Telophorus cruentus
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The rosy-patched bushshrike (Rhodophoneus cruentus) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Rhodophoneus. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The rosy-patched bushshrike was formally described in 1828 as Lanius cruentus by the German naturalists Wilhelm Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg based on specimens collected at Arkiko near Massawa in Eritrea. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "bloody" or "stained with blood". It is now the only species placed in the genus Rhodophoneus which was introduced in 1871 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin to accommodate a single species, the rosy-patched bushshrike. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ῥοδον/rhodon meaning "rose" with φονευς/phoneus meaning "murderer".
Four subspecies are recognised: Rhodophoneus cruentus kordofanicus Sclater, WL & Mackworth-Praed, CW, 1918 – west-central Sudan Rhodophoneus cruentus cruentus (Hemprich, WF & Ehrenberg, CG, 1828) – northeastern Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia
Rhodophoneus cruentus... Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
Tanzania · 2024
© blackdogto · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Kenya · 2018
© Tuoichen · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy-patched Bushshrike sighting in Awash National Park on a given day, based on 54 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 217 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy-patched Bushshrike in Awash National Park on a given day, against about 20% in August and November, the lowest months. That is one of Awash National Park's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain against 10 mm in January. February–March, May and September have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rosy-patched Bushshrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Rosy-patched Bushshrike sightings, Awash National Park ranks 4th at about 40%. The best odds are in Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 50%), Meru National Park (Kenya, about 40%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Malaconotidae
The closest relatives of the Rosy-patched Bushshrike that you can see in Awash National Park (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Sulphur-Breasted Bushshrike (about 20%), Gray-headed Bushshrike (about 20%) and Slate-colored Boubou (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rosy-patched Bushshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Awash National Park (54 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.
