The Pafuri area of the Kruger National Park is located in the northern region of the park. It has Zimbabwe as its northern border and Mozambique as its eastern border. The Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers converge in this birder’s paradise, where over 400 species have been recorded.

“We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity.” ~ E. O. Wilson

We were based in the Pafuri Tented camp in the Maluleki Concession which is a 24 000 hectare concession situated between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers. From here we traversed the whole Pafuri region. This area offers interesting species ranging from Black Eagles and African Hawk eagles to Pels fishing owls and Bat hawks, from a Racket-tailed to a Broad-billed rollers, and Retz Helmeted shrikes to Mottled Spinetails and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters.

“Biodiversity starts in the distant past and it points toward the future.” ~Frans Lanting

In this post I have shown a few of the birds I photographed but there were many more which I could not photograph. Early in the morning we found a pair of Burnt-necked Eremomelas. These small warblers are ash-gray above and a pale buff below. They have a whitish throat and a distinctive pale-lemon eye. A diagnostic feature is the horizontal brown patch on their throat which gives them their name. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, the Burnt-necked Eremomela is also known as the Brown-throated Eremomela. This is a highly active species, continually on the move in the tree canopy. Its preferred habitat is mixed and savannah woodlands.

The Ashy Flycatcher is a common resident in the Kruger National Park. The male and female of this species have the same coloured plumage. Their head and upperparts are a bluish grey. Their underparts are a light grey, and their legs and beak are black. Their eyes are brown. This species of flycatcher prefers the upper canopy of woodlands and catches much of its food on the wing, but it will also glean insects from the foliage and bark.

Arnot’s chat, also known as the White-headed black-chat, is found from Rwanda and Angola to South Africa. It is a chunky black chat with a large white wing patch. The male has a white cap, and the female a messy white throat patch. This chat prefers in miombo and mopane woodlands.

One of three Brown-headed parrots in a combretum near Lanner gorge in Pafuri. This species of parrot is often found in small groups at the top of the canopy. It has a brown head and throat, and its upper parts are an emerald green and its underparts are green with a yellowish tinge. The top of its upper mandible is white the lower part black. This parrot feeds on a variety of seeds, nuts, berries, flowers, fruits and nectar.

A female Giant kingfisher preening herself in the afternoon sun on a fallen tree trunk at the edge of the Luvuvhu river. This is the largest of the kingfisher species in southern Africa. Both sexes have a large shaggy crest and a large black bill. It has fine white spots on its black head and upperparts. The female has a rufous belly while the male has a rufous chest and white throat. The Giant kingfisher feeds on crabs, fish, and frogs, caught by diving from a perch.

“Biodiversity can’t be maintained by protecting a few species in a zoo, or by preserving greenbelts or national parks. To function properly, nature needs more room than that. It can maintain itself, however, without human expense, without zookeepers, park rangers, foresters or gene banks. All it needs is to be left alone.” ~ Donella Meadows

A male Chin-spotted batis. This small stout looking batis has a black mask on its face, with a short white eye stripe, a grey cap and a white throat. Its upperparts are grey, and it has a prominent white wing stripe. The eyes are a distinctive yellow, and its legs and bill are black. The underparts are white with a black breast band in the males. The female’s underparts are also white, but she has a chestnut breast band and a chestnut spot on the throat.

The Chin-spotted batis is found in savannah woodland and feeds on prey foraged from the trees, either by hawking or gleaned from foliage. The prey mostly comprises insects and insect larvae.

The Marico flycatcher has a light brown head and upperparts, and white throat and underparts. Both sexes have the same colouring. Marico Flycatchers are usually found in arid acacia savannah or mixed woodland if it has acacia trees. This bird is often seen perched on the outer branches of shrubs or fence posts looking for termites, caterpillars and grasshoppers. It occasionally hawks insects from the air.

A Little bee-eater, the smallest of the bee-eaters found in southern Africa. This wonderfully coloured bee-eater has green upperparts, a black eye band with a pale blue eyebrow. It has a yellow throat and a black/dark brown gorget and its belly and flanks are a yellow/buff colour. The Little bee-eater hawks insects in flight. It prefers insects such as bees and wasps. Once it has caught the insect in flight it will return to its perch and kill the insect and remove its sting by repeatedly hitting it against its perch.

