Apalis melanocephala
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The black-headed apalis (Apalis melanocephala) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Black-headed apalis - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Apalis sighting in Arusha National Park on a given day, based on 189 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 58th most-seen of the 373 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Apalis in Arusha National Park on a given day, against about 20% in January, April–June and October, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Apalis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black-headed Apalis sightings, Arusha National Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 10%) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Apalis is recorded against all the birds logged in Arusha National Park (189 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
