Lanius somalicus
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The Somali fiscal (Lanius somalicus) is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. Other common names include the Karoli fiscal, the Somali fiscal shrike and the Somali shrike. The bird is found in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa, as well as in Kenya in the African Great Lakes region. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The Somali fiscal Is found in East Africa, its range including much of Somalia, southern Djibouti, eastern and southern Ethiopia, southeastern South Sudan and northern Kenya. It is mainly found in open grassy habitats and semi-desert areas with some scrub. Where its range overlaps that of the Taita fiscal (Lanius dorsalis), that bird usually inhabits more densely-vegetated and less arid habitats.
Like other shrikes, the Somali fiscal perches in a position where it has a good view all round and pounces on any suitable prey it observes. It feeds mostly on large insects such as grasshoppers, mantises and beetles. Prey is sometimes impaled on thorns for consumption later, and small birds have sometimes been found in these larders. During the breeding season, it will defend the area... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Somali Fiscal sighting in Awash National Park on a given day, based on 69 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 9th most-seen of the 217 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Somali Fiscal in Awash National Park on a given day, against about 30% in November, the lowest month. That is one of Awash National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 85 mm in August. February–March, May and September have too few records to rate.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Somali Fiscal sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Awash National Park, in our data
Awash National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Somali Fiscal sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Lanius
The closest relatives of the Somali Fiscal that you can see in Awash National Park (genus Lanius, Typical Shrikes) are Woodchat Shrike (about 20%), Red-tailed Shrike (about 10%) and Red-backed Shrike (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Somali Fiscal is recorded against all the birds logged in Awash National Park (69 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.
