Apalis thoracica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The bar-throated apalis (Apalis thoracica) is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics. It inhabits forest and scrub in Southern and East Africa from southern and eastern parts of South Africa north as far as the Chyulu Hills in Kenya. In the northern part of is range it is found only in highland areas where there are a number of subspecies restricted to isolated mountain ranges. Some of these may be treated as separate species including the Namuli apalis (A. lynesi) in Mozambique, yellow-throated apalis (A. flavigularis) of Malawi and Taita apalis (A. fascigularis) in Kenya.
The bar-throated apalis is a slender bird with a long tail and is 11 to 13 cm in length. The plumage varies depending on the subspecies: the upper parts can be grey or green while the underparts are white or pale yellow. All forms have a narrow black band across the breast, white outer tail-feathers and a pale eye. The black bill is fairly long and slender and is slightly curved. Females are similar to males but have a narrower breast band. Juveniles have buffer underparts... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-throated Apalis sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 171 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 91st most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-throated Apalis in Cape Town on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Cape Town's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in June.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bar-throated Apalis sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Bar-throated Apalis sightings, Cape Town ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Harare (Zimbabwe, about 20%), Durban (South Africa, about 10%) and Pretoria (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Cisticolidae
The closest relatives of the Bar-throated Apalis that you can see in Cape Town (family Cisticolidae, Cisticolas and Allies) are Levaillant's Cisticola (about 30%), Karoo Prinia (about 20%) and Zitting Cisticola (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bar-throated Apalis is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (171 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.
