Spotted Thick-knee / Spotted Dikkop

Afrikaans name: Gewone dikkop

Above - Spotted Thick-knee

Photo © Steven Herbert

Burhinus capensis

The Spotted Thick-knee is found over much of South Africa in suitable habitats. It prefers areas of grassland, or savanna, but is also not uncommon in some urban areas.

They feed on a wide variety of insects, spiders, worms and other creatures they find as they forage on the ground.

Spotted Thick-knees create a shallow nest on the ground. It is normally lined with a few leaves and twigs. Up to 3 eggs are laid and are tended to by both sexes. The eggs are mottled brown which makes them difficult to spot. Both parents feed the young.

Above - Spotted Thick-knee moving away from its resting place after being disturbed

Photo © Steven Herbert

References and further reading

A Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: O.P.M. Prozesky - Published: 1983 - Page: 126

A First Guide to South African Birds - 6th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1959 - Page: 154

A First Guide to South African Birds - 7th Edition - Author: Leonard Gill - Published: 1975 - Page: 154

Animals of the Kruger National Park - Author: G. de Graaff - Published: 1987 - Page: 77

Bird Atlas of Natal - Author: Digby Cyrus and Nigel Robson - Published: 1980 - Page: 122

Birds of Southern Africa - Kruger National Park - Author: Kenneth Newman - Published: 1985 - Page: 50

Birds of the Natal Drakensberg Park - Author: Robin Little and William Bainbridge - Published: 1992 - Page: 38

Birds of the South Western Cape - Author: Joy Frandsen - Published: 0 - Page: 100

Birds of the Transkei - Author: C.D. Quickelberge - Published: 1989 - Page: 60

Birds of the Transvaal - Author: Tarboton, Kemp and Kemp - Published: 1987 - Page: 104

Collins Illustrated Checklist - Birds of Southern Africa - 1st edition - Author: Ber van Perlo - Published: 1999 - Page: 27

Everyones Guide to South African Birds - Author: John Sinclair and John Mendelsohn - Published: 1987 - Page: 31

Field Guide to the Birds of Kruger National Park - Author: Ian Sinclair and Ian Whyte - Published: 1991 - Page: 92

Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind - Author: B. Hilton-Barber & Prof. L. R. Berger - Published: 2004 - Page: 180

Gamebirds and Waterfowl of Southern Africa - Author: CG Finch-Davies, Dr Alan Kemp - Published: 1986 - Page: 155

Garden Birds in South Africa - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2017 - Page: 55

Ian Sinclairs Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa - 2nd Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair - Published: 1988 - Page: 134

Meeting with Birds - Author: Tom Spence - Published: 1986 - Page: 48

Newmans Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 1984 - Page: 128

Newmans Birds of Southern Africa - 7th Edition - Author: Ken Newman - Published: 2000 - Page: 128

Questions and Answers - Birds of Southern Africa - Author: Deirdre Richards - Published: 1990 - Page: 25

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 2nd edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1957 - Page: 147

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 3rd Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1975 - Page: 188

Roberts Birds of South Africa - 4th Edition - Author: McLachlan and Liversidge - Published: 1981 - Page: 196

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 5th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1985 - Page: 263

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa - 6th Edition - Author: Gordon Lindsay Maclean - Published: 1993 - Page: 258

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 1993 - Page: 196

Sasol Birds of Southern Africa - 4th Edition - Author: Ian Sinclair et al. - Published: 2011 - Page: 162

Shorebirds - Author: P. Hayman, J. Marchant, T. Prater - Published: 1986 - Page: 240

Southern African Bird Names Explained - Author: Charles Clinning - Published: 1989 - Page: 24

Southern African Wildlife - Author: Readers Digest - Published: 1989 - Page: 114

The Birds of South Africa - Author: Hazel Stokes - Published: 1979 - Page: 20

The Birds of South Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Dr. Austin Roberts - Published: 1949 - Page: 112

The Sandton Field Guide - Author: Sandton Nature Conservation Society - Published: 1982 - Page: 48

Tracks and Tracking in Southern Africa - Author: Louis Liebenberg - Published: 2000 - Page: 30

Wading Birds of the World - Revised edition - Author: Eric and Richard Soothill - Published: 1989 - Page: 316

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 38

Wild About Johannesburg - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 1995 - Page: 39

Wildlife of Southern Africa - Author: Martin Withers and David Hosking - Published: 2011 - Page: 82

Wildlife of the Cape Peninsula - Author: Duncan Butchart - Published: 2001 - Page: 47

BirdLife South Africa

---

Top

List of South African Birds