The habitats of southern Africa

Moist, species-rich forest on the slopes of the inland highlands and mountain ranges, from the Cape's yellowwood forests to the mistbelt forests of the eastern escarpment (IVC: Southern/Northern Afrotemperate Forest, Southern/Northern Mistbelt Forest). A number of birds — including several parrots and turacos — depend for their survival on these scattered, often heavily fragmented forest remnants.

To the species

Warm, moist lowland forest along the Indian Ocean coast and in the lower-lying parts of Zimbabwe and Malawi, with a tree flora of its own that differs from the higher montane forest (IVC: Zimbabwean-Malawian Subtropical Forest, Southern Indian Ocean Coastal Forest, Maputaland Sand Forest). Heavily fragmented by logging and farming, and for a few species one of the most threatened habitats in the region.

To the species

Ribbon-like forest along permanent rivers and dry riverbeds, with tall trees that keep reaching water even as the surrounding savanna dries out (IVC: Southern African Riparian Phreatophyte Vegetation). This narrow habitat supplies the tallest trees and the densest cover of any open savanna, and is indispensable as a nest site for a number of larger raptors and owls.

To the species

Shrubby to open thornveld on the drier, calcareous soils of the south and west of the region, dominated by species of the genus Vachellia (formerly Acacia) (IVC: Dry Acacia Woodland & Savanna, Dry Acacia-Terminalia-Combretum Woodland & Savanna). The most widespread and species-rich savanna type for birds in this region, from small songbirds to eagles.

To the species

Open thornveld on the reddish-brown dunes and plains of the Kalahari, with the camel thorn (Vachellia erioloba) as the characteristic, widely spaced tree (IVC: Kalahari Camel Thorn Woodland & Savanna, Southern Kalahari Dunefield Woodland & Savanna). The scattered large trees here carry a disproportionate share of nests — from weavers to raptors — in an otherwise near-treeless landscape.

To the species

Near-closed broadleaf woodland savanna on nutrient-poor soil, dominated by trees of the genus Brachystegia (IVC: Wet Miombo, Dry Miombo). The dominant landscape of Angola, Zambia, Malawi and parts of Mozambique, with its own, partly endemic bird community not found in the thornveld further south.

To the species

Often near-monospecific woodland of Colophospermum mopane, on the warmer, lower-lying ground of the north of the region (IVC: Limpopo Mopane, Zambezi Mopane, Namibia-Angola Mopane). For a number of species — including hole-nesters dependent on mopane trees damaged by elephants — the only habitat within this region.

To the species

Mixed, broadleaf woodland savanna not dominated by a single genus of tree, from the Combretum-Terminalia woodland of the middle of the region to the Baikiaea woodland of western Zimbabwe, Botswana and south-western Zambia (IVC: Southern African Broadleaf Savanna, Dry Combretum-Mixed Woodland & Savanna, Baikiaea Woodland & Savanna). A transitional landscape between thornveld, miombo and mopane, with a correspondingly mixed bird community.

To the species

Needle-leaved, hard-leaved vegetation on the nutrient-poor sandstone soils of the Cape mountains and coastal plain, characterised by restios, ericas and proteas. For birds this is the habitat of a small number of endemic nectar- and seed-eaters that depend directly on the flowering of these plants.

To the species

Shrubland on the more fertile shale soils of the Cape interior, naturally grassy-shrubby in character and heavily affected by conversion to cropland — less than a third of the original extent remains. A number of species once common here now depend heavily on the last, fragmented remnants.

To the species

Low, dense shrubland directly along the Cape coast, on calcareous dune sand, and the adjoining dense coastal thicket (IVC: Strandveld, Cape Thicket). A transitional zone between fynbos and the sea, with a bird community that mixes elements of both habitats.

To the species

Grassland on the inland plateaus at 1,200 to 1,800 metres, from the moister eastern highveld to the drier western highveld (IVC: Dry Highveld Grassland, Moist Highveld Grassland, Sub-Escarpment Grassland). The most heavily converted habitat in the region: the great majority is now cropland or pasture, with corresponding consequences for the grassland birds still dependent on it.

