November: Marievale
Left early in the morning for Marievale Bird Sanctuary to arrive at 6am just as the gates opened. Marievale is an 8,000 hectare RAMSAR wetland on the Blesbokspruit Spruit, close to Nigel in the gold mining area of the East Rand.
In the early morning the conditions were
excellent for birding but by 10am it was hot and windy, much as it had been
since I had arrived in Johannesburg. The wetlands were full of waders and I
recorded just over 70 species with highlights being over 250 Ruff plus at least
five Reeve, at least seven African Snipe, Little Ringed Plover, African Wattled
Lapwing and a Western Yellow Wagtail (Blue-headed flava subspecies) which
landed beside me in the wetlands.
Thursday
12th November: Dullstroom
After visiting the East Rand Mall, I dropped
the AVIS rental car off at Kempton Park and met up with Dylan Vasapolli of
Birding Ecotours, just after lunch. We drove through to Dullstroom and checked
into the lovely and spacious Fox and Squirrel accommodation, which overlooks a lake and a
rocky hillside. Northern Black Koohaan |
I had about 45 species for the late afternoon birding including Ovambo Sparrowhawk, African Rail (heard only), ten Black-winged Lapwing, Alpine Swift and Buff-streaked Chat.
Friday
13th November: Dullstroom and Groblersdal
We were up at 3:30am for one of many early
starts over the next three weeks. As we stepped outside our accommodation,
Dylan said there’s a Cape Eagle Owl calling. We located it in a large tree on
the estate where we were staying and then had lovely views in the torch light as
it flew overhead. Well that was a fantastic start for the day, hearing and
seeing one of the very difficult owl species for Southern Africa. I have had
Cape Eagle Owl calling from a long way off, at the Golden Gate Highlands National
Park in 1993, however have never seen one in Southern Africa. I have also seen
the Mackinder’s Eagle Owl in Kenya previously, a subspecies of the Cape Eagle
Owl, which is sometimes split.
As we had our key target, we drove to
Verloren Vallei Nature Reserve, where we had excellent views of about 12
Yellow-breasted Pipit, a bird that I had poor views of in the previous year at
Wakkerstroom. Other highlights included Red-winged Francolin, Denham’s Bustard,
Sentinel Rock Thrush, Buff-streaked Chat and Mountain Wheatear.
After a good breakfast back in Dullstroom we
drove through to the Groblersdal area, arriving in the heat of midday. The key target here was the White-backed
Night-heron, a difficult bird to locate and seldom seen. After searching both
sides of a small stream, the bird flushed and as it flew over the water, I
managed to get three great photos of the bird. That was an excellent bird to
see and photograph.
Yellow-breasted Pipit |
Yellow-breasted Pipit |
White-backed Night-heron |
Other highlights for the area included
African Harrier-hawk, African Cuckoo-hawk, Greater Honeyguide, Fiery-necked
Nightjar which flushed from under our feet, plus excellent sightings of two
African Pygmy Kingfisher and a Half-collared Kingfisher, both kingfishers being
difficult birds to find.
We then drove back to Benoni just east of
Johannesburg, where I was staying for the night. The accommodation at the
Outlook Lodge was very reasonably priced, comfortable with good meals provided
and located in a quiet part of Benoni with a huge garden. Here I met up with
Pat McKay and Ken McKenna who were very keen birders from Canada. They had both
done an extensive tour of South Africa the previous year with Dylan and had organised
the pre-tour from Johannesburg to Harare to target some of their missing
species.
Saturday
14th November: Alberton and Seringveld
Dylan had arranged to pick us up for a fairly
late start at 6:40am however we received a message saying that the two other
tour participants, Janet and John who were staying north of Johannesburg, were
still asleep when Dylan had arrived to pick them up. We ended up leaving an
hour late which wasn’t a good start to the trip, particularly as by 10am it was
already hot and windy. Dylan drove us down to some wetlands in the Alberton
area where we eventually had some obscured views of a Red-chested Flufftail. We
had just over 50 species at this site, the highlights being distant views of
Orange River Francolin and a close-up Jacobin Cuckoo.
We took a drive through an area close to
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, where we had South African Cliff Swallow, and
then headed north of Pretoria to a restaurant for lunch.
After lunch we visited the Seringveld
Conservancy, which consists mainly of broad-leafed woodland. Interesting birds included Lizard Buzzard,
African Black Swift, Eastern Willow Warbler and Green-capped Eremomela. At
about 5:30pm we headed further north to Zaagkuilsdrift close to Pienaar’s
River. The accommodation at Zaagkuilsdrift Lodge was excellent with huge rooms
and dinners taken at the boma with a huge fire going in the evenings.
Sunday
15th November: Zaagkuilsdrift and Borakalalo
We started birding along the road leading to
the lodge at 5am and I left the group shortly afterwards and enjoyed some birding
along the roadside and lodge grounds by myself. The Zaagkuilsdrift Road is an
excellent area for wetland and bushveld birding and I have previously visited
the area after rains. However most of South Africa was in the grip of a severe
drought and this area was particularly dry. Despite the dry conditions, I did
see some good birds and had just over 70 species for the morning, with highlights
including Gabar Goshawk, Jacobin Cuckoo, Crimson-breasted Shrike, Magpie
Shrike, Cape Penduline Tit, Barred Wren-warbler, Great Sparrow and African
Quailfinch. Crimson-breasted Shrike |
After lunch we drove through to Borakalalo National Park, a 14,000 hectare park situated around a dam and the Mogoshane Hills. On the drive we stopped for Grey-backed Sparrow-lark and I saw a Western Yellow Wagtail (Grey-headed thunbergi subspecies). Despite the hot conditions at Borakalalo we did manage to get about 70 species for the afternoon. The standout bird of the afternoon was a female African Finfoot which had Dylan, Ken and Pat charging through the sharp and spikey reeds (Phragmites) to see it as it flew down the river.
Southern Pied Babbler |
In the evening we did some spotlighting for a couple of hours and saw Western Barn Owl, Southern White-faced Owl, Spotted Eagle Owl and Marsh Owl, so a successful end to a long day.
Monday
16th November: Zaagkuilsdrift, Polokwane and Magoebaskloof
Before breakfast we did some birding around
the extensive grounds of the Zaagkuilsdrift Lodge. Highlights were two Great
Spotted Cuckoo, two Lesser Honeyguide and a Crimson-breasted Shrike with just
under 60 species for the early morning. Great Spotted Cuckoo |
As we travelled on towards Magoebaskloof we started to get heavy rain, which looked to have set in and wouldn’t have been good for birding. Taking some back roads to our accommodation at Magoebaskloof Hotel, we stopped for Cape Parrot, which Dylan had heard. It was misty and raining and initially I could only hear the parrots. Getting a bit closer I managed to get good views through the rain of at least four Cape Parrot, another key target bird for the trip.
Checking in at Magoebaskloof Hotel was a
shambles and with the rains, they had had a power failure. Once checked in, the
actual hotel was lovely, with great views over the forested valley, lovely
gardens, good meals and comfortable accommodation.
Tuesday
17th November: Magoebaskloof and Tzaneen
We arrived in the Woodbush Forest at 5:30am
for early morning birding in what was a grey, misty and cold day, but at least
the rain held off for the day. Our main target today was the Striped Flufftail,
a notoriously difficult to find bird and even more difficult bird to see. Dylan
took us to an area of suitable habitat and after much walking through the long
wet grass, we heard one calling on the other side of the valley. We eventually
got up close and heard it several times, including about 3 to 4m from where we
were standing. It took quite a bit of perseverance and I thought we would have
given up on the bird, but eventually we all managed to get good views as it
scurried like a rat across an open area before diving into the grass again.
Well that was fantastic and well worth the effort for a bird that many birders
don’t get to see.
Forest birding at Woodbush in the indigenous
Afromontane forests is always excellent although requires quite a bit of
patience waiting for mixed bird parties. Highlights included Rufous-breasted
Sparrowhawk, Lemon Dove, Cape Parrot, good views of several Barratt’s Warbler,
Chorister Robin-chat, White-starred Robin, Orange Ground Thrush, Swee Waxbill
and Mountain Wagtail.
After breakfast back at the hotel we drove
down the Magoebaskloof Pass, considered the steepest pass in South Africa, to
Tzaneen. At a non-descript patch of grass and shrubs in suburbia, we did some
birding and I managed to find the Magpie Mannikin, a lifer and key target bird.
Plenty of other good birds at this site including Long-crested Eagle, Black
Sparrowhawk, Purple-crested Turaco, Red-faced Cisticola, Holub’s Golden Weaver
and Thick-billed Weaver.
We then drove up into the hills to the well-known
Rooikoppies Drive, where we had a pair of nesting Bat Hawk. This is a difficult
bird to get unless its roosting sites are known, having missed it in Kenya,
never seen in South Africa until last year at Entabeni Forest in the Eastern
Soutpansberg and then seen in flight at Bukit Fraser in Malaysia in April this
year.
After lunch we went back to Woodbush where
the clouds had cleared and it was a bit warmer. Highlights included Narina
Trogon, Olive Woodpecker, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Grey Cuckooshrike and
Forest Canary.
