African Broadbill

African Broadbill

Smithornis capensis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days <5%

5 Verified sightings at Kampala
378 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
January Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Broadbill

The African broadbill (Smithornis capensis), also known as the black-capped broadbill or Delacour's broadbill, is a species of bird in the suboscine family Calyptomenidae. The African broadbill is a boldly streaked, largely brown, stocky, flycatcher-like bird. They have dark crowns, which are black in the males and grey in the females of the eastern subspecies, and blackish in both sexes of the subspecies S.c. meinertzhageni. The upperparts are mainly olive-brown with black streaks, the bases of the feathers on the lower back and rump are white and are hidden when the bird is at rest. The underparts are buff or creamy-white with black streaks on the flanks and the breast. There is subspecific variation with S.c. meinertzhageni and S.c. suahelicus being whiter below with thicker streaks than, for example S.c. medianus. It measures 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length and in South Africa males weighed 21–26.9 g (0.74–0.95 oz) and females 17.4–27.5 g (0.61–0.97 oz).

The African broadbill produces a very loud sound which has been compared to an old-fashioned car horn. It is loud, vibrating "Prrrrup" which is produced during a display flight, and it may... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:38

Tanzania · 2026

Kileo Jumah · XC1149007 · CC0

Song0:04

Zambia · 2023

© Dries Van de Loock · XC791464 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Wingnoise0:40

Zambia · 2019

© Peter Boesman · XC509134 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
2 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
3 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
4 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
5 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
6 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
7 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
8 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
<5%
9 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
10 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
11 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Broadbill in Kampala?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Broadbill sighting in Kampala on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 315th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Broadbill in Kampala?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Broadbill in Kampala on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an African Broadbill?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Broadbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see an African Broadbill?

Only Kampala, in our data

Kampala is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate African Broadbill sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the African Broadbill live in Kampala?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the African Broadbill that you can see in Kampala (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Common Bulbul (about 80%), African Thrush (about 70%) and Pied Crow (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the African Broadbill sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Broadbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Kampala (5 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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