Rob Mountain talks of his youthful days on the highveldt:

I would be woken in the mornings by the call of Africa's most majestic eagle, the African Fish Eagle.  While eating breakfast, I would hear the unmistakable call of the Crested Barbet going off like an alarm clock that had no snooze button.  On a typical day, I would see flocks of Helmeted Guineafowl running in the open grasslands, and Yellow-Throated Longclaws perched precariously on large anthills.  Then there was the Fiscal Shrike - commonly called the "Jackie Hanger".  This name was derived from the fact that these birds impale their prey on anything with a sharp point to it.  Black-shouldered Kites, Forked-tailed Drongos, just to mention a few of the wonderful endemic South African birds that we would see during the daylight hours.  As the sun would set, the Red-Chested Cuckoo would utter a loud often-repeated "weet-wee-weeoo", referred to by the Afrikaans speakers as saying "Piet my vrou".  At night, we would have the Fiery-necked Nightjar break the silence with its plaintive, descending,  six-syllabled "Good Lord deliiiiiiers us" call.