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African Bird FAQ
The Kruger National Park is home to most of South Africa's raptors. Vultures occur most in central grasslands, while eagles prefer mixed woo...
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African Black Oystercatcher
The Oystercatcher is entirely black with red legs and an orange-tipped red bill. Wedge-like bill, which is slightly longer than the head, th...
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African Fish Eagle
The African Fish Eagle is a fairly large eagle. It has a distinctive black, brown, and white plumage....
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Bank Cormorant
Told by heavy-bodied appearance, crested head and usually (not always) a white rump; wings dark brown, rest black with bronze sheen...
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Bateleur Eagle
The Bateleur eagle is the most famous of the snake eagles. Bateleur is French for...
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Black Headed Oriole
This bird has a very liquid sounding call which is a common sound in the area. They are a striking yellow colour with a black head. Like the...
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Black Stork
A Black Stork resembles the white stork in size, but shines with redish green tint. It has a white breast, belly, and a white spot under the...
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Brown Headed Parrot
The Brown Headed Parrot is another green bird with a brownish grey head. It has yellow under the wings at the front which unfortunately can ...
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Cape Cormorant
Breeding adults told by entirely glossy green-black plumage, head without crest, orange-yellow bill-base; the eyes are greenish. Fairly long...
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Cape Gannet
Unmistakable, large black and white seabird with yellow head and hind neck, at close range with distinctive black lines on bill and face, pl...
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Cape Wagtail
This common bird is unmistakable with its grey-brown upperparts, dark band across chest and white outer tail-feathers. No white on secondari...
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Caspian Tern
Largest tern in our region. Massive red bill and overall size render this tern unmistakable....
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Common Tern
The bill is 1½ times the distance between back of eye and front of forehead, the bill is red with black tip but shows more black in non-bre...
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Cormorants
Because of their black colouration, cormorants are often referred to as sea crows. In fact, the family name, Phalacrocoracidae, means bald r...
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Crested Barbet
This small bird has a speckled yellow and red face with a small black crest, their belly is yellow with red speckles, the wings are black wi...
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Crowned Cormorant
A marine version of the Reed Cormorant and recognised by its overall blacker appearance, permanent crest all year and shorter tail....
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Curlew
Males are smaller than females. Upper parts mottled black and light chestnut; neck, chest and breast buff streaked with chestnut and dusky, ...
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Damara Tern
Small size and all-black cap diagnostic of breeding plumage; at other times differs from Little Tern in longer, slightly downturned bill and...
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Eagle Owl
The Giant Eagle Owl is the largest owl in the world. As the biggest of all the Owls the Eagle owl is easily recognised by its huge size and ...
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Green Pigeon
Their upperparts are greyish green to yellowish green, their thighs are yellow with mauve patches on the top of the wing. Their bills are re...
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Grey Plover
The size, high forehead, short bill and long legs, distinguishes this Plover from other waders. In summer plumage the underparts from the ch...
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Grey-headed Gull
Adults have all-grey hood, pale yellow eyes and bright red bills and legs. When non-breeding, the head is white....
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Guano birds
Historically most southern African guano has been produced by three species, the Jackass Penguin, the Cape Gannet, and the Cape Cormorant...
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Hawk Eagle
The African Hawk Eagle is easily identified in flight by the underwing pattern - a dark central stripe which runs from the wing base to the ...
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Kelp Gull
The adult Kelp Gull, also known as Southern Blackbacked Gull has dark eyes and whitish-yellow feet...
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Kingfisher
Kingfishers are among the most brilliantly coloured of all birds, and many have strident voices and dramatic courtship displays. Most specie...
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Kori Bustard
Kori Bustard has huge size and lack of reddish on hind-neck render this species unmistakable. Female much smaller than male...
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Lilac Breasted Roller
The average size is 14.5 inches. The washed green head is large, the neck is short, the greenish yellow legs are rather short and the feet a...
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Marabou Stork
Its huge size and repulsive appearance leave no doubt as to the bird's identity. The naked head and neck bear sparse woolly down which, in t...
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Martial Eagle
Martial Eagles are the largest of the African eagles and incredibly powerful, capable of knocking an adult man off his feet....
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Ostrich
The ostrich (struthio camelus) is a member of a group of birds known as ratites, that is they are flightless birds without a keel to their b...
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Pearl Spotted Owl
Pearl spotted owls are very small, 'earless' owls. They have cinnamon brown heads with off-white facial disks. Their upper-parts are brown w...
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Plum Coloured Starling
They weigh 45 g and the sexes are dimorphic in plumage. The males upperparts, including the chin, throat and wings are iridescent purple. Th...
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Purple Roller
Purple Roller have a lenght of 35-40cm, and weigh 160g. The sexes look alike. It is a large, stocky and dull roller. From a distance or in p...
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Sanderling
Sanderlings have a rather drab colouring, mainly white in appearance but with pale grey on crown and upper parts. Bill and legs are black. S...
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Sandwich Tern
Sandwich Tern is much larger than Common Tern, its back paler than other similar-sized Terns. Differs from Gullbilled Tern in a much slimmer...
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Scops Owl
These Owls are also known simply as White-faced Owls. Because of several distinctions from other Scops Owls, some specialists give this Owl ...
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Secretary Bird
The Secretary bird is a bird of prey, but unlike other raptors it has long legs, wings and a tail. The single species of its family, the bir...
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Spoonbill
The African Spoonbill is a long-legged wading bird. Its height is 90 cm (36'). Its body is predominantly white, except for its red legs, fac...
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Swift Tern
Swift Tern is a large Tern, with large, slightly curved, yellow bill. Forehead strip, sides of face, neck and underparts white. Black legs a...
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Taita Falcon
The Taita falcon (Falco fasciinucha) is a small raptor with a banded nape. It was first identified in Kenya and is similar to the Peregrine ...
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Turnstone
In summer plumage the head and neck of the Turnstone bird attain a black-and-white pattern, the scapulars and wing-coverts a bright chestnut...
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White Faced Duck
The adult males have the front half of their head and throat white and the rest of their head and neck are black with white patches on the u...
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White Fronted Plover
The White-fronted Plover male has a more conspicuous black line behind eye and usually small dark patches on sides of breast. The birds from...
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Whitebreasted Cormorant
Identified by large size and white underparts, throat to breast or, in immatures, entirely white underparts, much whiter than the immature o...
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