Birds of the Overberg

A large pigeon with conspicuous yellow eye-patch - legs and feet. It is dark purplish-grey spotted with white - has a grey crown and blackish tail. They are somewhat nomadic seasonally - depending on fruiting of trees. Seen in the picnic area and also at the specimen hut at Fernkloof Nature Reserve. Uncommon resident.

In the garden area of Fernkloof this easily identifiable bird can be seen probing the ground for insects. It is a bright rufous coloured bird with conspicuous black-tipped crest and wings barred black and white. The crest is briefly raised when the bird settles or when alarmed. The bill is long - thin and slightly de-curved. Common resident.  This cuckoo is seldom seen as it sits still for long periods and calls from a hidden perch high inside a tree. The Afrikaans name “Piet-my-vrou” is onomatopoeic.

You needn’t be a serious birder to recognise the yodelling yelp of this striking raptor. Often described as the sound of Africa, the sound evokes lazy rivers and palm-fringed lakeshores, often in duet with the grunting of hippos. And the bird itself, in its black, white and chestnut finery, is equally unmistakable.

“Don’t under estimate this bird, as it is known to kill poisons snakes with one fatal blow to the head.”

This small flycatcher frequents lush coastal and montane mist-belt regions and well wooded gardens. It is olive-grey above with a faintly streaked crown - buff-white eye-ring - below dusky with faint smudges (not streaks)

The African Black Oystercatcher is a marine bird that is endemic to South Africa and Namibia and slightly larger than European Oystercatcher.

The Cape Rock-jumper is endemic to South Africa, you will find them from Uitenhage, Eastern Cape to Cape Hanklip, also north to the Cedarberg mountains and Piketberg.