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In times of isolation or confinement, making regular natural history observations can not only represent a source of enjoyment, but generates insights into local avian ecology. Here we present an account of the urban bird diversity of Stellenbosch, South Africa, derived from daily observations of species presence collected during the initial two stages of the country's nationwide COVID-19 lockdown period (66 days). A total of 38 bird species were observed during this time, including sightings of urban hunting behavior for birds of prey and greenspace foraging in general. The most commonly seen taxa were typical human-commensal species, including sparrows and doves. Many species were encountered far less frequently, with 21 of the 38 species being observed on less than 10 days. This was most notable for birds of prey (n = 6 species from Accipitriformes and Falconiformes) or African swifts (n = 2 species from Apodiformes), which were recorded only a few times for any given species. Our account provides some relatively niche information regarding the presence of birds from a single city block in South Africa and notes interesting observations of urban foraging behaviour, but also underscores the value of birdwatching during times of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the evolution of vertebrate sociality requires comparative data on social associations across the vertebrate phylogeny. In the case of group‐living lizards (i.e. species that live in stable social aggregations often associated with a shared resource), most work has focused on the Egerniinae in Australia, resulting in a taxonomic and geographic skew to our understanding of reptile sociality. The African cordylid lizards (Cordylidae) are also a promising system to study the evolution of sociality because grouping behaviour varies across the clade. Here, we studied the conspecific grouping behaviour of two crag lizards, Pseudocordylus langi and P. melanotus subviridis that occur at high elevations in the Maloti‐Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. To better understand their social organisation and mating system, we also present data on their spatial distribution, sexual dimorphism, and bite force. Both Pseudocordylus spp. were sexually dimorphic in morphology (males had larger heads than females of similar body size), colouration (males were more colourful) and female P. langi had a weaker bite force than males. Both P. langi and P. m. subviridis were associated with rocky habitat on the mountainside (e.g. cliffs, rock buttresses, and rock outcrops) and both were spaced apart and rarely in groups (79% of P. langi and 90% of P. m. subviridis were observed alone). Based on our findings, we hypothesise that both Pseudocordylus spp. have a territorial social structure and a polygynous mating system. This novel natural history information about crag lizards supports the assertion that Cordylidae is another model system for examining the evolution of sociality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]