Andropadus importunus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The sombre greenbul (Andropadus importunus) is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is a resident breeder in coastal bush, evergreen forest and dry shrub land in eastern and southern Africa. It is the only member of the genus Andropadus.
Eighteen species of greenbuls originally described in the genus Andropadus were re-classified to the genera Arizelocichla, Stelgidillas and Eurillas in 2010. This has left Andropadus as a monotypic genus with the sombre greenbul remaining as its sole extant species.
The sombre greenbul was originally described in the genus Turdus and was later re-classified to the genus Andropadus. Alternatively, some authorities classify the sombre greenbul in the genus Pycnonotus. Alternate names for the sombre greenbul include the sombre bulbul, southern sombre bulbul and southern sombre greenbul.
Includes Frick's greenbul which was also originally described as a separate species. Found from southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia to eastern... Wikipedia →
Song0:37
South Africa · 2026
© JJSUN · XC1078356 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Duet0:10
Kenya · 2025
© Louis A. Hansen · XC1068036 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:13
South Africa · 2025
© Craig Peter · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 16 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 17 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 19 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 20 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Zanzibar City | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sombre Greenbul sighting in Dar es-Salaam on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 138 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Sombre Greenbul in Dar es-Salaam on a given day, against about 20% in January–March, May and July, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sombre Greenbul sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Sombre Greenbul sightings, Dar es-Salaam ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 60%) and Zanzibar City (Tanzania, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sombre Greenbul is recorded against all the birds logged in Dar es-Salaam (49 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.
