Turdus libonyana
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The Kurrichane thrush (Turdus libonyana) is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. The species is found from central through to southern Africa. Its natural habitat is dry savanna and woodland, predominantly miombo woodland.
The Kurrichane thrush was described in 1836 by the zoologist Andrew Smith, on the basis of a specimen collected in the Transvaal in South Africa. It was originally assigned to the defunct genus Merula. The species is a sister species to the Comoro thrush.
The specific epithet of the Kurrichane thrush, libonyana, is derived from the Tswana name for the red-billed buffalo weaver, Lebonyana. It was given by mistake to this species, possibly because it also has a reddish bill. Its common name is derived from a corruption of Kaditshwene (rendered as 'Kurrichane'), a former town in northern South Africa where the original specimen was collected.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Kurrichane thrush is 21 to 23 cm (8.3–9.1 in) long and weighs around... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 13 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 14 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 15 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Kurrichane Thrush sighting in Lusaka on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 52nd most-seen of the 87 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Kurrichane Thrush in Lusaka on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–May, the lowest months. Those are among Lusaka's driest months, with almost no rain against 210 mm in January.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Kurrichane 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.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Kurrichane Thrush sightings, Lusaka ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Harare (Zimbabwe, about 50%), Pretoria (South Africa, about 20%) and Durban (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Kurrichane Thrush that you can see in Lusaka (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Common Bulbul (about 90%), Pied Crow (about 90%) and Variable Sunbird (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Kurrichane Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Lusaka (14 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.
