Kondlo from Zululand

The mysterious Kondlo bird of Zululand sparked controversy in the 1960s when Captain G.T. Court of Durban described it in the journal African Wild Life. As a large, black bird with red limbs and glossy feathers, the Kondlo resembled a turkey hen, but Court firmly rejected these comparisons, based on his own observations during hunting trips.

The mysterious Kondlo bird from Zululand, a large, black bird, demands identification. It sparked a heated debate in the journal African Wild Life in the early 1960s. The main instigator and participant was Captain G. T. Court of Durban, South Africa. In a 1962 letter, he described the Kondlo as a silent bird, resembling a common domestic turkey in size, shape, head plumage, and beak structure. Its irises, beak, limbs, and feet were red, and its feathers were glossy black with a greenish-blue sheen. Its coloration was therefore reminiscent of the European bird Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, or the red-footed chough. Court observed no sexual dimorphism (morphological differences between males and females).

In the ongoing discussion on the identity of this unusual bird in African Wild Life, the southern African hornbill (Bucorous lead-beatrei) and the bald ibis (Ge-ronticus cahus) were mentioned, among others. Captain Court, however, vehemently rejected such speculations. His unshakable conviction in the distinct identity of the kondlo bird was based on direct observation: over many years of hunting, he had become intimately familiar with all the birds of this area of South Africa. He had also hunted and eaten several kondlo specimens. Therefore, he was able to distinguish between the hornbill, the ibis, and the animal he described.Furthermore, citing a scientific Zulu-English dictionary compiled by Father Alfred Bryant during his many years of work in Africa, Court demonstrated that these three birds have distinct names in the native language. The hornbill is called tsingizi, the bald ibis xwage-le. The bird the captain described was called kondlo.

According to Court, the mysterious bird forms flocks of four to eight individuals. It lives on the grassy ridges of Mtonjaneni and Mahlabatini. It flies at low altitudes, similar to wild guinea fowl. Court also noted that the once-common Kondlo is being sighted less and less in these areas. He last saw one around 1956. Therefore, ornithologists should attempt to locate and identify these birds, assuming they are not yet extinct.