After dinner we took a short walk around the
hotel grounds and had four African Wood Owl, seen and heard, with one swooping
in and whizzing past Ken’s head.
Wednesday
18th November: Magoebaskloof to MapungubweDid a bit of birding before breakfast with the highlights being great views of an African Emerald Cuckoo, six Cape Parrot flying across the valley and an Olive Bushshrike heard initially and then seen perched in the open. Had a couple of Red-backed Mannikin in the gardens as well, just before some torrential rain stopped any further birding.
After breakfast we drove back to Polokwane
and then up to Mapungubwe taking the R521 via Alldays. At Polokwane we stocked
up with groceries for the next couple of nights. We then stopped in Alldays for
lunch and I stocked up on biltong and droëwors from an excellent local shop. In
the area around Alldays we had Pale Chanting Goshawk, Purple Roller,
Red-breasted Swallow and White-browed Sparrow-weaver.
We checked into the lovely Leokwe Camp at
Mapungubwe National Park in the afternoon and birded along the roads and around
the campsite. Highlights included Dark Chanting Goshawk, Bearded Woodpecker,
White-crested Helmetshrike, Mocking Chat and Golden-breasted Bunting.
We had elephants visiting the swimming pool
during the hot afternoon, much to the delight of Pat and Ken who were swimming
at the time. At the braai we had in the evening at Dylan’s place, we had
elephant grazing close by on the stunted Mopani trees. I went back to my
accommodation a bit later being careful to avoid any elephants but when its
dark and you don’t have a torch there’s not much chance of seeing them. I opened
the door onto my veranda and had three elephants right next to the low wall and
close enough to touch. Later on I went to the outside shower which has a wooden
pole wall as a screen. I heard an elephant squeal and then heard heavy
footsteps running away. The next morning Ken told me about the close encounter he
had with an elephant and luckily had managed to get away.
Mapungubwe camps don’t have fences and the
elephants, lions and other wildlife are free to wander around. There are no
fences between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana, so elephants and other game
easily crosses the Limpopo River is search of food. Certainly makes it a lot
more interesting than the fenced camps of the Kruger National Park and offers
far better accommodation for the same cost.
Elephants at Mapungubwe Leokwe Camp |
Thursday
19th November: Mapungubwe
At 5am we headed down to the Limpopo River to
bird the riverine forest on a raised canopy walk overlooking the Limpopo River.
The river was nearly completely dry and I didn’t see anything particularly
exciting or that I hadn’t seen the previous year. We then drove to the main
gate to the small restaurant, where it took over two hours to get breakfast, so
we missed out on some prime birding. The breakfast when it arrived was cold and
pretty ordinary, would have been far better to have self-catered.
We then drove through to the Limpopo Forest
tented camp and did some birding in that area and alongside the Limpopo River.
By now the Limpopo River was flowing strongly, following heavy overnight rains
in the catchment area, and was very impressive. Dylan managed to locate an
African Barred Owlet (Ngami subspecies) near the camp which was
one of my target birds and a lovely owl to see. In the evening, back at Leokwe,
we did some spotlighting and saw Freckled Nightjar and Spotted Thick-knee.
Of the 130 species for the day, the highlights
were Red-crested Korhaan, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Meyer’s Parrot, Grey-headed
Bushshrike, Retz’s Helmetshrike, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark, Shaft-tailed Whydah
and Village Indigobird.
Friday
20th November: Mapungubwe to MasvingoKlipspringer |
At 5am we headed down to the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo Rivers where three countries South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana meet. On the rocks below the viewing platforms, Dylan spotted a roosting Freckled Nightjar, which was sooty black in colour. I also spotted an Eastern Rock Elephant-shrew in the nearby rocks, which was a new mammal for myself. Also had Yellow-spotted rock Hyrax and South African Spring Hare in the area.
Limpopo River flowing strongly after recent rains |
Kori Bustard |
We then headed into Musina (Messina) for a
hearty breakfast at the local Steers Restaurant, before heading a few
kilometres to the infamous Beit Bridge border crossing. Well three hours later
we left the awful border crossing and stopped at the Lion & Elephant Hotel
for lunch. Some nice birding around the hotel grounds and probably a good place
for an overnight stop.
We headed further east to an area near Runde
to try for Boulder Chat. It was very hot and dry and we weren’t successful with
the chat but did see some nice birds including a couple of Grey-headed
Bushshrike. We continued on to Masvingo to check into our lovely accommodation
at Norma Jeans Lakeview Resort. Unfortunately given the delays along the way,
we arrived in the dark and far too late to visit the Great Zimbabwe ruins, which
was on the itinerary and is well worth seeing.
Saturday
21st November: Masvingo to Harare
We had a couple of hours birding before
breakfast in the Miombo woodlands around the resort. Being
Miombo woodlands you could hit a quiet spell but perseverance and a few hours
birding often pays off. We hit a quiet
spell and only managed to get 24 species, with the most interesting being
Miombo Double-collared Sunbird. None of the other Miombo target species were
seen.
After a sumptuous breakfast we headed north
on the road to Harare, encountering numerous police roadblocks and had one ugly
incident with corrupt police, described in the beginning of the report. Just
south of Harare we came across at least 200 Abdim’s Storks which was
impressive. We then picked up Janet and John at the airport and checked into
the upmarket Bronte Hotel in Harare. Also met up with Barbara and Neville at
the hotel, who had flown in from Canada the previous day.
After lunch we headed out to Monavale Vlei
which unfortunately was bone dry and with the hot winds and dust, made birding
very unpleasant. After an hour at this site we headed across to Marlborough
Vlei which was also dry but did have more extensive reed beds and a lot more
exciting birds. At Marlborough Vlei we had excellent views of Marsh Owl in
flight and on the ground. We also had good views of Senegal Coucal. Dylan then
spotted a Rosy-throated Longclaw flying in and we had excellent views of a
second bird on the ground. This is a bird that I had very poor views of in
Kenya and had never managed to see it in South Africa or Swaziland. It was also
an unexpected bird for this time of year and considering the dry conditions, a
real bonus.
Sunday
22nd November: Harare Miombo Woodlands
We left early in the morning to arrive at
Christon Bank just after 5:30am in warm and humid conditions with heavy cloud
cover. Christon Bank is a small
residential area 22 km north of Harare set along amongst rolling hills
overlooking the Mazowe River valley. The habitat is primarily Miombo woodland
with some riverine forest along the river itself. After the dirty and rundown
Harare, it was very pleasant to get into near pristine Miombo woodland and we
soon had four Boulder Chat calling and displaying. Other highlights for this
area were Little Sparrowhawk, Red-faced Crombec, Miombo Rock Thrush, Western
Violet-backed Sunbird and Cabanis’s Bunting.Boulder Chat in Miombo Woodland |
We managed to get in some good birding before it started to rain hard just after midday. We had the option of going back to the hotel and probably not birding again for the rest of the day or birding in the rain. We elected to do the latter and managed to get some excellent Miombo species in the heavy rain. Highlights included Helmeted Guineafowl, Eurasian Hobby, two Miombo Tit, two African Spotted Creeper and Buffy Pipit. We packed it in just before 3pm and headed back to Harare.
Monday
23rd November: Harare to Nyanga
We packed up and left early in the morning for
Haka Park arriving just after 5am. We spent just over two hours in the park in
cloudy and cool conditions, following yesterday’s heavy rain, and had some very
rewarding birding with just over 50 species recorded. Highlights included two
Green-backed Honeybird, Grey-headed Bushshrike, four Miombo Tit, Grey Penduline
Tit, Stierling’s Wren-warbler, four Southern Hyliota and three African Spotted
Creeper. Miombo Woodlands at Gosho Park |
We managed to get just over 50 species in the 2.5 hours at this site with highlights being African Cuckoo-hawk, Whyte’s Barbet, Brown-backed Honeyguide, two Southern Hyliota, Miombo Rock Thrush and Wood Pipit. In addition, we had Common Whitethroat which was an unexpected bonus, and is a locally common Palaearctic migrant arriving November/December.
We continued eastwards to the Nyanga region
arriving at the Pine Tree Inn just after 4pm. This accommodation must have been
great 30 years ago but is sorely in need of some updating and maintenance. It’s
located in a lovely valley overlooking a creek and rocky hills. There were
quite a few Eastern Saw-wing, now a subspecies of the Black Saw-wing, around
the accommodation and had our first Robert’s Warbler down at the creek.
Tuesday
24th November: Nyanga to Honde ValleyWe had some early morning birding around our accommodation with highlights being distant views of Mottled Swift plus Lesser Honeyguide, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Miombo Tit, Village Weaver (Layard’s) and Yellow-bellied Waxbill. We were standing in an area above the lodge, with a dog barking close to us, when Dylan heard a Garden Warbler. Don’t know how he managed that but his hearing is incredibly good, and we had great views of a bird which was new for my Southern Africa list.
