Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

A fairly common nomad in Southern Africa, this black and white wader is interesting for its long thin curved bill. Another interesting fact about these are that they sometimes swim in deeper water and upend, like a duck, looking for food.   In flight the long legs extend beyond the tail and I was lucky to get a shot of the landing as well. Usually found in wetlands, sometimes at the coast. Feeds on small fish, insects and mollusks by sweeping the bill side to side.

Ashy Tit (Parus cinerascens)

Woodland and forest birds, of which this specie is mostly found in Southwestern Africa. Often in groups, sexes alike.   Only 13 cm high, small bird, but beautiful little bird, very close to another specie, the Southern Grey Tit.

Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)

You cannot miss the bright yellow bill of this duck, with a black saddle in the middle of the bill. The feather edges as white and gives a nice scaled look to it. Orange feet to finish the picture. We have seen these all over South Africa, in every and any type of freshwater ponds, lagoons and more. Usually feeding near the edge of the water, both sides of the edge. I have taken a few pictures of them, so here goes, enjoy. At a water reservoir, Central South Africa. The following at a river in the Eastern Cape: And finally, today, Boeta and I took a drive, and we found them at a local farm dam.

Verreaux’s Eagle (Aquila verreauxii) – 3 stories

This eagle holds a special place in my heart. I grew up with them, visiting a farm for 2 months annually, from before I could remember. They had a huge nest, against a cliff edge, I do not know how many meters high it was, but we climbed the mountain regularly, looking for sheep on top, and could look at them from above as well. Only on one occasion did I see 2 chicks, usually just 1, because the second chick is usually killed by its sibling. One year we walked right into an adult sitting on a rock, and it was a "wow" moment, huge bird, incredibly strong and proud. They reach 95 cm in height.

The second story is about an Eagle we saw at the rehab center in Kuruman. This was an injured bird, hidden behind netting and visibly wild. You can see the unmistakable white "V" on the back of the otherwise black eagle. This bird would stand a chance to be released and hopefully by now has been, and is flying the skies again.

The last story is of another eagle we saw at the rehab center in Addo. This bird had been imprinted, basically did not know it was an eagle to begin with and sadly will not be released. In fact it was so tame, we walked into the cage without it even looking spooked. Sad, but it gave an incredible opportunity to get close. Would give it all up, to see it fly in the skies.

Stunning birds and always special to see them. They occur mainly in mountainous areas from Namibia, South Africa and up the East Coast of Africa.

Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea)

Fairly common quelea, in fact the most abundant of the queleas in Africa, south of the Sahara.

Adult males have distinctive red bill and black face when breeding, while females have yellowish bill in breeding. Behind the black face there are 3 morphological variations with some males being pinkish or yellow, even a version with white face.

I pictured them in the Northern Cape, one early cold-ish morning and on another occasion on the Garden route bathing.

The Northern Cape group/flock.

The group on the Garden route taking a bath.

Busy little birds, up and down, up and down....nervous.

Previous bird post White-faced Duck

White-faced Duck (Dendrosygna viduata)

Found throughout Africa, south of the Sahara, except a few drier areas like Namibia and Northern Cape province of South Africa.

Chestnut brown color with diagnostic white face and they stand very erect. They also have fine barred flanks, which can only be seen close-up.

Beautiful duck and at the time we saw them, we also saw a little meet and greet as 2 ducks met up with a third.

Unfortunately I was not able to get nice pics on the point and shoot when I saw one on the water, but still makes a nice scene.

Some Previous birding post:

Pale-chanting Goshawk

Cape Spurfowl

Pale Chanting Goshawk (Melierax canorus)

The introduction picture is how we usually see these in the field. They are endemic to the South Western Africa region, which basically means South Africa, Namibia and Botswana.

In flight the white under-wing contrast strongly with the dark primaries on the wing tips, as well as white "windows" on top of wings.

The beautiful barred rump can only really be seen up close, and here the raptor rehab center came to the rescue. We found they had some birds with wing damage (mostly) and took a few pictures.

They also have long reddish legs and wonderful calls. Always nice sight in the wild.

Cape Spurfowl or Francolin (Pternistis capensis)

I grew up with these endemic birds to not only South Africa, but more specific the Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces, mainly along the coastal regions or inland of them.

Large bird, mid-size chicken, without the long legs. They tend to be within the thickets and rarely open for long enough to take pictures, but do frequent gardens, especially where protection is abundant.

The fine beautiful patterns on the body feathers are visible at close range, with bold white stripes on the flanks.

Perfection!

Reference

A comprehensive illustrated field guide: Birds of Africa, south of the Sahara. Ian Sinclair, Peter Ryan. Struik publishers, 2003.