Scientific name: Sphenoeacus afer
The Cape grassbird is 17 to 19 centimetres (6.7 to 7.5 in) long and weighs around 30 grams (1.1 oz) Its crown and face sides are rufous, except for white around the eye, and it has black malar and moustachial stripes on its white throat. The upperparts are brown with heavy streaking and the long tail is a lighter brown while the underparts are whitish with blackish spotting. The long, pointed, straggly tail, chestnut cap and facial stripes are diagnostic of Cape grassbird. The sexes are similar.
Endemic to southern Africa, with the bulk of its population in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland and Lempopo Province.
It generally prefers habitats with restios, rank grasses or ferns, such as fynbos and grassland.
It mainly eats insects, such as beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars, doing most of its foraging on the ground beneath vegetation.