To the species

Grassland above 1,800 metres on the slopes and plateaus of the Drakensberg massif and the other inland mountain ranges, grading into alpine moorland above the tree line (IVC: Drakensberg Grassland, Southern Afromontane Grassland, African Subalpine Grassland & Moorland). Colder and with a shorter summer than the lower-lying highveld grassland, with a number of species found only at this altitude.

To the species

Shrubland and open grassland on the shale and dolerite soils between the Cape mountain ranges and the Orange River, with taller, more scattered vegetation than the adjoining Succulent Karoo (IVC: Upper Karoo Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland, Lower Karoo Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland, Bushmanland Semi-Desert Scrub & Grassland). The region's largest semi-desert, with low but strongly seasonal bird densities.

To the species

Low-growing, extremely species-rich succulent vegetation along the west coast and north-west of South Africa, concentrated in the winter-rainfall zone (IVC: Richtersveld, Namaqualand Hardeveld, Namaqualand Sandveld, Knersvlakte, Trans-Escarpment Succulent Karoo). Globally the richest succulent-plant region outside the tropics, with a limited but strongly tied bird community.

To the species

The world's oldest desert, from the bare dune sea in the south to the rocky desert and fog-dependent vegetation of the north (IVC: Namib Sand Sea, Northern/Southern Namib Desert, Kaokoveld Semi-Desert Scrub). Bird densities here are the lowest in the entire region, but a number of species are adapted solely to this extreme aridity and occur nowhere else.

To the species

Bare to sparsely vegetated rock formations inland, from isolated kopjes within the savanna to the high mountain ranges of the Cape, the Drakensberg and Namibia (IVC: Southern African Temperate Inselberg Vegetation, Zimbabwean Inselberg Vegetation, Namibian Inselberg Vegetation). Provide nest sites on cliffs and crevices absent from the flatter landscape around them.

To the species

Rocky coastline and the islands off this region's coast, from the guano islands of the Benguela Current to scattered rock formations along the Indian Ocean. Outside the scope of the IVC's vegetation classification, but for a number of breeding seabirds the only suitable breeding ground in this region.

To the species

Permanent water and the marshes along it: rivers, meandering floodplains and the extensive inland deltas such as the Okavango (IVC: African Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Okavango-Cuvelai Phreatophyte Vegetation, Karoo Flooded Riparian Woodland). In a predominantly dry region these zones form a disproportionately important habitat, with densities and species counts far above the surrounding dry land.

To the species

Seasonal, alkaline pans that fill temporarily after rain, from the vast Etosha Pan to the many smaller salt pans of the Kalahari and the inland highveld (IVC: Etosha Salt Pan, Kalahari Salt Pan, Bushmanland-Highveld Salt Pan, Lowveld-Limpopo Salt Pan). When flooded, they draw large numbers of waterbirds, including the only breeding opportunity for flamingos in this region.

To the species

The open Atlantic and Indian Oceans along the region's coast, from the cold, nutrient-rich Benguela Current in the west to the warmer waters of the east. Outside the scope of the IVC's vegetation classification.

To the species

Mangrove forest and the adjoining coastal marshes along the warmer, sheltered stretches of the Indian Ocean coast, grading into salt marsh at the drier margins (IVC: Indian Ocean Mangrove, African Cape Coastal Salt Marsh, Tropical African Coastal Salt Marsh). A nursery for fish and shellfish, and so an important foraging ground for herons, storks and waders.

To the species

Land converted for crops or livestock: maize fields, vineyards, orchards and grazed grassland. In parts of the region this replaces large areas of original grassland and fynbos, and a number of species from those habitats use it as a supplement or, where the original habitat is lost, as the only alternative left.

To the species

Gardens, parks and the built-up areas of towns and villages. A limited number of species have adapted strongly to people and reach higher densities here than in any natural habitat.

To the species