Cape Thick-knee

These African birds are predominantly terrestrial. They have strong legs and weak flight capabilities, predisposing them to a life on the ground.

Cape thick-knees scrape shallow impressions in the ground as their nesting sites. This nesting behavior, along with the Cape thick-knee’s peculiar anti-predation tactics, is similar to that of the North American killdeer. 

The mottled brown and tan feathers of these birds may provide effective camouflage in their native grassland habitats, but that doesn’t stop predators from sniffing out their shallow ground nests. 

In order to protect their eggs and chicks, thick-knees will flop on the ground and flap a wing aggressively, in an attempt to distract the predator and draw it away from the nest. Once it has succeeded in rerouting the predator’s attention and thwarting a potential attack, the thick-knee will dash into the tall grasses of the savanna, leaving the confused animal in its tracks. 

Cape thick-knees are nocturnal predators, and they spend their time solitarily or in pairs. Noteworthy features of these birds include their large yellow eyes and long, knobby, yellow legs.