Afrotis afra
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The southern black korhaan (Afrotis afra), also known as the black bustard, is a species of bird in the bustard family, Otididae. This small bustard is found in southwestern South Africa, from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town and east to Makhanda. It prefers semi-arid habitats such as grasslands, shrublands and savannas where it can easily prey on ground-dwelling arthropods and eat seeds. It reproduces yearly in the spring and will lay about one or two eggs per breeding season.
Numbers have declined rapidly as much of its habitat has been converted to agricultural land and remaining tracts are often fragmented. Due to this habitat destruction, the species is considered vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
The southern black korhaan was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Otis afra. Formerly known as Eupodotis afra, it is now classified as Afrotis afra. They belong to the bustard family, Otididae.
It was previously thought that the southern black korhaan and the northern black korhaan were the same species (the northern black korhaan being a sub-species,... Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
South Africa · 2021
© ChristianRM · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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South Africa · 2023
© Gigi Laidler · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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South Africa · 2022
© jacobus_h_visser · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
No species of the same family or order lives in West Coast National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Korhaan sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 843 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 192 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and July–August
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Korhaan in West Coast National Park on a given day, against about 30% in April and December, the lowest months. Those are among West Coast National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 5 mm in February.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Black Korhaan sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Southern Black Korhaan sightings, West Coast National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, under 5%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Black Korhaan is recorded against all the birds logged in West Coast National Park (843 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
