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Researchers studied blue waxbills — small songbirds that were most affected in South Africa’s first documented heat-related mortality event involving wild birds, which occurred in late 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)
AFRICAN BIRDS

Heat and humidity is a lethal mix for SA’s small birds

Scientists have warned that humidity, not just temperature, could determine which species survive in an era of escalating heatwaves

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read
The bodies of numerous bee-eaters (above) and swallows who had migrated from the Northern Hemisphere were found around the country. (Supplied)
BIRD DEATHS

Scores of migratory birds perished during SA’s recent cold spell

The bodies of numerous bee-eaters and swallows who had migrated from the Northern Hemisphere were found around the country

  • Sheree Bega
6 min read
Flock Of Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) At Sunset Flying To Roosting Tree. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
ANDREW MCKECHNIE

How birds adapt to rising heat is an early warning on climate change effects

Birds living in hot, humid climates have evolved to handle larger spikes in body temperature

  • Sheree Bega
4 min read
ANDREW MCKECHNIE

Dozens of birds and bats perish in extreme heat in KZN

In a single day, temperatures in northern KwaZulu-Natal climbed to a lethal 45°C, causing a mass die-off of birds and bats

  • Sheree Bega
5 min read