no boundaries for BLUE FEATHERS

World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated on 15 May and 14 October. This month we wish the European Roller well on its difficult journey to its northern breeding grounds, including Ukraine and Russia.

Southern SIGHTINGS

The late summer period produced some great sightings, including a new bird for the southern Africa subregion, giving birders plenty to keep themselves entertained.

AGULHAS LONG-BILLED LARK

Getting intimate with an Overberg endemic

into the BLACK

Plumage variation in the White-breasted Cormorant Phalacrocorax lucidus has always presented a taxonomic challenge.

Remembering PETER MUNDY 1941-2023

Peter was [at Oxford] to read zoology, but opted instead to read the complete works of Dostoevsky and to learn to play the baritone saxophone. Inevitably, he was rusticated and he spent the next few years playing saxophone with various R'n'B bands, ending up with Screaming Lord Sutch

SHOWCASE

We receive remarkable images on a regular basis, but are not always able to find space for them in our pages.

Records abound on BBD 2022

By the time Birding Big Day (BBD) 2022 dawned on 3 December, nearly 400 teams comprising about 1600 birders had registered for the 50-kilometre and six-kilometre categories, roughly the same number of teams as in the previous year.

PAOC AT VICTORIA FALLS

No fewer than 13 staff members of BirdLife South Africa travelled to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, to attend the 15th Pan African Ornithological Congress (PAOC) from 21 to 25 November 2022.

Working together for SOUTHERN BALD IBIS

BirdLife South Africa is working closely with authorities in Lesotho in a bid to protect the Southern Bald Ibis and at the same time promote development of the Mountain Kingdom's natural resources.

Image Conscious

How photographs benefit birders

Challenge Accepted

Photographing swallows in flight

Hatch & Dispatch

Diederik Cuckoo breeding strategy

Breeding IN THE bushveld

Pearl-spotted Owlets

WHERE AND WHEN TO go?

Questions for nomadic birds

Beneath THE canopys

The Congo's Odzala-Kokoua National Park

Chasing Rainbows

In pursuit of the African Pittal

Serendipity

Embracing the Patagonia Picnic Table Effect

GOING ALL OUT

A really big birding year

Sightings IN THE SUBREGION

Midsummer produced a wealth of good and entertaining birding and some mouth-watering specials that had twitchers dropping everything to rush off and see them.

WHEN IS sharp ENOUGH?

We as humans intuitively mistrust Artificial Intelligence.

THE winds OF change

The start of 2023 saw two major changes at the Fitz.

EXPLOSIVE SPECIATION

The rapid radiation of white-eyes

FOLLOW THAT SHIP

Albatrosses refine their ship-following behaviour

A world view

Bird Life's flagship State of the World's Birds report paints the most concerning picture for the natural world yet, with nearly half of the world's bird species now in decline. While further underlining that we are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, it also highlights the critical solutions we desperately need to save nature. And political will and financial commitment are urgently required if these solutions are to be implemented at scale and at pace.

A pillar of conservation

Ntsikeni Nature Reserve

An AEWA spotlight on local successes

As shared species whose effective conservation hinges on collaboration across multiple countries, migratory birds have a long history in international law.

A bird of the forest Cape Parrot

With the announcement of the Cape Parrot Poicephalus robustus as BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year 2023, there was great excitement that the country’s only endemic parrot was finally getting the recognition it deserves.

guts&gory

One might not slow down for a Lilac-breasted Roller in the Kruger Park any more, but a Martial Eagle gets a full stop. Let’s face it, there is something arresting about raptors, beyond their talons and mastery of flight.

showcase

We receive remarkable images on a regular basis, but are not always able to find space for them in our pages. So because we would like to share them with you, we have decided to display some of the best that we receive.

BOTHA'S LARK

Conservation and Research Working Group