Geokichla guttata
Silhouette: Francesco "Architetto" Rollandin · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The spotted ground thrush (Geokichla guttata) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and possibly Mozambique. These birds are about 23 cm in length, with brown upper parts and white to off-white lower parts which are darkly spotted.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The spotted ground thrush spends much of its time in leaf-litter on the forest floor where it flicks through the leaves in search of small invertebrates, and despite its distinctive colouration, it is often difficult to see.
In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, the birds have distinctive winter and summer ranges. In winter these birds spend their time in remnant coastal forests, and in summer they move to forests further inland. The birds lay bluish-coloured eggs in a cup-shaped nest.
Image at ADW Distribution in South Africa (red and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Ground-Thrush sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 140th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spotted Ground-Thrush in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's driest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 210 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spotted Ground-Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Durban, in our data
Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Spotted Ground-Thrush sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spotted Ground-Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (24 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.
