The Go-Away Bird in Kruger National Park

Identification

Grey Go-away-birds are unmistakable in southern African bushveld — there is no realistic ID confusion. Key features:

• Uniform grey plumage — soft mid-grey across the body, slightly paler on the belly
• Tall pointed crest — distinctive silhouette; the crest is held mostly upright
• Long tail — about as long as the body, used for balance in tree canopies
• White-tipped wing feathers — visible in flight as flashes of white among the grey
• Short black bill — adapted for fruit-eating
• Dark eye with thin pale ring

Body length is approximately 50cm including the long tail. Sexes are similar. Juveniles look like duller adults. The combination of long tail, tall crest, and uniform grey colour is unlike any other bird of similar size in the Greater Kruger.

The famous call

The call is the species' defining feature. A loud, nasal, drawn-out "g'wa-aay" — sometimes given as a single note, sometimes repeated. The phonetic similarity to the English words "go away" is striking, which is the source of the common name.

The call carries 200-400 metres in still bushveld and is given persistently when the bird detects something it considers a threat. A single Go-away-bird calling can be heard across an entire safari camp, and once you've identified the call, you'll start hearing it on every drive.

Other vocalisations include softer contact calls between mates, harsh chattering during territorial disputes, and a quieter version of the alarm given for less-urgent disturbances. The full vocal repertoire is more varied than the famous call alone.

The sentinel role

Across the bushveld, Go-away-birds function as community alarm. When they call, other species respond. Impala lift their heads and scan. Vervet monkeys shift away from the source of the alarm. Even other birds adjust their behaviour. This is informally known as eavesdropping — when one species uses another's alarm calls as information.

The behaviour is reciprocal across many bushveld species. Vervet monkeys give specific alarm calls for different predator types (eagle, snake, ground predator); birds and other monkeys distinguish between them. Go-away-birds aren't quite as specific — their calls are mostly generic "something is here that shouldn't be" — but the response from other species is consistent.

For wildlife watchers, learning to recognise Go-away-bird alarm is a useful skill. When the call starts and continues, something nearby has the bird's attention. Following the bird's gaze (if you can locate the calling individual) often reveals what the alarm is about — sometimes a predator, sometimes a snake, sometimes another safari vehicle.

Why hunters disliked them

The Go-away-bird's place in southern African safari culture comes largely from its reputation as the hunter's nemesis. Historical hunting accounts from the 19th and 20th centuries are full of complaints about Go-away-birds spoiling stalks just before the hunter could close to within range.

The pattern was consistent. A hunter would track game through the bushveld for hours, get within several hundred metres, and just as he was closing for the shot, a Go-away-bird would spot him from a high perch, start calling, and the game would melt away into cover. By the time the hunter reached the spot where the game had been, the animals were already 500-1,000 metres away.

The reputation persists today, even as the activity has shifted from hunting to photography. Wildlife photographers and walking guides know that Go-away-birds will betray their position to wildlife at the worst possible moment. There is a reason it's the only bird species that gets specifically cursed in safari guide training.

Diet and behaviour

Go-away-birds are primarily frugivorous. The bulk of their diet is fruit — wild figs, sycamore figs, marula fruit, and various other Greater Kruger tree fruits. They also eat flowers, buds, and occasionally insects (particularly caterpillars and termites during emergences).

The species' digestive system is adapted to handle the toxic compounds present in some seeds and fruits — a niche unavailable to many other frugivorous birds. They are major seed dispersers for several Greater Kruger tree species, transporting seeds in their guts and depositing them at distance with a useful fertiliser package.

Behaviourally, Go-away-birds are mostly arboreal. They climb through tree canopies with surprising agility for a bird with such a long tail, using their feet and tail together for balance. Flight is direct and undulating — short bursts of flapping followed by glides. They rarely descend to the ground.

Pairs are mostly monogamous within a season, sometimes across multiple seasons. They build simple stick nests in the upper branches of acacia or other trees, lay 2-3 eggs, and both parents share incubation and feeding duties. Cooperative breeding (helpers from previous broods) is occasionally documented.

The turaco family — colourful relatives

The Grey Go-away-bird is a turaco — a family of African birds known for vivid colours, distinctive crests, and unique pigments. Most turacos are spectacularly coloured: the Knysna Turaco and Purple-crested Turaco found in South African forests are vivid green with red wing flashes and purple crests.

The Grey Go-away-bird is the dull cousin in this family. Its grey colouration is an adaptation to the open bushveld where camouflage in tree canopies matters more than display. A vivid green turaco would stand out dramatically in an acacia tree against the sky; a grey turaco blends into the canopy and the bark.

The turaco family is endemic to Africa and contains some of the continent's most distinctive birds. The Grey Go-away-bird's loud presence makes up for its lack of plumage drama — every Greater Kruger trip will produce far more Go-away-bird sightings than any of its colourful cousins.

Where and when to see them

• Lodge gardens and rest camps — particularly those with mature trees or fruiting figs. Go-away-birds become habituated to camp life.
• Picnic spots in Kruger NP — most Kruger picnic sites have resident Go-away-birds.
• Acacia woodland — the species' preferred habitat across the central and northern Greater Kruger.
• Mopane woodland in northern Kruger — also abundant in mopane areas around Letaba and Mopani rest camps.
• Listen first, look second — once you know the call, you'll locate every Go-away-bird before you see it. The call carries far further than the visual silhouette.

The species is essentially impossible to miss across most of the Greater Kruger. The only question is how often per day you'll hear the call.