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Was very fortunate to see this bird. It was a couple busy building a nest.

Even though the photos are a little out of focus it is interesting to see how well camouflaged the bird is against the forest floor.

Where did you find it?

So I presume that is also the Spotted Thrush as opposed to the Groundscraper Thrush. as I think that has a yellow bill.
My goodness this gets confusing!!

Hi Elsa, the only way I remembered to make distinction between the 2 thrush species was that this one had white wing spots as opposed to the plain wing of the far more common and different habit dwelling groundscraper thrush.

We had a good deal of fun finding Spotted Ground Thrush in Natal. They we calling endlessly in Ongoye forest, but could not be located in the thick under-brush.

At Dlinza where the forest floor is more open we had a much better change of getting them, but this time no calls or any signs. Finally we were surprised by one not 2m form us. They are so well camouflaged that you could walk over them without spotting it.

The two we found were breeding and their nest was in a close by tree. According to our guide they never move more than 100m away from their nest. Thus once you know where it is, you can find them easily again.

I have seen the spotted ground-thrush, Zoothera guttata, before at the Dlinza forest reserve near Eshowe, but in the darkest parts of the forest where photographing this bird was near impossible. This ground-thrush spends much of its time in leaf-litter on forest floors where it flicks through the leaves mainly in search of earthworms, supplementing its diet with other invertebrates such as snails. It does most of its foraging singly or in pairs on the forest floor and snails, and despite its distinctive colouration, it is often difficult to see.

At all times difficult to observe, being silent, shy and well-camouflaged, freezing motionless for minutes when disturbed, I was really excited when I found this bird in the open in better light than normal.



In South Africa it is rare, with an estimate population of only 800 pairs, scattered across the coastal forests of of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape where it has distinctive winter and summer ranges. In winter these birds spend their time in remnant coastal forests, and in summer they move to forests further inland.

This enigmatic species is listed as Endangered since it has a very small and severely fragmented population that is undergoing continuous decline because of destruction and degradation of its habitat. The species avoids disturbance-prone areas.

It seems that you were very lucky to find this very special sighting Johan!

I wonder how many Stiffnecks have seen this beautiful Spotted Ground-thrush before?

A beautiful picture of a lovely bird!