After breakfast we drove to the Nyanga
National Park and had great views of at least four Blue Swallow, a critically
endangered bird in South Africa, and one I had travelled to Swaziland the
previous year to see. I saw about 14 Blue Swallow in total at Nyanga, at three
separate locations, which was fantastic.
We drove down towards the Mutarazi Falls and
Dylan was a bit too ambitious and managed to get our van firmly stuck on the
awful road. I thought we were going to sleep under the stars that night.
Luckily some young Zimbabweans, who had better vehicles and had already been
down to the falls, came back to give us assistance. With much manoeuvring,
modifying the road, removal of rocks, etc. they managed to tow us up the hill
back to decent roads. After this I went off to the river to enjoy the cold
water and watch Blue Swallows hawking over the water.
Interesting birds for Nyanga included Augur
Buzzard, Giant Kingfisher, Brown-backed Honeybird, Barratt’s Warbler and many
Yellow-bellied Waxbill.
Leaving Nyanga at about 2pm we drove to the
Honde Valley, which is the premier birding spot of eastern Zimbabwe. Its low
altitude likens it to the Haroni-Rusitu because of the various birds that
marginally occur in the country from Mozambique. The habitat is largely tea
estates but interspersed are rivers with forest and remaining belts of forest,
some rising up to the higher levels of the eastern highlands. At the top of the
Honde Valley we had great views of Lanner Falcon catching flying ants and
eating them whilst in flight. Lanner Falcon at Honde Valley |
Wednesday 25th November: Honde Valley to Bvumba Highlands
We had a very early morning start at 4:30am in some lowland forests close to the lodge. We had a local guide, Morgan, for this part of the tour and he soon produced Marsh Tchagra, Fan-tailed Grassbird and Black-winged Red Bishop in the swampy areas. Further birding in the nearby forested areas produced Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, Tambourine Dove, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Half-collared Kingfisher, White-eared Barbet, Green-backed Woodpecker, African Broadbill, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Grey Waxbill and Magpie Mannikin. At least four Blue-spotted Wood Dove were also heard by myself.
Back at the lodge there was an enormous
breakfast, which was taking far too long time to prepare, so I left early and
met up with Morgan, who very kindly told me about Red-faced Crimsonwing. I then
had excellent views of two of these lovely birds at the feeder and also about
40 Scarce Swift which were calling and seen in flight over their roosting site,
thanks again to Morgan.
We were scheduled to leave at 10am but left
an hour later as the rest of the party tried to get the Red-faced Crimsonwing.
Of all the places we visited on the trip, the Honde Valley deserved more time
and a second night there would have been excellent, with maybe one less day at
Seldomseen.
We drove through to Seldomseen Cottages in
the Bvumba Highlands, with a stop in town at Mutare, arriving at about 4pm.
This accommodation is situated in lovely gardens with extensive walking trails
through the adjacent forests. The food here was excellent, with lovely home
cooked meals, however the accommodation needed quite a bit of maintenance.
Had a short walk around the property in the
afternoon by myself with White-eared Barbet, Stripe-cheeked Greenbul,
Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Yellow-throated Woodland Warbler, Chirinda Apalis and
about four Orange Ground Thrush being seen. There are certainly advantages to
birding alone, particularly in a forest, and a lot more satisfying finding the
birds. A short spotlighting session in
the evening produced African Wood Owl.
Thursday
26th November: Bvumba Highlands
We had a 5:15am start in the morning with two
local guides, Bulawesi and his colleague, who started showing us birds we had
already seen. After about 10 minutes with them I headed off by myself to do
some birding and had an excellent morning before breakfast seeing the colourful
Red-necked Spurfowl (Swynnertoni race), many Livingstone’s Turaco, White-eared
Barbet, White-tailed Crested Flycatcher, Chirinda Apalis, at least eight Orange
Ground Thrush and quite a few White-starred Robin.
The rest of the party arrived about an hour late
for breakfast and boasted about seeing Buff-spotted Flufftail. As we hadn’t
seen this on the pre-tour and as this was one of my key targets, I was bit
annoyed. So I skipped breakfast and headed off down the forest trails again by
myself and had good views of Lemon Dove on the path a few metres away, Crowned
Hornbill, more White-starred Robin and four Olive Bushshrike.
Towards midday I took a long trail down the
hill in the heat of the day. The birding was very quiet, so wasn’t having much
luck with my Flufftail search. Close to giving up for the morning, I crossed a
small trickle of water and heard a single call of a Buff-spotted Flufftail. I
backtracked and played its call once to which it immediately responded. I then
saw it a couple of meters from where I was standing and had fantastic views as
it walked slowly around me in a circle, made a dash across the path and then
continued walking slowly on the other side.
So that was the best experience I have ever had with Flufftails and
quite exhilarating. I did show Barbara and Neville the site the next afternoon
and we managed to hear it again and get very brief, unsatisfactory views. Dylan
tried to show Janet and John the Flufftail on the last day at this site and
some other sites, but wasn’t successful.
In the afternoon the rest of the group went
off birding somewhere and I stayed behind relaxing at the lodge grounds.
Friday
27th November: Bvumba HighlandsBefore breakfast we drove down to the Whitehorse Inn area and saw some good birds including Narina Trogon, Whyte’s Barbet, Miombo Tit, Terrestrial Brownbul, Garden Warbler, Red-throated Twinspot and Striped Pipit. Heading back to the Seldomseen Cottages we stopped at a roadside forest and our local guides found Swynnerton’s Robin, which showed off its white crescent throat nicely as it moved around the forest floor.
After breakfast, I did some birding with
Barbara and Neville around the lodge grounds but compared to the previous day,
it was a lot hotter and not nearly as rewarding.
At 2pm we drove down to the golf course at
Leopard Rock Lodge to try for Silvery-cheeked Hornbill which we unfortunately
couldn’t find. It was very hot in the afternoon and birding was tough, although
we did see Crowned Eagle, African Goshawk, White-eared Barbet, good views of
Mottled Swift, Bronzy Sunbird and Dark-backed Weaver. We then had some much
needed drinks back at the clubhouse before heading back to our lodgings.
Saturday
28th November: Bvumba to Gorongosa
Had a bit of birding around the lodge with an
African Harrier-hawk (Gymnogene) flying over just over our heads. After an early breakfast we drove to the nearby
Mozambique border crossing at Machipanda. The Zimbabwe side took a
few minutes to get through and what a pleasure compared to Beit Bridge. With a
South African passport or a valid Mozambique visa it only takes 5 to 10 minutes
to get through the Mozambique border controls. South African passport holders
don’t need visas for Zimbabwe or Mozambique.
Since October 2014, Mozambique visas are no
longer available on arrival and must be obtained in advance. As with the
Canadians experience, getting a Mozambique visa takes time and is an expensive process,
and as Canada doesn’t have a Mozambique Consulate or Embassy, application has
to be made in the USA or UK. Two of our party hadn’t organised visas beforehand
and were very lucky to get a visa on arrival, although it did take over an hour
with lots of discussion, fingerprints and photographs taken,
applications to be completed and payments made.
I think that birding tour companies should
insist on getting proof of visas before commencement of a trip. If Mozambique
had refused to grant a visa on arrival, which had been their policy for over a
year, then that would have been a major disruption for the tour. Considering
that most only had a single entry visa for Zimbabwe, we would have been stuck
in no-man’s land whilst arrangements were made for others to get back to Mutare
and then South Africa.
After a long drive through Chimoio and Inchope,
a quick stop to buy lunch at a supermarket, plus many stops at ATM’s to try and
get cash, we arrived at Gorongosa Adventuras by
mid-afternoon. The hosts, Piet and Ria van Zyl gave us a very warm welcome. It
was good to chat with them and find out about Mozambique and some of the many
challenges living there. They were exceptional hosts, providing the best meals of
the trip with good traditional Afrikaans cooking, such as pap & wors, milk
tart etc.
Some birding in the afternoon produced
African Wood Owl (roosting near the dining area), Broad-billed Roller,
Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Pale Batis, Retz’s
Helmetshrike, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Red-faced Crombec, Stierling’s
Wren-warbler, Red-winged Warbler, Miombo Blue-eared Starling and Purple-banded
Sunbird.
The campsite had huge tents with large
verandas, with a separate toilet/shower block. So whilst rustic they were quite
comfortable, although the lack of a fan made it quite hot in the evenings. Being
located next to Gorongosa National Park, there was plenty of good birding to be
had. I preferred doing my own walks in the extensive bushveld around the
campsite instead of using the van. I found several of my target birds, which
very satisfying, and didn’t miss out on any targets.
Sunday
29th November: Mount Gorongosa
We left very early for our drive up to Mount
Gorongosa in a single vehicle with four adults squashed into the back. Access
to Mount Gorongosa had been arranged by Piet van Zyl and the track was very
rough necessitating a very slow drive up to a picnic area and then a few kms
walk up to the forest edge. Ken, Pat, Barbara and Neville - Mount Gorongosa |
The highland forests of Mount Gorongosa are well known for their isolated population of Green-headed Oriole (endemic subspecies speculifer), distinguished by its white wing spot. The Green-headed Oriole also occurs patchily in Southeast Kenya and Eastern Tanzania (subspecies amani) and in Southern Malawi and Central Mozambique at Mt Chipperone (subspecies chlorocephalus). Consistent with many trip reports, it took well over an hour and a lot of patience to get glimpses of the birds in the high canopy. We did eventually get very brief views of at least three birds, both immature and adult birds. Quite a few were also heard and I estimated about eight birds seen and heard.
