Birds of a Feather

Dec 18, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

Birds of a Feather

African Goshawk

The African Goshawk, sometimes known as the African Harrier Hawk is a specialized bird of prey that is known for nest raiding and is a generally a hated bird by many other birds. There is an estimated
1 000 known pairs of African Goshawks in the North-Eastern regions of South Africa, with a large concentration of the bird found in the Waterberg and Kruger Areas as well as the surrounding areas. You can often see these birds hopping from tree to tree or from cliff faces while using its wings to keep balance on vertical surfaces.

Lanner Falcon

The Lanner falcon is one of the larger members that belong to the falcon family. Falcons host a majority of the fastest birds in the world. This bird is an extremely agile and fast flyer that reaches high speeds by flying up high and then diving downwards and then flying horizontally. The name falcon comes from the latin word ‘falcis’ meaning sickle shaped. This refers to the shape of the falcon’s claws or the shape of its wings when I deep dive.

White neck Raven

The White Neck Raven is a lot smaller than the more common Ravens, with a deep bill and a white tip. The deep curve of the White Neck Raven’s beak very closely resembles that of the thick-billed Raven. It is all black with a white spot on the back of its neck which gives the raven its name. Though looking completely black, it has slight a slight purple gloss on its breast, neck and throat. This bird feeds from the ground and will sometimes look for food in the trees. They have also rarely been seen dropping tortoises on rocks or anything sharp from great heights to feed what the shell hides

Taita Falcon

The Taita Falcon is a very rare species of falcon and one of the rarest breeding birds in South Africa. This is a small sized raptor that has a banded nape. The Taita Falcon is similar to the Peregrine Falcon and will sometimes compete for nest rights. These raptors prefer mountainous areas, river valleys and well wooded areas. Very little is known about the Taita Falcon because the nests are generally inaccessible. The diet of the Taita Falcon consists of small birds and insects that it will catch out of the air and will also feed on small lizards on the ground though this doesn’t happen often.

The Bateleur

Nov 29, 2019 | Kruger Park safaris

The Bateleur

The Bateleur is a very iconic and popular bird in the Lowveld and Kruger National Park. With Plenty of guest lodges and companies named after this iconic bird, it carries its fame with pride. With its pitch-black feathers and white under wings, it gives a majestic contrast. It has a bright red, almost bloody looking face and legs with a yellow patch on the back of its neck and upper back. The black beak is almost iconic with the Bateleur. Bateleur males are larger and generally darker than the females. One Year old Bateleurs have a uniform dark brown colour to their feathers, which will develop into the iconic colour over time. At about 3 years, the feathers start changing colour and developing. It can take up to 8 years for a Bateleur to completely shed all of its brown feathers. The Bateleur has very long wings that allows it to fly by letting the wind carry it. The Bateleur has short tail feathers which means that its legs stick out when it is in flight.

Bateleurs can spend up to 10 hours a day in the air looking for a meal to sink its talons into. Bateleurs are part of the Birds of Prey. A Bateleur’s diet usually contains carrion, birds, snakes, lizards, road kill, mice and antelope. These massive birds are easily capable of taking down small antelope like klipspringer for a meal. Bateleur eagles will mate for life and will have a nest location that they will stay at for many years before moving to a new nest. Single individuals will often be seen flying close to nests in hopes of getting a mate. Bateleurs will commonly be seen flying in direct, rapid flight which is the preferred method of hunting. Bateleurs can cover up to 300km in a single, 8 hour hunting period.

Because of the Bateleur’s habit to cover large distances, it is easy to over-estimate the amount of these birds in a region. Though it might look like there are plenty if birds in the sub-Saharan region, their numbers are actually in the decline. Some of the behavioural traits that Bateleurs do mid flight include barrel rolls (which are followed by a loud clapping sound that can be heard by humans quite some distance away), 360 loops, steep and speedy dives and they also will stretch out their wings to represent a phoenix pose. These birds are very active birds.