Lanius humeralis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The northern fiscal (Lanius humeralis) is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal (Lanius collaris). Together they were called the common fiscal. The fiscal gets its English and Afrikaans common names from its black and white 'suit-and-tie' appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).
This is a fairly distinctive 21–23 cm long passerine with white underparts and black upperparts extending from the top of the head down to the tail. The bird has a characteristic white 'V' on the back and a relatively long black tail with white outer feathers and white tips on the other feathers. The bill, eyes and legs are black. Adult male and female northern fiscals are quite similar except for the rufous lower flank of the female. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal sighting in Monrovia on a given day, based on 16 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 18th most-seen of the 59 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal in Monrovia on a given day, against under 5% in June, August and November, the lowest months. Those are among Monrovia's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 400 mm in August. March to May have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Fiscal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Northern Fiscal sightings, Monrovia ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Bujumbura (Burundi, about 30%), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, about 30%) and Nairobi (Kenya, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Northern Fiscal that you can see in Monrovia (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Pied Crow (about 80%), Common Bulbul (about 60%) and Northern Grey-headed Sparrow (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Fiscal is recorded against all the birds logged in Monrovia (16 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.