On the walk up, Ken was at the back of the party and noticed an unusual bird. Dylan said it was probably a Cisticola or Stonechat. However, Ken insisted it was something different and when we went back to have a look, Dylan got very excited and ID’d it as a Whinchat. This was a mega sighting for Southern Africa and was about the 20th record for Southern Africa, with the last one being in December 2013 near Percy Fyfe Nature Reserve in Limpopo Province. The Whinchat remained at this site until at least 23 December 2015 and twitched by over 50 birders (SA Rare Bird Alerts – Trevor Hardaker). Considering the remoteness of the site and difficulty in getting there, that’s pretty impressive.
Whinchat on Mount Gorongosa |
Other good birds included European Honey Buzzard, Eastern Bronze-naped Pigeon, 14 Blue-spotted Dove, Eurasian Hobby, Black-fronted Bushshrike, Marsh Tchagra, Moustached Grass Warbler, Black-winged Red Bishop, Green Twinspot, Red-throated Twinspot, Jameson’s Firefinch, Grey Waxbill and Brimstone Canary.
In hindsight we should have spent more time at Mount Gorongosa or at least visited a second time. We missed out on the Eurasian Blackcap and the Corncrake which were reported there at about the same time, plus Lesser Seedcracker (mega bastard according to Dylan) which eluded us for the entire trip.
Back at camp we had some late afternoon
birding around the campsite with Brown-headed Parrot and Eastern Nicator being
seen. After dinner we had a night drive with Spotted Eagle-owl, European
Nightjar and Square-tailed Nightjar being seen. On the way back to camp, I
think Dylan was the only one awake after a very long day.
Monday
30th November: GorongosaToday I birded by myself from early morning through to early afternoon and didn’t go on any of the group trips, which included another night drive. Birding around the campsite and adjacent woodland areas was very rewarding, with 55 species recorded, including Bateleur, Lizard Buzzard, African Emerald Cuckoo, African Wood Owl, Broad-billed Roller, Woodland Kingfisher, Little Bee-eater, Crowned Hornbill, Golden-tailed Woodpecker, Cardinal Woodpecker, Bearded Woodpecker, Retz’s Helmetshrike, African Golden Oriole, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and Purple-banded Sunbird.
I did spend quite a bit of time walking along
dry river beds looking for Pel’s Fishing Owl and Collared Palm Thrush but
didn’t have any luck.
The highlight for the morning was a
Speckle-throated Woodpecker, also known as Reichenow's Woodpecker, an East
African woodpecker often considered a subspecies of Bennett's woodpecker. In Mozambique it’s restricted to open broad-leaved
woodland between Beira and the lower Zambezi river. This was an adult female
with whitish throat and faint black malar stripe with white spots. It’s very
similar to the Bennett’s Woodpecker both in appearance and call. Spotting on
the underparts separates it from a Golden-tailed Woodpecker and it’s also
significantly larger than the Green-backed Woodpecker.
So other than some relaxing and enjoyable
birding, I only managed one new bird, and didn’t miss out on any birds that the
group saw. Hence the earlier comments that a second trip to Mount Gorongosa
would have been more rewarding, given its unique habitat and recent sightings.
Tuesday
1st December: Gorongosa to M’PhingweDid some birding by myself before breakfast with sightings of Stierling’s Wren-warbler, a female Purple-banded Sunbird feeding chicks and Cabanis’s Bunting. At one stage I thought I had a Yellow-bellied Hyliota but this is a bird that is easily confused with Southern Hyliota. There are historical records from a small region of suitable habitat north of Dondo (20km NW of Beira) however there have only been a few unconfirmed sightings in recent years. Talking with Etienne Marais at M’Phingwe these sightings are far more likely to have been of Southern Hyliota.
After breakfast, we drove northwest to arrive
at M’Phingwe Camp after midday in the heat of the day. This lovely camp is close
to Caia on the Zambezi River, which provides excellent accommodation in
spacious chalets, an open air dining area and wooded camp grounds. A brief
roadside stop on the way in produced a pair of Collared Palm Thrush at a creek
crossing.
Etienne Marais kindly let us know where he
had seen African Pitta and after lunch we headed off in very hot conditions.
The key birding area was in broad-leaved woodland on either side of the sandy
road running through the massive hunting concession, Coutada 12. Birding in the
area produced Southern Banded Snake Eagle, African Wood Owl in the camp,
Dickinson’s Kestrel, Brown-necked Parrot (Grey-headed subspecies),
Chestnut-fronted Helmetshrike and Red-backed Mannikin, with the highlight being
an African Hobby in the road which then flew off.
Towards sunset I thought I heard a Pitta
moving on the forest floor and dived into the forest but didn’t see anything.
Dylan then indicated that he could hear a Pitta, so we moved towards the area
it had been calling from. I was trailing a bit behind the group and saw Dylan
pointing up into the trees. I then had excellent views, through a gap in the
leaves, of the displaying African Pitta. A second bird was also heard calling
from the same area. African Wood Owl at M'Phingwe Camp |
African Pitta (photo by Dylan Vasapolli) |
Wednesday 2nd December: M’Phingwe and Caia
We left very early in the morning for Coutada 12 road with three more African Pitta being seen, one up in a tree and two others hopping across the path in front of us. We had at least one more calling, so had at least four African Pitta for the morning, something quite special.
African Pitta (photo by Dylan Vasapolli) |
After lunch we did some birding at wetlands close to Caia and along the Zambezi River. Interesting birds included about 40 Collared Pratincole, Moustached Grass Warbler and Rufous-winged Cisticola.
Thursday 3rd December: M’Phingwe
Another very early morning along the Coutada 12 road with a focus on the East Coast Akalat and White-chested Alethe. The latter bird is a hard one to get good views of, being a shy bird it will respond to call but will typically remain in the dense bush. We heard the bird calling many times and had a brief flyover, with the white chest quite visible in flight. Whilst it was tickable it wasn’t particularly satisfactory, and we spent well over an hour trying to get better views. The East Coast Akalat was however a lot more cooperative and we saw it briefly a number of times and I also had it perched up on a branch in front of me, giving excellent views.
Other highlights included Mangrove
Kingfisher, Southern Carmine Bee-eater and Lowland Tiny Greenbul. A number of
the highly sought after species found in the Zambezi Delta area can also be
seen further up the east coast of Africa, and for example I have seen the
Lowland Tiny Greenbul, Plain-backed Sunbird and East Coast Akalat at the
Arabuko-Sokoke Forest near Malindi in Kenya.
In the afternoon we visited some wetlands
fairly close to M’Phingwe, which were in far better condition than the wetlands
close to Caia, and we were rewarded with Allen’s Gallinule, extended views of a
Common Buttonquail walking on the ground, Senegal Lapwing, Lesser Jacana,
Grey-rumped Swallow, Rufous-winged Cisticola and Plain-backed Sunbird. We did
try for Short-winged Cisticola but weren’t successful and didn’t manage to see
this bird for the trip.
Friday
4th December: M’Phingwe to Beira
We took an early morning walk down to a small
lake 2km from M’Phingwe Camp, which was very pleasant. Interesting sightings
included Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Lesser Jacana, six Tambourine Dove at the water’s
edge, Black-bellied Starling and four Red-throated Twinspot. Juvenile African Wood Owl at M'Phingwe Camp |
After breakfast we took the 6.5-hour drive to Beira along a 200km sandy road. Quite a tedious drive with a few short birding breaks along the way, which produced Crowned Eagle, Ayres’s Hawk-eagle, Shikra and Stierling’s Wren-warbler. On the outskirts of Beira, Dylan stopped off at a breeding site for Bat Hawk and there were a pair in residence.
We headed straight to the Rio Savane area arriving at about 3pm. In the wet season this is a vast area of wetlands however it was bone dry at the time of our visit, so we missed out on a number of species such as Rufous-bellied Heron. We did however get excellent views of a Blue Quail as it flushed up from moist grasslands and flew alongside about 5 to 10m away. We also had a brief and unsatisfactory view of Black-rumped Buttonquail.
Just before 6pm we had a quick stop at Beira
Beach which was very dirty with litter. There were a whole lot of waders quite
some way off and we didn’t attempt to get closer. We did see House Crow which
was new for the trip.
We checked into our accommodation at Jardim
das Velas which was quite spacious and comfortable. I did find out later that
my door had been forced open previously and wouldn’t shut properly, so not
particularly secure given the area we were staying in. We went to a local fish restaurant, next to
the beach, in the evening as a wrap-up for the trip.