“The diversity of the phenomena of nature is so great, and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich, precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment.” ~ Johannes Kepler

I am not sure, but I think this is a Rattling cisticola given its rufous wings and cap, and black streaks on its back. This insect eater prefers open woodlands and can usually be seen singing in open perches. This bird was seen away from the Luvuvhu river in a dry section of Pafuri.

A male Green-winged pytilia foraging for seeds on the ground. This colourful seedeater has a grey head and lores with the male having a crimson-red forehead and throat. Its chest and back are an olive-green and its belly has black and white bars which fade to white towards its vent. Its tail feathers are crimson changing to black at the leading edges. The female looks similar but does not have the crimson-red forehead and throat.

A Bronze-winged courser in a dry section of mopane woodland. This species is named for its characteristic bronze-tipped feathers that are visible during flight. The underwing coverts are white, contrasting with the dark black primaries which are tipped with iridescent copper to violet colouration. This courser is usually seen on the ground and can be identified by its light grey-brown upperparts. Its head has a distinct cream-white supercilium, forecrown, and posterior eyeline, as well as buffy upper neck and throat. The facial lores and ear-coverts are darker brown-black. It has a red eye ring and base of its lower mandible is red converging to black at its tip. This species of courser has long reddish pink legs.

This is a nocturnal species which mainly feeds on ground-dwelling insects and is usually solitary unless seen in the breeding season, which is in the dry season.

Many long-legged birds look like they are kneeling, from ostriches to storks and from lapwings to coursers. In fact, they are not kneeling as humans do but rather bend the joint that links the tibia to the tarsus.

A White-browed robin-chat foraging on the ground in the thickets along the Luvuvhu river. This species used to be called the Heuglin’s robin. It has a black cap, broad white supercilium and a black eye band which covers the eye from the lores to the ear patch. It has a grey-brown back and a bright fiery orange underparts and collar. The female is a little smaller than the male but their colouring is similar. A pair of robin-chats have the most beautiful duet which we usually hear early in the morning.

A White-fronted bee-eater hawking insects in the afternoon heat from a stick perch. This colourful bee-eater has a red throat and a white line above the red patch below the black eye band. It has a white forehead and its nape, and underparts are an orange-beige colour. Its upperparts are emerald green and its undertail coverts are a powder blue colour. This is a common resident bee-eater usually found in groups in woodland areas close to water courses.

A pair of Green pigeons appeared to be eating minerals from a large sand bank in the Luvuvhu river. There are many green pigeons along the Luvuvhu river attracted by the numerous fig trees growing along the banks of the river.

“If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.” ~ David Suzuki

A solitary female Saddle-billed stork fishing along a sand bank in the Luvuvhu river. The female looks similar to the male but has a yellow eye and does not have a yellow wattle under its chin. The female shows more extensive white in her primaries which can be seen in flight. The head, neck, back, wings, and tail are iridescent black, with the rest of the body and the primary flight feathers being white.

Both sexes have a large red beak with a black band across the centre of the beak. They also have black legs with a pinkish-red joint between the tibia and tarsus. The Saddle-billed stork forages for prey by stabbing its beak into the water, and if it feels something it will snap its beak closed. In the water it usually hunts fish but will opportunistically catch other prey such as frogs, snails, small mammals, birds, snakes, and insects such as grasshoppers, termites, and water beetles. When small fish are caught, they are swallowed whole headfirst. If a large fish is caught it is usually taken to the bank where it may be dropped many times and often the pectoral fins will be removed to aid the swallowing.

I have shown a small number of the birds you are likely to see in the Pafuri area. In the summer months the residents and migrants can be seen. In winter the birding is still excellent, and the going is easier from a game vehicle point of view.

“Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterpiece, exquisitely adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?” ~ EO Wilson

The Pafuri area is exceptional for its diversity of landscapes, where baobab forests can be found close to fever tree forests in the inland areas which are crisscrossed by rivers. The floodplain of the Limpopo river offers a quite different experience with open grasslands, pans and thick riverine and palm groves. The so-called Pafuri Triangle is considered the most diverse part of the Kruger Park where around 1% of the land accounts for and estimated 75% of the park’s biodiversity.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its diversity and let it be.

Have fun, Mike