Bradornis pallidus
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The pale flycatcher (Agricola pallidus) is a passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. The pale flycatcher was previously placed in the genus Bradornis but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010. It was subsequently moved to the genus Agricola based on a study published in 2023.
It is widely present across Sub-Saharan Africa, although absent in the Congo Basin and Southern Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Pale flycatcher - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pale Flycatcher sighting in Kigali on a given day, based on 61 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 123rd most-seen of the 244 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–June and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pale Flycatcher in Kigali on a given day, against under 5% in January and July–September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pale Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 cities where we can rate Pale Flycatcher sightings, Kigali ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 40%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Pale Flycatcher that you can see in Kigali (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Robin-Chat (about 80%), Swamp Flycatcher (about 30%) and African Stonechat (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pale Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Kigali (61 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.