Saturday
5th December: Rio Savane, Beira
We had an early morning visit to Rio Savane
for about 4 hours. This time we managed to get excellent and extended views of
Black-rumped Buttonquail in flight. Other excellent species included Wattled
Crane, Temminck’s Courser, Collared Pratincole, four Copper Sunbird and African
Quailfinch. The outstanding bird of the day was Locust Finch and after flushing
about six birds we managed to get to within 1 to 2m of the birds on the ground.
I spotted a female Locust Finch right in front of me. The bright red bill, red
rump/tail and white spotting on the back are quite vibrant colours and the
field guides don’t do this bird justice.
We did miss out on that mega bastard, the
Lesser Seedcraker, and Etienne Marais managed to see and photograph one a few
days later.
We then went back to the hotel to have
breakfast and get ready for our flight to Johannesburg. We were all booked on
SAA’s Airlink flight, which leaves at 1:30 pm and provides a good service back
to Johannesburg. After Dylan dropped us off at the airport, he had the long
drive via Zimbabwe, back to Johannesburg. There were a few curios at the
airport and I bought a nicely carved Rhino and hematite necklace.
Flying out of Beira, we headed north over the
Rio Savane area and over an extensive river delta. The beaches along this part
of the coast were pristine not like the ones around Beira. Flying over
Mozambique, there wasn’t much to see except bush. Once we crossed over the
Kruger Park, we got to see extensive farms, towns, roads and other signs of
civilisation.
Overall it was an outstanding birding trip,
with many hard-to-get species seen which have been on my wish list for a long
time, so thanks to the sterling efforts and capable guiding provided by Dylan.
Birding
Resources
Birding
Gauteng by Etienne Marais and Faansie Peacock, first
edition 2008
Roberts
VII Birds of Southern Africa iPhone App version 2 designed by Guy
Gibbon
SASOL
Birds of Southern Africa iPhone AppOf the electronic field guides, Roberts VII is the superior field guide, having the best illustrations, bird calls, photos and the latest distribution maps based on SABAP2. In addition, this field guide has a lot of detail on the birding habitats, has colour coded distribution maps which show seasonal variation, plus shows the distribution and provides a description of all the subspecies.
Birds
The list of birds according to latest IOC taxonomy, December 2015,
was as follows:
STRUTHIONIFORMES
Ostriches
(Struthionidae)
Common
Ostrich [sp] (Struthio camelus)
ANSERIFORMES
Ducks, Geese
and Swans (Anatidae)
White-faced
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
Fulvous
Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)
Spur-winged
Goose [sp] (Plectropterus gambensis)
Egyptian
Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)
Cape Teal
(Anas capensis)
African Black
Duck [sp] (Anas sparsa)
Yellow-billed
Duck [sp] (Anas undulata)
Cape Shoveler
(Anas smithii)
Red-billed
Teal (Anas erythrorhyncha)
Hottentot
Teal (Anas hottentota)
GALLIFORMES
Guineafowl
(Numididae)
Helmeted
Guineafowl [sp] (Numida meleagris)
Crested
Guineafowl [sp] (Guttera pucherani)
Pheasants
and allies (Phasianidae)
Red-winged
Francolin [sp] (Scleroptila levaillantii)
Orange River
Francolin [sp] (Scleroptila gutturalis)
Crested
Francolin [sp] (Dendroperdix sephaena)
Natal
Spurfowl [sp] (Pternistis natalensis)
Red-necked
Spurfowl [sp] (Pternistis afer)
Swainson's
Spurfowl [sp] (Pternistis swainsonii)
Blue Quail
(Excalfactoria adansonii)
PODICIPEDIFORMES
Grebes
(Podicipedidae)
Little Grebe
[sp] (Tachybaptus ruficollis)
Great Crested
Grebe [sp] (Podiceps cristatus)
PHOENICOPTERIFORMES
Flamingos
(Phoenicopteridae)
Greater
Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)
CICONIIFORMES
Storks
(Ciconiidae)
Yellow-billed
Stork (Mycteria ibis)
African
Openbill [sp] (Anastomus lamelligerus)
Black Stork
(Ciconia nigra)
Abdim's Stork
(Ciconia abdimii)
Woolly-necked
Stork [sp] (Ciconia episcopus)
Marabou Stork
(Leptoptilos crumenifer)
PELECANIFORMES
Ibises,
Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
African
Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)
Hadada Ibis
[sp] (Bostrychia hagedash)
Glossy Ibis
(Plegadis falcinellus)
African
Spoonbill (Platalea alba)
Herons,
Bitterns (Ardeidae)
White-backed
Night Heron (Gorsachius leuconotus)
Black-crowned
Night Heron [sp] (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Squacco Heron
(Ardeola ralloides)
Western
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)
Grey Heron
[sp] (Ardea cinerea)
Black-headed
Heron (Ardea melanocephala)
Goliath Heron
(Ardea goliath)
Purple Heron
[sp] (Ardea purpurea)
Great Egret
[sp] (Ardea alba)
Intermediate
Egret [sp] (Egretta intermedia)
Black Heron
(Egretta ardesiaca)
Little Egret
[sp] (Egretta garzetta)
Hamerkop
(Scopidae)
Hamerkop [sp]
(Scopus umbretta)
SULIFORMES
Cormorants,
Shags (Phalacrocoracidae)
Reed
Cormorant [sp] (Microcarbo africanus)
White-breasted
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus)
Anhingas,
Darters (Anhingidae)
African
Darter [sp] (Anhinga rufa)
ACCIPITRIFORMES
Ospreys
(Pandionidae)
Western
Osprey [sp] (Pandion haliaetus)
Kites, Hawks
and Eagles (Accipitridae)
Black-winged
Kite [sp] (Elanus caeruleus)
African Harrier-hawk
[sp] (Polyboroides typus)
European
Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus)
African
Cuckoo-hawk [sp] (Aviceda cuculoides)
White-backed
Vulture (Gyps africanus)
Cape Vulture
(Gyps coprotheres)
Black-chested
Snake Eagle (Circaetus pectoralis)
Brown Snake
Eagle (Circaetus cinereus)
Southern
Banded Snake Eagle (Circaetus fasciolatus)
Bateleur
(Terathopius ecaudatus)
Bat Hawk [sp]
(Macheiramphus alcinus)
Crowned Eagle
(Stephanoaetus coronatus)
Martial Eagle
(Polemaetus bellicosus)
Long-crested
Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)
Wahlberg's
Eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi)
Ayres's
Hawk-eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii)
Tawny Eagle
[sp] (Aquila rapax)
Lizard
Buzzard [sp] (Kaupifalco monogrammicus)
Gabar Goshawk
[sp] (Micronisus gabar)
Dark Chanting
Goshawk [sp] (Melierax metabates)
Pale Chanting
Goshawk [sp] (Melierax canorus)
African
Goshawk [sp] (Accipiter tachiro)
Shikra [sp]
(Accipiter badius)
Little
Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter minullus)
Ovambo
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter ovampensis)
Rufous-breasted
Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter rufiventris)
Black
Sparrowhawk [sp] (Accipiter melanoleucus)
African Marsh
Harrier (Circus ranivorus)
Yellow-billed
Kite [sp] (Milvus aegyptius)
African Fish
Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)
Common
Buzzard [sp] (Buteo buteo)
Augur Buzzard
(Buteo augur)
OTIDIFORMES
Bustards
(Otididae)
Kori Bustard
[sp] (Ardeotis kori)
Denham's
Bustard [sp] (Neotis denhami)
Red-crested
Korhaan (Lophotis ruficrista)
Northern
Black Korhaan [sp] (Afrotis afraoides)
Black-bellied
Bustard [sp] (Lissotis melanogaster)
GRUIFORMES
Flufftails
(Sarothruridae)
Buff-spotted
Flufftail [sp] (Sarothrura elegans)
Red-chested
Flufftail [sp] (Sarothrura rufa)
Striped
Flufftail [sp] (Sarothrura affinis)
Finfoots
(Heliornithidae)
African
Finfoot [sp] (Podica senegalensis)
Rails,
Crakes and Coots (Rallidae)
African Rail
(Rallus caerulescens)
Black Crake
