House Bunting

Small rail of grassland and heath. Very shy and elusive bird that is unlikely to be seen unless expressly looking for it. Male has a rufous head and black body with heavy white streaks. Female brown with barring and spotting below. Found in fynbos, montane heath, grassland, and locally in wetlands. Call is a series of long, rising, hollow hoots. Similar to Streaky-headed and Red-chested Flufftails, but male has less rufous on the chest, and female is paler and more patterned below. Usually found in drier habitats than other flufftails.

Common, conspicuous, and often noisy large wader (shorebird) of varied coastal habitats, especially beaches and mudflats; also nearby fields and locally inland. Winter flocks number locally in hundreds. Probes in mud and uses its bill to pry open shellfish (mainly mussels and cockles, not oysters). Distinctive, with boldly pied plumage, long bright orange-red bill, thick pinkish legs. In flight shows broad white wing stripe, white rump and tail with broad black tail tip.

This huge, macabre-looking stork has a massive dagger-like bill and naked pink head and neck that appear severely sunburned. A white ruff and loose inflatable skin on the neck add to its odd appearance. It soars effortlessly at great heights searching for food; note its white belly in flight. Marabous are equally content in wetlands or in dry bush; they are most frequently encountered lurking near carrion, as they attend kills of major predators and will opportunistically snatch scraps. They also readily scavenge around humans and waste dumps.