General account of interesting birds

The Red-Crested Korhaan is a bird you are likely to see on the Leopard Trail, and possibly on any of the other trails or game drives at Okonjima. It is often seen on the main entrance road along the plateau, perched on top of a mound calling. Apart from being a large and striking bird, it has the peculiar habit of flying straight up into the air as high as 25 meters, then folding its wings and dropping earthwards again, opening its wings and alighting safely just before the ground. It often calls whilst doing so. This aerial display one often sees from the Land Rovers when out in the bush. This is a highly visual display and is probably a territorial advertisement, and may also be used in courtship. The male's red crest is only visible during his display to the female, which involves an upright posture and puffed out throat and neck plumage. The black belly and beautiful chestnut chevron markings on the back make this a stunning species to see.

The Giant or Verreaux's Eagle Owl can sometimes be seen in the large Leadwood Trees sometimes passed whilst out on a game drive or looking for the Leopards. The huge size of these birds is impressive - over 3kg's, allowing them to prey on birds such as Red-Crested Korhaan, Secretarybird, and other owls and raptors. Mammals also form part of their diet and young Duiker and Steenbok could easily be taken. Scrub Hares and the unusual Springhare would also make suitable prey, although being nocturnal they may be able to avoid predation fairly easily. Verreaux was a French naturalist who described many southern African bird species during the middle 1800's. The Black Eagle is also known as Verreaux's Eagle, and preys entirely upon Rock Hyrax, known locally as Dassies.

At the opposite end of the size spectrum is the little Pearl-spotted Owlet. This little bird rarely weighs more than 100g and is actually often seen perched out in the open hunting during the afternoon, unusual for an owl species. Its diet consists mainly of insects, although it will prey on any suitable small animal and can even catch bats in flight. It is so small that it nests comfortably in holes in trees excavated by barbets or woodpeckers. The name comes from the large white spots ("pearls") on its otherwise brown colouration, although it is streaked, not spotted on the front. From behind, a false set of "eyes" are visible on the back of its head, something that is no doubt useful in deterring predators for a small diurnal species.

Sandgrouse are commonly seen at the waterholes during the mid morning and afternoon. If one watches carefully whilst they drink, the males may soak their belly feathers in the water for a while just before they take off. This behaviour is a clever way of bringing water to their chicks, as Sandgrouse nest far from water, often in barren plains in the desert. Males have been recorded flying water to nests 80km from the nearest water source. The chicks then open their beaks and let the water drain out of the males feathers, and down their throat. Namaqua, Burchell's and Double-banded Sandgrouse can be seen at Okonjima.

Rosy-faced Lovebirds are not often seen, although they can be observed anywhere at Okonjima. The interesting thing about these birds, apart from their beautiful colouration, is their habit of carrying nesting material in their tail. This behaviour is observed in the male during the summer breeding season (February to April). The feathers on the birds' rump have a contour shape and blades of grass are held between the feathers whilst carried to the nest site.