Rarity: CommonCrested Barbet
Trachyphonus vaillantii
A yellow-and-black bird with a heavy bill and a shaggy crest. Its long trill, like an alarm clock that will not stop ringing, is a familiar sound in South African gardens.
South Africa
Kruger
One of Africa's largest national parks: a vast savanna home to the big mammals and more than 500 bird species.
15 species
In real life
Kruger is one of Africa's largest and best-known national parks: nearly two million hectares of savanna in north-eastern South Africa. Set up in 1898 as a reserve to protect wildlife, it became a national park in 1926. Besides the big mammals, it's home to more than 500 bird species. The six that birdwatchers most want to see are known as the "Big Six", like the Big Five of the mammal world.
In The Birders three of the Big Six live in the park: the lappet-faced vulture, the saddle-billed stork and the rarest of all, Pel's fishing owl, which only comes out at night along the rivers.
- Rarity: Common
Rarity: CommonViolet-backed Starling
Cinnyricinclus leucogaster
The male has an iridescent violet back and a white belly; the female is brown and streaked. It feeds mainly on fruit.
Rarity: CommonBroad-tailed Paradise Whydah
Vidua obtusa
In the breeding season the male grows long, broad black tail feathers. It lays its eggs in the nests of a small waxbill-family finch, which raises its young.
Rarity: CommonBlue Waxbill
Uraeginthus angolensis
A small bird with a sky-blue face and breast and a brown back. It lives in pairs or small groups in wooded savanna.
Rarity: CommonLilac-breasted Roller
Coracias caudatus
Considered one of Africa's most colourful birds, with a lilac breast and blue and turquoise wings. In its courtship flight it dives and rolls through the air.
Rarity: RareSecretarybird
Sagittarius serpentarius
A long-legged bird of prey that hunts on foot across the savanna. It kills snakes with powerful kicks; its name is said to come from its head feathers, which look like quill pens tucked behind a secretary's ear.
Rarity: RareGrey-headed Parakeet
Psittacula finschii
A green parakeet with a slate-grey head and a long tail. It comes from the forests of Southeast Asia.
Rarity: RareGiant Kingfisher
Megaceryle maxima
The largest kingfisher in Africa, with a white-spotted back. It dives into rivers to catch fish and crabs.
Rarity: RareRudd's Apalis
Apalis ruddi
A small green bird with a white throat edged by a black collar. It lives in a small area of south-eastern Africa.
Rarity: EpicThree-banded Courser
Rhinoptilus cinctus
A nocturnal bird with large eyes, well camouflaged on the ground by its brown plumage. It has three dark bands on its neck and breast.
Rarity: EpicRed-headed Finch
Amadina erythrocephala
The male has a deep red head and a scaly brown body. It lives in dry savanna and often moves into the abandoned nests of other birds.
Rarity: EpicLappet-faced Vulture
Torgos tracheliotos
Africa's largest vulture, with a bare pinkish head and folds of skin on the sides of its neck. Its massive bill tears open even the toughest carcasses.
Rarity: MythicSaddle-billed Stork
Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis
A large stork with a red and black bill and a yellow “saddle” at its base. It can stand about one and a half metres tall and fishes in wetlands.
Rarity: MythicAfrican Golden Oriole
Oriolus auratus
A golden-yellow bird with a black stripe through the eye. It lives in the treetops and is noticed above all for its fluty song.
Rarity: LegendaryPel's Fishing Owl
Scotopelia peli
A large rufous owl that lives along rivers. At night it waits close to the water and snatches fish with its bare, featherless feet.
