Predation on the eggs of ground-nesting birds by Dasypeltis scabra (Linnaeus, 1758) in the moist highland grasslands of South Africa

Abstract

We provide evidence for predation by the Common Egg-eater (Dasypeltis scabra) on the eggs of three species of ground-nesting birds, namely African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus), Cape Longclaw (Macronyx capensis) and Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix). Although egg-eaters have been recorded as egg predators of several bird species in the wild – including a few other ground-nesters such as lapwings, francolins, sandgrouse, gulls and terns – we present the first evidence of such predation in the Mesic Highveld Grassland Bioregion of South Africa.