Laniarius bicolor
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The swamp boubou (Laniarius bicolor), also known as the Gabon boubou, is a species of bird in the Malaconotidae or bushshrike family. It is native to western and southern Central Africa. In the north of their range, savannah thickets constitute an important part of their habitat, while in the south they are strongly associated with river systems and marshes, for which they are named. The pair bond appears to be maintained by duetting, which in the south is generally synchronous or overlapping. It is most similar to L. major major, with which it perhaps hybridizes, but the underpart plumage is immaculate white, while the female contributes a ratchet-like note to the duet.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Gabon, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are regenerating forest, moist to seasonally dry savannah thicket, coastal scrubland and mangroves, and ravine forests of the Angolan escarpment. In the south of its range it is confined to floodplain systems. Along these rivers and swamps they frequent dense, tangled riparian vegetation, edges of reedbeds, papyrus stands or clumps of water fig on islands. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 2 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gabon Boubou sighting in Chobe National Park on a given day, based on 146 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 124th most-seen of the 373 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–May and July–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gabon Boubou in Chobe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and June, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gabon Boubou sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Gabon Boubou sightings, Chobe National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Moremi Game Reserve (Botswana, about 20%).
Same genus: Laniarius
The closest relatives of the Gabon Boubou that you can see in Chobe National Park (genus Laniarius, Boubous and Gonoleks) are Tropical Boubou (about 20%) and Crimson-breasted Gonolek (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gabon Boubou is recorded against all the birds logged in Chobe National Park (146 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.
