The people of South Africa have spoken, and the Black Harrier (Circus maurus) will be BirdLife South Africa’s Bird of the Year for 2026
2 October 2026 – For the past 18 years, BirdLife South Africa has named one South African bird as its Bird of the Year. The 2026 Bird of the Year will, among other celebrations and initiatives, appear on the January/February cover of the BirdLife South Africa publication African Birdlife magazine, feature in educational webinars, and become the subject of a dedicated webpage offering posters, infographics, fact sheets, and other resources designed to share knowledge and spark a passion for birding and conservation amongst the general public.
Beginning in 2007 with the African Penguin, BirdLife South Africa has named 18 species as Bird of the Year. These past species have illustrated South Africa’s rich avian biodiversity, featuring large terrestrial species like the Secretarybird and Southern Ground Hornbill, ocean wanderers like the Tristan Albatross and Cape Gannet, familiar favourites like the Cape Robin-Chat or Barn Swallow, and some of South Africa’s most rare birds, like the White-winged Flufftail and Cape Parrot.
In 2026, the focus will shift from the 2025 Bird of the Year, the Red-billed Oxpecker, to the Black Harrier. For the first time, instead of being decided internally, BirdLife South Africa asked the public to participate in the selection process. In an initiative which saw well over 10 000 people cast their votes, the Black Harrierreceived the most votes, followed closely by the Bearded Vulture and Botha’s Lark.
Listed as Endangeredin BirdLife South Africa’s Africa’s Regional Red Data Book of South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini (a record of the conservation statuses of threatened birds across the region), the Black Harrier has been the subject of intense conservation and scrutiny for many years. Known as the Witkruisvleivalk in Afrikaans, mmankgodi-wa-dihlaba in Sesotho and umamhlangenomnyama in isiZulu, it is categorised as “near-endemic”, meaning that ~70% of its population occurs within South Africa; a large portion of this population migrate in summer from their core ranges in the Western Cape province to grasslands in Lesotho and the Free State province, as they are attracted to heavy rainfall events. There is an isolated population of only around 10 individuals in northern coastal Namibia, and they have been observed in southern Namibia and Botswana, most often in winter.
The conservation of this magnificent raptor has been overseen for several years by the members of the Black Harrier Task Force, who have greatly increased knowledge and understanding of the Black Harrier.
Images by Warwich Tarboton
