Southern Black Korhaan

The southern black korhaan is a ground-dwelling bird with some sexual dimorphism. The male's main body plumage is of a checkered black and white with a black underbelly and neck. It also displays some white on the underwings, on the cheeks and in stripes over the eyes. The female, in contrast, has the whole of her head, neck and breast the same colour as her body, which is checkered brown and white. Both the female and the male have bright yellow legs. The male is slightly larger than the female. The male has a wingspan of 27 cm (10.6 in) to 28 cm (11.0 in) and the female a wingspan of 25 cm (9.8 in) to 26 cm (10.2 in). The tail is about 12 cm (4.7 in) to 13 cm (5.1 in) long. The male's bill is larger with a length of 3.8 cm to 3.9 cm (1.5 in), while the female's is about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) long. The bill is of a reddish colour with a black tip. Lifespan averages 10 years.

The southern black korhaan is endemic to southwestern South Africa, ranging from Namaqualand, south to Cape Town, and east to Makhanda. As of 2020, its estimated suitable habitat throughout its range is approximately 20,355 km2 (7,859 sq mi). It prefers open, semi-arid habitats such as shrub-lands and savannahs where it can easily prey on grass-dwelling arthropods, also grasslands adjoining marshland.

This is an omnivorous species. Two-thirds of its diet is made up of arthropods, and it will eat termites, beetles, grasshoppers and ants. The rest of its diet is composed of plant matter, mostly seeds. It partakes in a mutualistic relationship with Acacia cyclops, a species of Acacia; the southern black korhaan benefits from the seeds as they are a readily available food source, and in return, disperses the seeds to good germination sites. The southern black korhaan will also ingest grit and other small rocks to help in digestion by assisting the grinding process in the gizzard. A study has also shown that two thirds of birds have nematode parasites in their intestinal tract.