Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird

Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird

Pogoniulus pusillus

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Durban

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

29 Verified sightings at Durban
310 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird

The southern red-fronted tinkerbird, (Pogoniulus pusillus) is a small bird in the African barbet family Lybiidae. It is found in southern Mozambique and eastern South Africa. This species was formerly regarded as conspecific with the northern red-fronted tinkerbird (Pogoniulus uropygialis).

The southern red-fronted tinkerbird is associated with juniper forest and scrub. It nests in a tree hole and lays two or three eggs. It eats berries and fruit, particularly mistletoe, but also takes insects as it forages in deep cover.

The southern red-fronted tinkerbird is 9–10.5 cm (3.5–4.1 in) in length. It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head, and short tail. The adult has black upper parts heavily streaked with yellow and white, and a golden wing patch. Its head has a strong black and white pattern, with a red forecrown spot. Its underparts and rump are lemon yellow. Sexes are similar in appearance, but young birds lack the red forehead.

This species is distinguished from the yellow-fronted tinkerbird by the colour of the forehead spot, the golden wing patch, and its overall darker appearance. It is often confused with the red-fronted barbet, but it is significantly... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:46

South Africa · 2023

© Albert Lastukhin · XC895540 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:19

Kenya · 2022

© isaac kilusu · XC736069 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:22

South Africa · 2022

© Maarten Sluijter · XC802688 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
2 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
3 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird in Durban?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 29 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 126th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird in Durban?

April and May

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's driest months, with about 65 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in January.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird?

Only Durban, in our data

Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (29 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.

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