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South Africa’s endemic birds

10,000 Birds

Originally considered monotypic, two species are now recognized. Drakensberg (or Orange-breasted) Rockjumper is a Drakensberg Mountain species whose range is shared with the tiny landlocked kingdom of Lesotho. Males of this species are more brightly colored in their non-breeding winter plumage.

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Birding the Drakensberg, South Africa

10,000 Birds

One in November 2018 included a one-day birding trip in the Drakensberg area, a mountain range in the border area between South Africa and Lesotho. Pretty pointless, I guess, if it wasn’t for the birds – though it seems some tourists take the same tour just to get the Lesotho stamp into their passport.

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Sani Pass – a Drakensberg birding gem

10,000 Birds

Albeit currently a rugged 4×4-only road, Sani Pass is the most accessible route from KwaZulu-Natal into the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. Both species of southern African otters are also regularly encountered ( Cape Clawless and Spot-necked.). The endemic Bush Blackcap is now placed in the babbler family, photo by Adam Riley .

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Top 10 from Home

10,000 Birds

This ruled out some excellent species like Cape Eagle Owl, Violet Wood-hoopoe, African Finfoot and Half-collared Kingfisher and I was still left with 36 species. This was tough because this excluded species that occur in two countries within South Africa’s geographical area, Lesotho and Swaziland.

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The Storks of Africa

10,000 Birds

Africa has more than its fair share of storks, with 8 of the world’s 19 species gracing the continent. Furthermore we have another very special stork-like bird, the regal Shoebill , previously known as the Whale-headed Stork but now placed in its own family. It is also related to Wood Stork of the Americas and Milky Stork of Asia.

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KwaZulu-Natal

10,000 Birds

Even in the tropics there are few birds that excel some of our own in elegance and beauty of plumage and we have an unusually large number of species considering the smallness of the area they inhabit. ” (Woodward brothers, “Natal Birds”, 1899) The mighty Drakensberg Mountains run along the western boundary of KwaZulu-Natal province.

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Birding Botswana’s Borders

10,000 Birds

But I do have rules about whether I can have said to have visited a country, ie does the country “count” which I have inherited from my family, particularly my Dad. But I have visited Guatemala, Lesotho and Zimbabwe to actually visit them and count them, even though I spent less time in them than I did Zurich.

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