South Africa Birding Tours
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South Africa (officially the Republic of South Africa or RSA) is arguably the best value destination on the entire continent. The outstanding infrastructure, great accommodation, excellent food, wonderful South African hospitality, spectacular and varied scenery, and the presence of Africa’s big and small mammals makes it one of the most pleasant countries in the world to bird in.
As of April 2020, South Africa recognizes 870 bird species (this bird count includes eight species occurring only on the Prince Edward Islands, which are two remote sub-Antarctic Islands belonging to South Africa comprised of Prince Edward Island and the larger Marion Island). The list grows most years as new species get reported. More details of the official South African bird list can be found in our blog on this topic.
While a list of 870 species is moderate compared to, say, Uganda or South American and south-east Asian countries, it’s partly the ease with which these species are seen and the fact that so many of them are dazzlingly plumaged and spectacular that make South Africa so productive as a birding destination. We often used to see well over 500 bird species in three weeks when combining our 1-week Western Cape (think African Penguin, Blue Crane and Cape Sugarbird!) birding tour with our classic 2-week subtropical South Africa birding tour (although we’ve extended this to make it 18 days long now, so as to see even more species and to enjoy the big and small African mammals more). Additionally we also include a boat trip off Cape Town for some pelagic birding, where you can expect high densities of amazing seabirds!