At iNsingizi
We're ruffling a few feathers…
iNsingizi’s prolific birdlife
is one of its best-kept secrets
iNsingizi’s setting is a Garden of Eden for birds and bird-spotters alike. Home to 208 recorded bird species, it’s a haven for birds, heaven for bird-watchers.
iNsingizi Lodge & Spa is a twitcher’s delight and the perfect springboard from which to explore its diverse array of birdlife. From migratory and seasonal visitors to locally common residents; from scarce, elusive species to very common residents.
In the early mornings and late afternoons, when birdlife is most active, observe and record the habits, calls and rituals of iNsingizi’s abundant birds, as you take in the awesome diversity of this birding paradise.
And as you wake up to exquisite birdsong, from the whistlers to the warblers, no stay at iNsingizi Lodge & Spa is complete without being serenaded by the unmistakable cry of our resident African fish-eagles, as they begin with a staccato intro, before descending into machine-gun trills and raucous chirping.
Where birds of a feather
flock together…
From perching to wading birds; from browsing to diving birds; from aquatic birds to terrestrial birds, the land on which iNsingizi Lodge & Spa is situated, along with the adjoining farm, is a bird-spotting paradise.
From year-round resident birds like the Shelley’s francolin and the little grebe (formerly known as the old dabchick) to summer visitors like the steppe buzzard and the African paradise-flycatcher, the area serves as a roosting, feeding, and breeding ground for a wide diversity of birdlife, ranging from localised and very common residents, to seasonal and uncommon migrants, and even rare visitors.
Rare bird species spotted here include the red-chested flufftail, the Narina trogon, and African swamphen, while threatened species include the southern ground hornbill (after which the lodge is named) and the crested (grey-crowned) crane, which can usually be seen welcoming guests as they drive onto the farm.
Rare sightings include the peregrine falcon and the lemon dove. Among the migrants are the black and red-chested cuckoos. Uncommon summer visitors to iNzingizi include the African pygmy-kingfisher. The violet-backed starling is iNzingizi’s only uncommon resident, summer visitor, the Knysna turaco our only localised resident, and the mocking cliff-chat our only widespread resident.
Bird Species
AT iNSINGIZI LODGE & SPA
Apalis
Bar-throated apalis
Yellow-breasted apalis
Barbet
Black-collared barbet
Crested barbet
Batis
Cape batis
Chin spot batis
Bee-Eaters
Little bee-eater
Bishop
Southern red bishop
Boubou
Southern boubou
Bulbul
Dark-capped bulbul
Sombre greenbul
Terrestrial brownbul
Yellow-Bellied greenbul
Bunting
Golden-Breasted bunting
Bush Shrike
Grey-Headed bush shrike
Orange-breasted bush shrike
Buzzard
Forest buzzard
Jackal buzzard
Steppe buzzard
Camaroptera
Green-backed camaroptera
Canary
Brimstone canary
Cape canary
Forest canary
Streaky-headed canary
Yellow-fronted canary
Cape White-Eye
Chats
African stone chat
Mocking chat
Cisticola
Levaillants cisticola
Neddicky
Rattling cisticola
Zitting cisticola
Cormorants
African darter
Reed cormorant
White breasted cormorant
Coucal
Burchell’s coucal
Cranes
Grey-crowned (crested) crane
Cuckoo
Black cuckoo
Common cuckoo
Diederik cuckoo
Jacobin cuckoo
Klaas’s cuckoo
Red-chested cuckoo
Cuckooshrike
Black cuckooshrike
Grey cuckooshrike
Doves
Laughing dove
Lemon dove
