Trifter

Kruger National Park is located in northeastern South Africa in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces. The park is home to five major rivers, the Crocodile, the Sabie, the Olifants, the Letaba and the Luvuvhu which help to provide a good habitat for the over 500 species of birds that can be found in the park. About 250 of the bird species are classified as year-round residents while roughly 120 are non-breeding migrants and another 150 or so are nomads. Here are some of the magnificent bird species of Kruger National Park.

Skukuza Fruit Bats

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Skukuza is the largest and main camp in Kruger National Park and fruit bats like these can be found there hanging around.

Yellow Billed Stork

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The 3 foot tall Yellow Billed Stork is a wading bird that uses its long legs and beak to fish in Kruger National Park.

Swainson’s Francolin

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The Swainson’s Francolin is part of the pheasant and partridge family (sans Danny Bonaduce and cast) and can be found primarily in Southern Africa.

Masked Weaver

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This master nest builder will build as many as 25 nests each breeding season.

Yellow Billed Kite

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The magnificent looking Yellow Billed Kite can be found in East, West and Southern Africa.

African Jacana

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The African Jacana uses its large feet to disperse its weight allowing it to easily walk on floating vegetation where it feeds on insects and invertebrates.

Guinea Hens

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These social birds are native to Africa but have been domesticated in much of the rest of the world.

Water Dikkop

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The water dikkop is a common wading bird to Southern Africa and Kruger National Park.

Forest Buzzard

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The Forest Buzzard can be found in eastern and Southern Africa and can be distinguished from the more common Steppe Buzzard by its white chest and underparts.

Lilac Breasted Roller

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The Lilac Breasted Roller derives its name from the courtship flights it engages in every mating season. They are an endangered species that does not do well near human habitation so Kruger is a great place for them.

White Quilled Bustard

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Member of the Bustard family found primarily in Southern Africa in open grassland areas.

African Hawk-Eagles

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African Hawk-Eagles grow to about 2 feet in length making them medium-sized eagles.

Wahlberg’s Eagle

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Another medium sized eagle that grows about as large as the African Hawk-Eagle above.

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Berghaan

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The Berghaan is a fairly common very colorful eagle resident of Southern Africa that is also known as the Bateleur. Can grow up to 30 inches in length and is known for its short tail.

Gompou – Kori Bustard

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One of if not the largest bird capable of flight, the Kori Bustard can grow to almost 4 feet in height and weigh up to 50 lbs. Though they can fly they prefer to run along the ground after prey.

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

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Part of the tree Kingfisher family these pretty birds are fairly common throughout much of Africa.

Marabou Stork

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The creepy looking Marabou Stork is also known as “the undertaker bird” for its unique look and due to the fact that this large bird (up to 5 feet tall) can often be found eating dead and rotting carrion along with vultures.

Yellow Billed Hornbill

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Fairly common species in Southern Africa characterized by its long its long yellow beak used to pluck seeds, ants, termites, spiders and scorpions. Though pictured here in a tree they primarily feed on the ground.

Giant Kingfisher

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The largest kingfisher found in Africa, can grow up to 20 inches in length.

Southern Ground Hornbill

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The Southern Ground Hornbill is an endangered species found mainly in protected areas like Kruger National Park. This is the largest of the hornbill species and grow to over 4 feet in height. Characterized by the bare red patches of skin on its face, neck and throat.

Oxpecker

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The Oxpecker is known for perching itself on large mammals and eating the insects and ticks it finds on the animals. While this may be of some benefit to the animals the Oxpecker is also known to open up and expand existing wounds on animals to drink the blood from the wounds.

Verreaux’s Eagle Owl

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The nocturnal Verreaux’s Eagle Owl can grow to 30 inches in height making it the largest owl in Africa and third largest in the world.

African Fish Eagle

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The African Fish Eagle can be found throughout most of Africa and is the national bird of both Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Ostrich

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The largest bird on the planet is pretty easy to spot in Kruger.

Black Stork

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A migrant wading bird that winters in Southern Africa and Kruger.

Hoopoe

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The Hoopoe is a distinctive bird known for its “crown” of feathers. It is its own species of bird but is related to the kingfishers and rollers that can also be found in Kruger National Park.

Grey Heron

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The Grey Heron is a common wading bird found in Europe and Asia as well as Africa. Can grow well over 3 feet in height and feeds primarily on fish, frogs and insects but will also eat smaller birds and some reptiles.

Tawny Eagle

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This rather large eagle does well in the open dry climate found in and around Kruger. Likes to eat small animals like the rabbits and squirrels that frequent Kruger and will readily steal food from fellow raptors.

Great White Egret

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A member of the heron family, the White Egret can often be found feeding near Buffaloes as the big beasts stir up grasshoppers and other large insects near water.

Martial Eagle

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The Martial Eagle is the largest eagle in Africa and grows to over 3 feet in length. They do very well in Kruger where they have been known to feed upon young Impalas, Duikers and Baboons. They also get into trouble with ranchers for feeding upon young lambs and goats.

Vultures

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These scavengers can generally be found around any dead carcass in Kruger.

To see the great waterfalls of South Africa please click here.