10 Garden Birds You’ll See in Johannesburg and Pretoria
You don’t need to drive to a nature reserve to start birding. Most gardens in Johannesburg and Pretoria host a dozen or more species, and learning the regulars is the best way to start noticing the unusual ones. Here are ten birds you are almost certain to see, and how to tell them apart.
1. Hadeda Ibis
You will hear it before you see it: the loud “ha-ha-hadeda” at dawn is the Highveld’s alarm clock. A large grey-brown ibis with a long curved bill and a green-purple sheen on the wings, usually probing lawns for grubs.
2. Cape Turtle Dove (Ring-necked Dove)
A soft grey dove with a black half-collar on the back of the neck. Its call is often remembered as “work HAR-der, work HAR-der”.
3. Laughing Dove
Smaller and pinker than the turtle dove, with a band of black speckles across the chest and a bubbly, laughing call.
4. Southern Masked Weaver
In summer, males are bright yellow with a black mask and a red eye, busily weaving hanging nests in trees and reeds. If the female doesn’t approve of a nest, he tears it down and starts again.
5. Cape White-eye
A tiny yellow-green bird with a neat white ring around the eye, usually moving through shrubs in small, chattering flocks.
6. Karoo Thrush
The thrush you see hopping across Highveld lawns and pulling up worms. Grey-brown with an orange bill, and often the first bird singing before sunrise.
7. Cape Robin-Chat
An orange throat and chest, grey belly and a bold white eyebrow. It flicks its tail as it hops through the undergrowth, and sings beautifully at dawn and dusk.
8. Dark-capped Bulbul
A brown bird with a black crest and a yellow patch under the tail. Its cheerful, chattering call is one of the most common sounds in any garden.
9. Crested Barbet
Yellow, black and red, with a shaggy crest and a call like a long, buzzing alarm clock. It loves fruit feeders.
10. Grey Go-away-bird
An all-grey bird with a tall crest, named for its nasal “go-waaay” call. Common in Pretoria gardens and spreading through Johannesburg.
Keep an eye out for Speckled Mousebirds clambering through fruit trees, Red-eyed Doves, and in summer the African Paradise Flycatcher, whose male has a long orange tail.
How to bring more birds into your garden
- Plant indigenous shrubs and trees. Aloes, wild pear and other local plants feed sunbirds, barbets and insect-eaters.
- Put out a shallow birdbath and keep it clean and filled. Water attracts more species than any feeder.
- If you use feeders, offer fruit and seed in moderation and clean them regularly.
- Leave some leaf litter and avoid pesticides, so insect-eating birds have something to find.
Ready to go further? Our guide to the best birding spots in Gauteng covers five places within an hour of the city.
Gifts for a new birder
Know someone who has just started noticing the birds at their feeder? A wooden bird keyring, a game of Tweet-Tac-Toe or a Bird Nird cap makes an easy first gift. Browse our gifts under R250.
