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South Africa : National Bird The Blue Crane is South Africa's national bird. It is endemic to Southern Africa, with 99% occurring in South Africa. The Blue Crane is very special to the amaXhosa and amaZulu, often associated with warriors and royalty. Standing just over 1m tall, the Blue Crane also called Stanley Crane is a light blue- grey, has a long neck supporting a rather bulbous head, long legs and elegant wing plumes which sweep to the ground. A Blue Crane can be found anywhere including the velds. The Blue Crane is a bird very special to the amaZulu and amaXhosa. In Zulu culture only Zulu Kings are allowed to wear the feathers in their headdress. In Xhosa culture, when a man distinguished himself by deeds of valour, or any form of cultural conduct, he was often decorated by the chief by being presented with the feathers of the Blue Crane or Indwe. After a battle, the chief would organise a ceremony called ukundzabela – a ceremony for the heroes, at which feathers from the indwe, would be presented.

Springbok inhabit the dry inland areas of south and southwestern Africa. Their range extends from the northwestern part of South Africa through the Kalahari desert into Namibia and Botswana. Springboks can be found in numbers of up to 250,000 in South Africa. They used to be very common, forming some of the largest herds of mammals ever documented, but their numbers have diminished significantly since the 19th century due to hunting and fences from farms blocking their migratory routes. In South Africa springbok inhabit the vast grasslands of the Free state and the open shrub lands of the greater and smaller Karoo.

South Africa's large areas of semi-desert scrub and grassland might suggest a certain poverty of plant life. Aside from the fact that a tract of pristine grassland can hold up to 60 grass species, nothing could be further from the truth. There are five major habitat types in South Africa: fynbos, forest, Karoo, grassland, and savannah. The country can also be divided into seven biomes, or ecological life zones, with distinct environmental conditions and related sets of plant and animal life: Nama Karoo, succulent Karoo, fynbos, forest, thicket, savanna, and grassland. Whichever classification is used, some 10% of the world's flowering species are found in South Africa, the only country in the world with an entire plant kingdom inside its borders: the Cape Floristic Kingdom, which contains species, 68% of them endemic. The Cape Peninsula alone boasts more plant species than the whole of Great Britain.