(Amaurornis flavirostra)
African
Swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis)
Allen's
Gallinule (Porphyrio alleni)
Common Moorhen
[sp] (Gallinula chloropus)
Red-knobbed
Coot (Fulica cristata)
Cranes
(Gruidae)
Wattled Crane
(Grus carunculata)
CHARADRIIFORMES
Buttonquail
(Turnicidae)
Common
Buttonquail [sp] (Turnix sylvaticus)
Black-rumped
Buttonquail (Turnix nanus)
Stone-curlews,
Thick-knees (Burhinidae)
Water
Thick-knee [sp] (Burhinus vermiculatus)
Spotted
Thick-knee [sp] (Burhinus capensis)
Stilts,
Avocets (Recurvirostridae)
Black-winged
Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)
Pied Avocet
(Recurvirostra avosetta)
Plovers
(Charadriidae)
Blacksmith
Lapwing (Vanellus armatus)
Senegal
Lapwing (Vanellus lugubris)
Black-winged
Lapwing [sp] (Vanellus melanopterus)
Crowned
Lapwing [sp] (Vanellus coronatus)
African
Wattled Lapwing [sp] (Vanellus senegallus)
Grey Plover
[sp] (Pluvialis squatarola)
Common Ringed
Plover [sp] (Charadrius hiaticula)
Kittlitz's
Plover (Charadrius pecuarius)
Three-banded
Plover [sp] (Charadrius tricollaris)
Caspian
Plover (Charadrius asiaticus)
Jacanas
(Jacanidae)
Lesser Jacana
(Microparra capensis)
African
Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)
Sandpipers,
Snipes (Scolopacidae)
African Snipe
[sp] (Gallinago nigripennis)
Bar-tailed
Godwit [sp] (Limosa lapponica)
Marsh
Sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis)
Common
Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)
Wood
Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
Common
Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)
Little Stint
(Calidris minuta)
Curlew
Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)
Ruff
(Philomachus pugnax)
Coursers,
Pratincoles (Glareolidae)
Temminck's
Courser [sp] (Cursorius temminckii)
Double-banded
Courser [sp] (Rhinoptilus africanus)
Collared
Pratincole [sp] (Glareola pratincola)
Black-winged
Pratincole (Glareola nordmanni)
Gulls, Terns
and Skimmers (Laridae)
Grey-headed
Gull [sp] (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)
Lesser
Black-backed Gull [sp] (Larus fuscus)
Whiskered
Tern [sp] (Chlidonias hybrida)
White-winged
Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
PTEROCLIFORMES
Sandgrouse
(Pteroclidae)
Double-banded
Sandgrouse [sp] (Pterocles bicinctus)
COLUMBIFORMES
Pigeons,
Doves (Columbidae)
Rock Dove
[sp] (Columba livia)
Speckled
Pigeon [sp] (Columba guinea)
African Olive
Pigeon (Columba arquatrix)
Eastern
Bronze-naped Pigeon [sp] (Columba delegorguei)
Lemon Dove
[sp] (Columba larvata)
Mourning
Collared Dove [sp] (Streptopelia decipiens)
Red-eyed Dove
(Streptopelia semitorquata)
Ring-necked
Dove [sp] (Streptopelia capicola)
Laughing Dove
[sp] (Spilopelia senegalensis)
Emerald-spotted
Wood Dove (Turtur chalcospilos)
Blue-spotted
Wood Dove (Turtur afer)
Tambourine
Dove (Turtur tympanistria)
Namaqua Dove
[sp] (Oena capensis)
African Green
Pigeon [sp] (Treron calvus)
MUSOPHAGIFORMES
Turacos
(Musophagidae)
Livingstone's
Turaco [sp] (Tauraco livingstonii)
Knysna Turaco
[sp] (Tauraco corythaix)
Purple-crested
Turaco [sp] (Tauraco porphyreolophus)
Grey
Go-away-bird [sp] (Corythaixoides concolor)
CUCULIFORMES
Cuckoos
(Cuculidae)
Senegal
Coucal [sp] (Centropus senegalensis)
Burchell's
Coucal [sp] (Centropus burchellii)
Green Malkoha
(Ceuthmochares australis)
Great Spotted
Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius)
Jacobin
Cuckoo [sp] (Clamator jacobinus)
Diederik
Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius)
Klaas's
Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas)
African
Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus)
Black Cuckoo
[sp] (Cuculus clamosus)
Red-chested
Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius)
African
Cuckoo (Cuculus gularis)
Common Cuckoo
[sp] (Cuculus canorus)
STRIGIFORMES
Barn Owls
(Tytonidae)
Western Barn
Owl [sp] (Tyto alba)
Owls
(Strigidae)
Southern
White-faced Owl (Ptilopsis granti)
Cape
Eagle-owl [sp] (Bubo capensis)
Spotted
Eagle-owl [sp] (Bubo africanus)
African Wood
Owl [sp] (Strix woodfordii)
Pearl-spotted
Owlet [sp] (Glaucidium perlatum)
African
Barred Owlet [sp] (Glaucidium capense)
Marsh Owl
[sp] (Asio capensis)
CAPRIMULGIFORMES
Nightjars
(Caprimulgidae)
European
Nightjar [sp] (Caprimulgus europaeus)
Fiery-necked
Nightjar [sp] (Caprimulgus pectoralis)
Freckled
Nightjar [sp] (Caprimulgus tristigma)
Square-tailed
Nightjar [sp] (Caprimulgus fossii)
Apodiformes
Swifts
(Apodidae)
Scarce Swift
[sp] (Schoutedenapus myoptilus)
African Palm
Swift [sp] (Cypsiurus parvus)
Alpine Swift
[sp] (Tachymarptis melba)
Mottled Swift
[sp] (Tachymarptis aequatorialis)
African Black
Swift [sp] (Apus barbatus)
Little Swift
[sp] (Apus affinis)
White-rumped
Swift (Apus caffer)
COLIIFORMES
Mousebirds
(Coliidae)
Speckled
Mousebird [sp] (Colius striatus)
White-backed
Mousebird [sp] (Colius colius)
Red-faced
Mousebird [sp] (Urocolius indicus)
TROGONIFORMES
Trogons
(Trogonidae)
Narina Trogon
[sp] (Apaloderma narina)
CORACIIFORMES
Rollers
(Coraciidae)
Purple Roller
[sp] (Coracias naevius)
Lilac-breasted
Roller [sp] (Coracias caudatus)
European
Roller [sp] (Coracias garrulus)
Broad-billed
Roller [sp] (Eurystomus glaucurus)
Kingfishers
(Alcedinidae)
Grey-headed
Kingfisher [sp] (Halcyon leucocephala)
Brown-hooded
Kingfisher [sp] (Halcyon albiventris)
Striped
Kingfisher [sp] (Halcyon chelicuti)
Woodland
Kingfisher [sp] (Halcyon senegalensis)
Mangrove
Kingfisher (Halcyon senegaloides)
African Pygmy
Kingfisher [sp] (Ispidina picta)
Malachite
Kingfisher [sp] (Corythornis cristatus)
Half-collared
Kingfisher (Alcedo semitorquata)
Giant
Kingfisher [sp] (Megaceryle maxima)
Pied
Kingfisher [sp] (Ceryle rudis)
Bee-eaters
(Meropidae)
Little
Bee-eater [sp] (Merops pusillus)
White-fronted
Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)
Blue-cheeked
Bee-eater [sp] (Merops persicus)
European
Bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
Southern
Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides)
BUCEROTIFORMES
Hoopoes
(Upupidae)
African
Hoopoe (Upupa africana)
Wood Hoopoes
(Phoeniculidae)
Green Wood
Hoopoe [sp] (Phoeniculus purpureus)
Common
Scimitarbill [sp] (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas)
Hornbills
(Bucerotidae)
Southern Red-billed
Hornbill (Tockus rufirostris)
Southern
Yellow-billed Hornbill [sp] (Tockus leucomelas)
Crowned
Hornbill (Lophoceros alboterminatus)
African Grey
Hornbill [sp] (Lophoceros nasutus)
Trumpeter
Hornbill (Bycanistes bucinator)
PICIFORMES
African
Barbets (Lybiidae)
White-eared
Barbet [sp] (Stactolaema leucotis)
Whyte's
Barbet [sp] (Stactolaema whytii)
Yellow-rumped
Tinkerbird [sp] (Pogoniulus bilineatus)
Yellow-fronted
Tinkerbird [sp] (Pogoniulus chrysoconus)
Acacia Pied
Barbet [sp] (Tricholaema leucomelas)
Black-collared
Barbet [sp] (Lybius torquatus)
Crested
Barbet [sp] (Trachyphonus vaillantii)
Honeyguides
(Indicatoridae)
Green-backed
Honeybird [sp] (Prodotiscus zambesiae)
Brown-backed
Honeybird [sp] (Prodotiscus regulus)
Lesser
Honeyguide [sp] (Indicator minor)
Scaly-throated
Honeyguide (Indicator variegatus)
Greater
Honeyguide (Indicator indicator)
Woodpeckers
(Picidae)
Speckle-throated
Woodpecker (Campethera scriptoricauda)
Golden-tailed
Woodpecker [sp] (Campethera abingoni)
Green-backed
Woodpecker [sp] (Campethera cailliautii)
Cardinal
Woodpecker [sp] (Dendropicos fuscescens)
Bearded
