List of birds of Gauteng

This is an alphabetic list of common names of birds occurring in Gauteng, South Africa. Gauteng includes both the cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, and numerous satellite municipalities spreading over a total of some 18,000 square km and an enormous diversity of habitat, and ranging in elevation from 1300 to 1900 metres. Gauteng lies at the junction of three major biomes – grassland to the south, arid savannah to the north-west, and moist savannah to the north-east and east – this location largely accounts for its great diversity of species.

Typical Gauteng Highveld in winter

Location of Gauteng in South Africa

The growing occupation of the area by man since the discovery of gold in the late 1800s has led to inevitable habitat loss and degradation, with the consequent displacement and decline of many species. The establishing of parks and suburban gardens, on the other hand, has created a multitude of niches and this, together with progressively milder highveld winters, has attracted a wealth of bushveld species from north of the Magaliesberg, and from other warmer areas. Tall office blocks and high-rise apartments have provided nesting opportunities for cliff dwellers, while the collective, man-made forest is regarded as the world's largest.[1] Some arrivals in Johannesburg gardens within recent times have been the hadeda ibis, green wood hoopoe, Cape starling, red-winged starling, grey go-away-bird, African grey hornbill, pin-tailed whydah, African green pigeon and southern boubou. [2][3]

Southern Africa's bird list numbers more than 900, with some 350 being found in Gauteng. Of the Southern Africa birds, 134 are endemic or near-endemic, while the centre of endemism is in the far west in the Karoo and Namib Desert. More species breed in Southern Africa than in Canada and the continental United States combined.