Namaqua dove
Red-eyed dove
Tambourine dove
Dove & Pigeon
Cape turtle dove
Emerald-spotted wood dove
Drongo
Fork-tailed drongo
Square-tailed drongo
Duck & Geese
African black duck
White face duck
White-backed duck
Yellow-billed duck
Egyptian goose
Spur-winged goose
Eagles
African crowned eagle
African fish eagle
Long-crested eagle
Martial eagle
Eastern Nicator
Egret
Cattle egret
Great egret
Little egret
Falcon
Lanner falcon
Peregrine falcon
Firefinch
African firefinch
Red-billed firefinch
Flufftail
Buff-Spotted flufftail
Flycatchers
African dusky-flycatcher
African paradise-flycatcher
Ashy flycatcher
Blue-mantled crested-flycatcher
Southern black-flycatcher
Francolin & Spurfowl
Coqui francolin
Crested francolin
Natal spurfowl
Shelley’s francolin
Swainson’s spurfowl
Grebe
Little grebe
Guineafowl
Helmeted guineafowl
Harrier
African marsh-harrier
Hawks
African goshawk
African harrier-hawk
Black sparrowhawk
Little sparrowhawk
Heron
Black-headed heron
Green-backed heron
Grey heron
Purple heron
Hamerkop
Hoopoe
African hoopoe
Common scimitar bill
Green wood-hoopoe
Hornbill
Crowned hornbill
Southern ground-hornbill
Indigobird
Dusky indigobird
Village indigobird
Kestrels
Rock kestrel
Kingfisher
African pygmy-kingfisher
Brown-hooded kingfisher
Giant kingfisher
Malachite kingfisher
Pied kingfisher
Kites
Black kite
Black-shouldered kite
Yellow-billed kite
Lapwing
African wattled lapwing
Blacksmith lapwing
Crowned lapwing
Longclaw
Yellow-throated longclaw
Mannikin
Bronze mannikin
Red-Backed mannikin
Martin
Brown-throated martin
Sand martin
Mousebird
Red-Faced mousebird
Speckled mousebird
Narina Trogon
Nightjar
Fiery-necked nightjar
Oriole
Black-headed oriole
Ostrich
Common ostrich
Owl
Cape eagle-owl
Spotted eagle owl
Pigeon
African-green pigeon
African-olive pigeon
Speckled pigeon
Pipit
African pipit
Buffy pipit
Striped pipit
Plover
Three-banded plover
Prinia
Tawny prinia
Puffback
Black-Backed puffback
Quail
Common quail
Kurrichane button quail
Robin Chats
Bearded scrub robin
Cape robin chat
Red-capped robin chat
White-browed scrub robin
Roller
European roller
Sparrow
Cape sparrow
House sparrow
Southern grey-headed sparrow
Yellow-throated petronia (sparrow)
Spotted Thick-Knee (Dikkop)
Starling
Black-Bellied starling
Cape Glossy starling
Common myna (Indian myna)
Redwing starling
Violet-back starling
Wattled starling
Stork
African openbill
African spoonbill
White stork
Wooly-necked stork
Sunbirds
Amethyst sunbird
Collared sunbird
Greater doubled collared sunbird
Malachite sunbird
Olive sunbird
Scarlet-chest sunbird
Southern doubled collared sunbird
White-Bellied sunbird
Swallow
Barn swallow
Lesser-striped swallow
White-throated swallow
Wire-tailed swallow
Swift
African-palm swift
Common swift
Little swift
Thrush
Cape rock thrush
Kurrichane thrush
Olive thrush
Tit
South black tit
Tshagra
Black-crowned tshagra
Turaco
Knysna turaco
Purple-crested turaco
Wagtail
African pied wagtail
Cape tail
Warbler
Dark-capped warbler
Little rush-warbler
Red-winged warbler
Willow warbler
Water Birds
African jacana
African purple swamphen
Black crake
Common moorhen
Red-Knobbed coot
Waxbill
Blue waxbill
Common waxbill
Grey waxbill
Swee waxbill
Weavers
Cape weaver
Dark-backed weaver
Southern-masked weaver
Spectacled weaver
Thick-billed weaver
Yellow weaver
Widowbird
Red collard widowbird
White-winged widowbird
Pintailed whydah
Woodpeckers
Cardinal woodpecker
Golden-tailed woodpecker
Olive woodpecker
Red-throated wryneck