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

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References and further reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone's Guide to South African Birds - Author: John Sinclair and John Mendelsohn - Year Published: 1987 - Page: 31

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa - 1st Edition - Author: Dr. Austin Roberts - Year Published: 1949 - Page: 112

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

List of South African Birds