My home country of South Africa can only be
described as a birding paradise! Although in raw numbers (around 850 species recorded
to date) it doesn’t compete with tropical countries to the north or on other
continents (especially South America), South Africa makes up for this in
several ways:
• the highest number of endemics on the
continent: 19 true endemics, 2 breeding endemics, 1 winter endemic and 45
near-endemics (having more than 70% of their range within the borders of South
Africa);
• two near-endemic bird families (more
details below);
• generally easy birding with large numbers
of birds, many readily observed;
• excellent information on the country’s
birds and where to observe them;
• superb bird photographic opportunities;
• extensive infrastructure allowing easy
access to the best birding sites; and
• solid value for your birding buck.
In this post, I’d like to focus on a small
selection of South Africa’s special endemic birds.
Starting off with my favorites (I have to
say that!), the Rockjumpers. Originally considered monotypic, two species are
now recognized. Cape (or Rufous) Rockjumper is a true South African endemic and
restricted to the southwest Cape. Drakensberg (or Orange-breasted) Rockjumper
is a Drakensberg Mountain species whose range is shared with the tiny
landlocked kingdom of Lesotho. Their taxonomic affinities have caused great
confusion and debate amongst ornithologists; they were originally assigned to
the thrush family, then Old World warblers before being shifted to babblers
(the last mentioned a common dumping-ground for any aberrant passerines). DNA
evidence then indicated that they are an ancient group mostly closely related
to the bizarre and wildly different rockfowls and they were therefore
contentiously placed in the Picathartes family, before finally finding a
contented home in their own family, Chaetopidae.
The Cape Rockjumper (here a female) is best
sought at Rooiels, on the east coast of South Africa, north of Cape Town.
One of the Drakensberg Rockjumper’s most
reliable stake-outs is Sani Pass, a winding 4×4 track from the village of
Himeville into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. Males of this species are more
brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage.
The Sugarbirds are another family endemic
to Southern Africa, again with two species; Cape Sugarbird (being a true
endemic to the southwestern Cape) and Gurney’s Sugarbird (occurring at
scattered sites through eastern South Africa with a small isolated population
in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe.) Stands of nectar-rich Proteas are the
sugarbirds’ preferred habitat and this is the essential ‘ingredient’ when
searching for them. The sugarbirds’ taxonomic affinities have, like that of the
rockjumpers, also provided a challenge to ornithologists. They have been
considered sunbirds, Australasian honeyeaters and thrushes before being placed
in their own family, Promeropidae.
The long-tailed Cape Sugarbird is quite
common in and around Cape Town, and prime sites include Cape Point National
Park and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
The more elusive Gurney’s Sugarbird is most
reliably seen on the lower slopes of Sani Pass in KwaZulu-Natal Province.
A plethora of colorful and busy sunbirds
occur in South Africa, many of them filling niche’s occupied by hummingbirds in
the New World. However they are not at all related, hummingbirds are allied to
swifts but sunbirds (and spiderhunters) to white-eyes, flowerpeckers and other
passerines; a perfect example of convergent evolution. Three of South Africa’s
sunbirds fall into our category, the stunning Orange-breasted Sunbird is a true
endemic restricted to the southwestern Cape’s unique Fynbos. Two near-endemics
are Greater Double-collared and Southern Double-collared Sunbird, both more
widely distributed in forest edge, woodlands and other habitats that produce
enough nectar to sustain their busy bodies.
The colorful Orange-breasted Sunbird is
common in Fynbos habitats, which it shares with Cape Sugarbird.
The Southern (or Lesser) Double-collared Sunbird is an often abundant species that is usually first detected by its cheery song. It occurs in forest edge in eastern South Africa, and in Fynbos, and even into arid areas, in the southern parts of the country.
Greater
Double-collared Sunbird is less common and more localized than its
smaller cousin. It is most reliably found in mid-elevation ranges, especially
where Aloes are flowering. Notic the different width of the red chest band,
this is the most obvious feature when separating these species.
