By Tarryn Havemann, Mouse-Free Marion Project Development Officer 26 February – The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project has secured a transformational pledge of US$10 million from a Swiss-based international foundation. This commitment represents the largest contribution received to date and marks a major milestone in the journey towards restoring Marion Island to its former ecological condition....
Image by HINESH PATEL, text by FAYE KNIGHT African Birdlife is back with the bird of the month from our annual calendar! February features the nectar-loving bird renowned for their brilliant metallic-green plumage, the Malachite Sunbird. Now, keeping to the question from January’s featured bird, “what makes this bird so special?” Besides catching sight of...
By Anton Crone, 11 February – Across Africa’s sweeping landscapes, birds are constantly singing, calling and chattering in a glorious chorus of sound. Yet despite the continent’s extraordinary avian diversity, Africa remains under-represented in global bird sound libraries. The Big Year of African Sounds sets out to change that by mobilising birders across the continent...
By Hugh Chittenden – Welcome to the world of weird things, trichoptiles, the strange hair-like protrusions on newly hatched coucal chicks. I’ve been trying to get my head around the function of coucal trichoptiles. Being almost ground level breeders, two of the main predators of coucal chicks would be mongoose and snakes. But those spiky white wire-like protrusions may...
By Faye Knight 28 January – WWF’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (WWF-SASSI) has released its updated list to guide seafood lovers on how to select the most sustainable seafoods and highlights the need for continued caution in what consumers selection. While this update brings good news for the Maasbanker (Cape Horse Mackerel) and the...
We highlight some of our BirdLife South Africa’s key achievements from the year – from saving African Penguins from extinction to tracking a European Roller from Limpopo to China, and much more! Feature image: BirdLife South Africa’s management team. You can support BirdLife South Africa’s work by clicking here
By Hugh Chittenden This note deals with one of the most interesting aspects of Korhaan biology which is their habit of using throat feathers in display, especially while calling. The ‘black’ Korhaans are better known for their aerial cruises while calling and are not included here. The throat patches of the four species included in...
Image by JANDRÉ PETRUS VERSTER, text by FAYE KNIGHT Every year Birdlife South Africa releases a calendar that showcases fantastic photography of some fan favourite birds. The photographs featured in this year’s calendar were entered into the Birdlife South Africa Photography Competition in 2025 which helped raise awareness and funds for conservation efforts and provided...
Birding is often portrayed as a gentle, solitary pursuit, binoculars raised and voices lowered. Yet behind this calm exterior lies one of the most significant nature-based activities in the United States, both culturally and economically. According to Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis, released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS),...
South Africa is on the verge of taking great strides towards establishing the country’s first bird observatory at the Khoisan Karoo Conservancy in Northern Cape province. The project is driven by Mr PC Ferreira who has made enormous progress in conservation at his nature reserve, now his passion and enthusiasm may soon make his bird...
