Lanius humeralis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The northern fiscal (Lanius humeralis) is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal (Lanius collaris). Together they were called the common fiscal. The fiscal gets its English and Afrikaans common names from its black and white 'suit-and-tie' appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).
This is a fairly distinctive 21–23 cm long passerine with white underparts and black upperparts extending from the top of the head down to the tail. The bird has a characteristic white 'V' on the back and a relatively long black tail with white outer feathers and white tips on the other feathers. The bill, eyes and legs are black. Adult male and female northern fiscals are quite similar except for the rufous lower flank of the female. Wikipedia →
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal sighting in Addis Ababa on a given day, based on 94 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 109 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–May and July
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal in Addis Ababa on a given day, against about 10% in August, the lowest month.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Fiscal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Northern Fiscal sightings, Addis Ababa ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bujumbura (Burundi, about 30%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Northern Fiscal that you can see in Addis Ababa (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Brown-rumped Seedeater (about 80%), Pied Crow (about 80%) and Baglafecht Weaver (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Fiscal is recorded against all the birds logged in Addis Ababa (94 verified sightings), 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.