Woodpecker [sp] (Dendropicos namaquus)
Olive
Woodpecker [sp] (Dendropicos griseocephalus)
FALCONIFORMES
Caracaras,
Falcons (Falconidae)
Lesser
Kestrel (Falco naumanni)
Rock Kestrel
(Falco rupicolus)
Dickinson's
Kestrel (Falco dickinsoni)
Amur Falcon
(Falco amurensis)
Eurasian
Hobby [sp] (Falco subbuteo)
African Hobby
(Falco cuvierii)
Lanner Falcon
[sp] (Falco biarmicus)
PSITTACIFORMES
African and
New World Parrots (Psittacidae)
Brown-necked
Parrot [sp] (Poicephalus fuscicollis)
Cape Parrot
(Poicephalus robustus)
Meyer's
Parrot [sp] (Poicephalus meyeri)
Brown-headed
Parrot [sp] (Poicephalus cryptoxanthus)
PASSERIFORMES
Broadbills
(Eurylaimidae)
African
Broadbill [sp] (Smithornis capensis)
Pittas
(Pittidae)
African Pitta
[sp] (Pitta angolensis)
Wattle-eyes,
Batises (Platysteiridae)
Cape Batis
[sp] (Batis capensis)
Woodward's
Batis (Batis fratrum)
Chinspot
Batis [sp] (Batis molitor)
Pale Batis
(Batis soror)
Black-throated
Wattle-eye [sp] (Platysteira peltata)
Helmetshrikes
(Prionopidae)
White-crested
Helmetshrike [sp] (Prionops plumatus)
Retz's
Helmetshrike [sp] (Prionops retzii)
Chestnut-fronted
Helmetshrike [sp] (Prionops scopifrons)
Bushshrikes
(Malaconotidae)
Grey-headed
Bushshrike [sp] (Malaconotus blanchoti)
Black-fronted
Bushshrike [sp] (Chlorophoneus nigrifrons)
Olive
Bushshrike [sp] (Chlorophoneus olivaceus)
Orange-breasted
Bushshrike [sp] (Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus)
Bokmakierie
[sp] (Telophorus zeylonus)
Marsh Tchagra
[sp] (Bocagia minuta)
Brown-crowned
Tchagra [sp] (Tchagra australis)
Black-crowned
Tchagra [sp] (Tchagra senegalus)
Black-backed
Puffback [sp] (Dryoscopus cubla)
Tropical
Boubou [sp] (Laniarius major)
Southern
Boubou [sp] (Laniarius ferrugineus)
Crimson-breasted
Shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus)
Brubru [sp]
(Nilaus afer)
Cuckooshrikes
(Campephagidae)
Grey
Cuckooshrike [sp] (Coracina caesia)
White-breasted
Cuckooshrike (Coracina pectoralis)
Black
Cuckooshrike (Campephaga flava)
Shrikes
(Laniidae)
Magpie Shrike
[sp] (Urolestes melanoleucus)
Southern
White-crowned Shrike [sp] (Eurocephalus anguitimens)
Red-backed
Shrike [sp] (Lanius collurio)
Southern
Fiscal [sp] (Lanius collaris)
Figbirds,
Orioles (Oriolidae)
African
Golden Oriole [sp] (Oriolus auratus)
Green-headed
Oriole [sp] (Oriolus chlorocephalus)
Black-headed
Oriole [sp] (Oriolus larvatus)
Drongos
(Dicruridae)
Square-tailed
Drongo [sp] (Dicrurus ludwigii)
Fork-tailed
Drongo [sp] (Dicrurus adsimilis)
Monarchs
(Monarchidae)
Blue-mantled
Crested Flycatcher [sp] (Trochocercus cyanomelas)
African
Paradise Flycatcher [sp] (Terpsiphone viridis)
Crows, Jays
(Corvidae)
House Crow
[sp] (Corvus splendens)
Cape Crow
[sp] (Corvus capensis)
Pied Crow
(Corvus albus)
White-necked
Raven (Corvus albicollis)
Fairy
Flycatchers (Stenostiridae)
White-tailed
Crested Flycatcher [sp] (Elminia albonotata)
Tits,
Chickadees (Paridae)
Southern
Black Tit [sp] (Melaniparus niger)
Miombo Tit
(Melaniparus griseiventris)
Penduline
Tits (Remizidae)
Grey
Penduline Tit [sp] (Anthoscopus caroli)
Cape
Penduline Tit [sp] (Anthoscopus minutus)
Nicators
(Nicatoridae)
Eastern
Nicator (Nicator gularis)
Larks
(Alaudidae)
Spike-heeled
Lark [sp] (Chersomanes albofasciata)
Short-clawed
Lark (Certhilauda chuana)
Eastern
Long-billed Lark [sp] (Certhilauda semitorquata)
Chestnut-backed
Sparrow-lark [sp] (Eremopterix leucotis)
Grey-backed
Sparrow-lark [sp] (Eremopterix verticalis)
Sabota Lark
[sp] (Calendulauda sabota)
Rufous-naped
Lark [sp] (Mirafra africana)
Flappet Lark
[sp] (Mirafra rufocinnamomea)
Red-capped
Lark [sp] (Calandrella cinerea)
Bulbuls
(Pycnonotidae)
Dark-capped
Bulbul [sp] (Pycnonotus tricolor)
Stripe-cheeked
Greenbul (Arizelocichla milanjensis)
Sombre
Greenbul [sp] (Andropadus importunus)
Yellow-bellied
Greenbul [sp] (Chlorocichla flaviventris)
Terrestrial
Brownbul [sp] (Phyllastrephus terrestris)
Yellow-streaked
Greenbul [sp] (Phyllastrephus flavostriatus)
Lowland Tiny
Greenbul [sp] (Phyllastrephus debilis)
Swallows,
Martins (Hirundinidae)
Black
Saw-wing [sp] (Psalidoprocne pristoptera)
Grey-rumped
Swallow [sp] (Pseudhirundo griseopyga)
Brown-throated
Martin [sp] (Riparia paludicola)
Banded Martin
[sp] (Riparia cincta)
Barn Swallow
[sp] (Hirundo rustica)
White-throated
Swallow (Hirundo albigularis)
Wire-tailed
Swallow [sp] (Hirundo smithii)
Blue Swallow
(Hirundo atrocaerulea)
Pearl-breasted
Swallow [sp] (Hirundo dimidiata)
Rock Martin
[sp] (Ptyonoprogne fuligula)
Common House
Martin [sp] (Delichon urbicum)
Greater
Striped Swallow (Cecropis cucullata)
Lesser
Striped Swallow [sp] (Cecropis abyssinica)
Red-breasted
Swallow [sp] (Cecropis semirufa)
South African
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon spilodera)
Crombecs,
African warblers (Macrosphenidae)
Moustached
Grass Warbler [sp] (Melocichla mentalis)
Cape
Grassbird [sp] (Sphenoeacus afer)
Red-faced
Crombec [sp] (Sylvietta whytii)
Long-billed
Crombec [sp] (Sylvietta rufescens)
Yellow
Flycatchers (Erythrocercidae)
Livingstone's
Flycatcher [sp] (Erythrocercus livingstonei)
Leaf
warblers and allies (Phylloscopidae)
Yellow-throated
Woodland Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus ruficapilla)
Willow
Warbler [sp] (Phylloscopus trochilus)
Reed
warblers and allies (Acrocephalidae)
Lesser Swamp
Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus gracilirostris)
African Reed
Warbler [sp] (Acrocephalus baeticatus)
African
Yellow Warbler [sp] (Iduna natalensis)
Grassbirds
and allies (Locustellidae)
Little Rush
Warbler [sp] (Bradypterus baboecala)
Barratt's
Warbler [sp] (Bradypterus barratti)
Fan-tailed
Grassbird [sp] (Schoenicola brevirostris)
Cisticolas
and Allies (Cisticolidae)
Red-faced
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola erythrops)
Singing
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola cantans)
Lazy
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola aberrans)
Rattling
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola chiniana)
Wailing
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola lais)
Rufous-winged
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola galactotes)
Levaillant's
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola tinniens)
Croaking
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola natalensis)
Neddicky [sp]
(Cisticola fulvicapilla)
Zitting
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola juncidis)
Desert
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola aridulus)
Cloud
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola textrix)
Wing-snapping
Cisticola [sp] (Cisticola ayresii)
Tawny-flanked
Prinia [sp] (Prinia subflava)
Black-chested
Prinia [sp] (Prinia flavicans)
Drakensberg
Prinia (Prinia hypoxantha)
Roberts's
Warbler (Oreophilais robertsi)
Red-winged
Warbler [sp] (Heliolais erythropterus)
Bar-throated
Apalis [sp] (Apalis thoracica)
Yellow-breasted
Apalis [sp] (Apalis flavida)
Black-headed
Apalis [sp] (Apalis melanocephala)
Chirinda
Apalis [sp] (Apalis chirindensis)
Green-backed
Camaroptera [sp] (Camaroptera brachyura)
Grey-backed
Camaroptera [sp] (Camaroptera brevicaudata)
Stierling's
Wren-warbler [sp] (Calamonastes stierlingi)
Barred
Wren-warbler [sp] (Calamonastes fasciolatus)
Green-capped
Eremomela [sp] (Eremomela scotops)
Burnt-necked
Eremomela [sp] (Eremomela usticollis)
Laughingthrushes
(Leiothrichidae)
Arrow-marked
