Melaenornis pammelaina
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher sighting in Maputo on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 60th most-seen of the 115 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and May
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher in Maputo on a given day, against under 5% in February–March and August–September, 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.
3rd of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Southern Black Flycatcher sightings, Maputo ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 40%) and Harare (Zimbabwe, about 30%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Southern Black Flycatcher that you can see in Maputo (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are House Crow (about 90%), House Sparrow (about 70%) and Bronze Mannikin (about 70%), 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 Maputo (32 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.
