Melaenornis pammelaina
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The southern black flycatcher (Melaenornis pammelaina) is a small passerine bird of the genus Melaenornis in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, native to open and lightly wooded areas of eastern and southern Africa. This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 4,000,000 square kilometres (1,500,000 sq mi). The global population size has not been quantified but the bird is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least concern".
The southern black flycatcher is entirely black, with a black beak and black legs. The iris of the eye is brown and this, along with the square-cut tail, helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) which has a red iris and long forked tail.
The southern black flycatcher is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has been recorded from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. It is typically found in habitats with open areas and light woodland, riparian corridors, the edges of plantations... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher sighting in Kigali on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 138th most-seen of the 244 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.
June and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher in Kigali on a given day, against under 5% in July–August and November–May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Black 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.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Southern Black Flycatcher sightings, Kigali ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 40%), Harare (Zimbabwe, about 30%) and Maputo (Mozambique, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Black 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 Southern Black Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Kigali (39 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.