Babbler [sp] (Turdoides jardineii)
Southern Pied
Babbler (Turdoides bicolor)
Sylviid
Babblers (Sylviidae)
Garden
Warbler [sp] (Sylvia borin)
Common
Whitethroat [sp] (Sylvia communis)
Chestnut-vented
Warbler [sp] (Sylvia subcaerulea)
White-eyes
(Zosteropidae)
Cape
White-eye [sp] (Zosterops virens)
African
Yellow White-eye [sp] (Zosterops senegalensis)
Hyliotas
(Hyliotidae)
Southern
Hyliota [sp] (Hyliota australis)
Treecreepers
(Certhiidae)
African
Spotted Creeper [sp] (Salpornis salvadori)
Starlings,
Rhabdornis (Sturnidae)
Common Myna
[sp] (Acridotheres tristis)
Wattled
Starling (Creatophora cinerea)
Black-bellied
Starling [sp] (Notopholia corrusca)
Cape Starling
[sp] (Lamprotornis nitens)
Greater
Blue-eared Starling [sp] (Lamprotornis chalybaeus)
Miombo
Blue-eared Starling (Lamprotornis elisabeth)
Meves's
Starling [sp] (Lamprotornis mevesii)
Burchell's
Starling (Lamprotornis australis)
Pied Starling
(Lamprotornis bicolor)
Violet-backed
Starling [sp] (Cinnyricinclus leucogaster)
Red-winged
Starling [sp] (Onychognathus morio)
Oxpeckers
(Buphagidae)
Red-billed
Oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorynchus)
Thrushes
(Turdidae)
Orange Ground
Thrush [sp] (Geokichla gurneyi)
Groundscraper
Thrush [sp] (Turdus litsitsirupa)
Kurrichane
Thrush [sp] (Turdus libonyana)
Olive Thrush
[sp] (Turdus olivaceus)
Karoo Thrush
(Turdus smithi)
Chats, Old
World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae)
Bearded Scrub
Robin [sp] (Cercotrichas quadrivirgata)
White-browed
Scrub Robin [sp] (Cercotrichas leucophrys)
Grey
Tit-flycatcher [sp] (Myioparus plumbeus)
Southern
Black Flycatcher [sp] (Melaenornis pammelaina)
Pale
Flycatcher [sp] (Melaenornis pallidus)
Marico
Flycatcher [sp] (Melaenornis mariquensis)
Spotted
Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa striata)
Ashy
Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa caerulescens)
African Dusky
Flycatcher [sp] (Muscicapa adusta)
White-chested
Alethe (Pseudalethe fuelleborni)
Cape
Robin-chat [sp] (Cossypha caffra)
White-throated
Robin-chat (Cossypha humeralis)
White-browed
Robin-chat [sp] (Cossypha heuglini)
Red-capped
Robin-chat [sp] (Cossypha natalensis)
Chorister
Robin-chat [sp] (Cossypha dichroa)
Swynnerton's
Robin [sp] (Swynnertonia swynnertoni)
White-starred
Robin [sp] (Pogonocichla stellata)
East Coast
Akalat [sp] (Sheppardia gunningi)
Collared Palm
Thrush (Cichladusa arquata)
Sentinel Rock
Thrush [sp] (Monticola explorator)
Miombo Rock
Thrush [sp] (Monticola angolensis)
Whinchat
(Saxicola rubetra)
African
Stonechat [sp] (Saxicola torquatus)
Buff-streaked
Chat (Campicoloides bifasciatus)
Mocking Cliff
Chat [sp] (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris)
Ant-eating
Chat (Myrmecocichla formicivora)
Mountain
Wheatear [sp] (Myrmecocichla monticola)
Capped
Wheatear [sp] (Oenanthe pileata)
Familiar Chat
[sp] (Oenanthe familiaris)
Boulder Chat
(Pinarornis plumosus)
Sunbirds
(Nectariniidae)
Plain-backed
Sunbird [sp] (Anthreptes reichenowi)
Western
Violet-backed Sunbird [sp] (Anthreptes longuemarei)
Collared
Sunbird [sp] (Hedydipna collaris)
Olive Sunbird
[sp] (Cyanomitra olivacea)
Amethyst
Sunbird [sp] (Chalcomitra amethystina)
Scarlet-chested
Sunbird [sp] (Chalcomitra senegalensis)
Bronzy
Sunbird [sp] (Nectarinia kilimensis)
Malachite
Sunbird [sp] (Nectarinia famosa)
Miombo
Double-collared Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris manoensis)
Southern
Double-collared Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris chalybeus)
Greater
Double-collared Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris afer)
Purple-banded
Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris bifasciatus)
White-bellied
Sunbird (Cinnyris talatala)
Variable
Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris venustus)
Copper
Sunbird [sp] (Cinnyris cupreus)
Old World
Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae)
White-browed
Sparrow-weaver [sp] (Plocepasser mahali)
House Sparrow
[sp] (Passer domesticus)
Great Sparrow
[sp] (Passer motitensis)
Cape Sparrow
[sp] (Passer melanurus)
Southern
Grey-headed Sparrow [sp] (Passer diffusus)
Yellow-throated
Petronia [sp] (Gymnoris superciliaris)
Weavers,
Widowbirds (Ploceidae)
Red-billed
Buffalo Weaver [sp] (Bubalornis niger)
Scaly-feathered
Weaver [sp] (Sporopipes squamifrons)
Thick-billed
Weaver [sp] (Amblyospiza albifrons)
Spectacled Weaver
[sp] (Ploceus ocularis)
Cape Weaver
(Ploceus capensis)
Holub's
Golden Weaver (Ploceus xanthops)
Southern
Brown-throated Weaver [sp] (Ploceus xanthopterus)
Lesser Masked
Weaver [sp] (Ploceus intermedius)
Southern
Masked Weaver [sp] (Ploceus velatus)
Village
Weaver [sp] (Ploceus cucullatus)
Dark-backed
Weaver [sp] (Ploceus bicolor)
Red-headed
Weaver [sp] (Anaplectes rubriceps)
Red-billed
Quelea [sp] (Quelea quelea)
Black-winged
Red Bishop [sp] (Euplectes hordeaceus)
Southern Red
Bishop [sp] (Euplectes orix)
Yellow Bishop
[sp] (Euplectes capensis)
Fan-tailed
Widowbird [sp] (Euplectes axillaris)
Yellow-mantled
Widowbird [sp] (Euplectes macroura)
White-winged
Widowbird [sp] (Euplectes albonotatus)
Red-collared
Widowbird [sp] (Euplectes ardens)
Long-tailed
Widowbird [sp] (Euplectes progne)
Waxbills,
Munias and Allies (Estrildidae)
Red-headed
Finch (Amadina erythrocephala)
Green
Twinspot [sp] (Mandingoa nitidula)
Red-faced
Crimsonwing [sp] (Cryptospiza reichenovii)
Red-throated
Twinspot [sp] (Hypargos niveoguttatus)
Red-billed
Firefinch [sp] (Lagonosticta senegala)
African
Firefinch [sp] (Lagonosticta rubricata)
Jameson's
Firefinch [sp] (Lagonosticta rhodopareia)
Blue Waxbill
[sp] (Uraeginthus angolensis)
Yellow-bellied
Waxbill [sp] (Coccopygia quartinia)
Swee Waxbill
(Coccopygia melanotis)
Grey Waxbill
[sp] (Estrilda perreini)
Common
Waxbill [sp] (Estrilda astrild)
Orange-breasted
Waxbill [sp] (Amandava subflava)
Quailfinch
[sp] (Ortygospiza atricollis)
Locust Finch
[sp] (Paludipasser locustella)
Bronze
Mannikin [sp] (Lonchura cucullata)
Red-backed
Mannikin (Lonchura nigriceps)
Magpie
Mannikin (Lonchura fringilloides)
Indigobirds,
Whydahs (Viduidae)
Village
Indigobird [sp] (Vidua chalybeata)
Pin-tailed
Whydah (Vidua macroura)
Shaft-tailed
Whydah (Vidua regia)
Wagtails,
Pipits (Motacillidae)
Western
Yellow Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla flava)
Cape Wagtail
[sp] (Motacilla capensis)
Mountain
Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla clara)
African Pied
Wagtail [sp] (Motacilla aguimp)
Cape Longclaw
[sp] (Macronyx capensis)
Yellow-throated
Longclaw (Macronyx croceus)
Rosy-throated
Longclaw (Macronyx ameliae)
African Pipit
[sp] (Anthus cinnamomeus)
Long-billed
Pipit [sp] (Anthus similis)
Wood Pipit
[sp] (Anthus nyassae)
Buffy Pipit
[sp] (Anthus vaalensis)
Striped Pipit
(Anthus lineiventris)
Yellow-breasted
Pipit (Anthus chloris)
Finches
(Fringillidae)
Forest Canary
[sp] (Crithagra scotops)
Black-throated
Canary [sp] (Crithagra atrogularis)
Yellow-fronted
Canary [sp] (Crithagra mozambica)
Brimstone
Canary [sp] (Crithagra sulphurata)
Streaky-headed
Seedeater [sp] (Crithagra gularis)
Black-eared
Seedeater (Crithagra mennelli)
Cape Canary
[sp] (Serinus canicollis)
Buntings,
New World Sparrows and allies (Emberizidae)
Cinnamon-breasted
Bunting [sp] (Emberiza tahapisi)
Golden-breasted
Bunting [sp] (Emberiza flaviventris)
Cabanis's
Bunting [sp] (Emberiza cabanisi)
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