Long-tailed Pipit is classed as a Winter
Endemic and its story is a fascinating one. Upon retirement, ornithologist
Richard Liversidge and his wife settled in the city of Kimberley in the
Northern Cape. Here he kept up his birding and one of his local patches was an
urban field hockey ground where he used to walk his dogs on a regular basis.
Richard noticed a variety of pipits that foraged on this grass playing field
and after some observation decided that further investigation was called for,
as one type seemed larger and longer tailed than any pipits with which he was
familiar, and they occurred in large flocks, also an unusual feature for South
African pipits. In 1996, several pipit specimens were collected for DNA
analysis and it turned out that there was not one, but two new species to
science in this sample! The Long-tailed Pipit was the more obvious one, this
species turning up every winter in this arid region of South Africa, before
mysteriously disappearing. However during a summer visit to the far northwest
of Zambia on the DRC-Angola border, I filmed pipits with young that Richard
Liversidge, just before his untimely passing, confirmed were Long-tailed. The
second discovery was a cryptic species now known as Kimberley Pipit and its
exact range and niche are still being debated.
The little known Long-tailed Pipit appears
every winter in the area around Kimberley, but much about this bird is still a
mystery. It is most easily identified by its habit of rapid tail-pumping, a
feature which first drew the attention of its discoverer, Richard Liversidge.
South Africa’s national bird is the Blue
Crane. This small, elegant crane is arguably one of the world’s classiest
birds, with a gunpowder blue plumage, massively extended primary plumes (that
look like long tail feathers when perched), a resonant call and an exhilarating
and elegant courtship dance. Blue Cranes are almost entirely restricted to
South Africa, with an isolated (but dwindling) population in Namibia’s Etosha
National Park and a few pairs in Botswana. Their numbers have dropped
dramatically throughout their range, although the population seems to have
stabilized, if not increasing in the southwestern Cape; however elsewhere in
the country they are still under immense pressure.
A dancing Blue Crane, South Africa’s
national bird.
Another near-endemic, shared only with tiny
Lesotho and Swaziland is the bizarre Southern Bald Ibis. It used to occur
widely throughout South Africa, breeding even on Table Mountain which towers
over Cape Town, but over the decades its range has contracted and is now
centered around the Drakensberg Mountains and outlying rocky areas. Sharing
much the same story with its cousin the Northern Bald Ibis, a closely related
species that during the Middle Ages was widely known throughout Europe as the
Waldrapp (meaning “Forest Crow”). It bred in large colonies on cliffs and
castle ramparts throughout southern and central Europe, before it began a
relentless march towards extinction. By 300 years ago it had disappeared from
the whole of Europe and this pattern followed in the Middle East and North
Africa. It now exists only in 4 breeding colonies at 2 locations on the coast
of Morocco and a recently rediscovered relict colony in Syria, where it had
been declared extinct for 70 years. Sadly this tiny Middle Eastern remnant has
declined from 7 birds at discovery to just a single pair and 2 juveniles. The
Southern Bald Ibis’ situation is fortunately not as chronic but it is still classified
as Vulnerable.
The Southern Bald Ibis can be seen feeding
in flocks on grasslands at the top of Sani Pass, where this image was taken.
My final bird for this post is another of
my favorites, the Ground Woodpecker. Like the Southern Bald Ibis, its range
just extends into Lesotho and Swaziland and family groups occur in rocky and
mountainous areas from the Cape Peninsula northwards into eastern South Africa.
This is the largest of South Africa’s woodpeckers, and in appearance and
behavior it is completely different to other members of its family. Its
genealogy indicates that the Ground Woodpecker is a very ancient diversion off
the standard woodpecker evolutionary lineage. They are almost entirely
restricted to ground level, with family groups often perching on exposed
boulders issuing forth their strange gull-like shrieks.
Sani Pass is also a good site for finding
the aberrant, pink-bellied Ground Woodpecker.
I would also like to take this opportunity
to wish all our Rockjumper Blog followers and friends a merry Festive Season and a
superb, bird-filled year ahead!
