Malaconotus blanchoti
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The grey-headed bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti), colloquially known as the ghostbird, is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, although relatively absent in Central Africa and the interior of southern Africa. It is the most widespread species of its genus, which consists of large bushshrikes with massive bills and mournful hooting calls. It occurs sparsely in a range of wooded habitats, though typically in denser vegetation within dry or moist savannah. The monogamous pairs occupy woodland with sufficient cover. They are sedentary, but will undertake limited post-breeding movements.
Six or seven subspecies are recognized. Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-headed Bushshrike sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 100th most-seen of the 177 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May–July and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-headed Bushshrike in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in August and November–April, the lowest months. Those are among Pretoria's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 130 mm in December.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray-headed Bushshrike 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 Gray-headed Bushshrike sightings, Pretoria ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Harare (Zimbabwe, about 10%) and Accra (Ghana, under 5%).
Same family: Malaconotidae
The closest relatives of the Gray-headed Bushshrike that you can see in Pretoria (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Southern Boubou (about 50%), Black-backed Puffback (about 10%) and Brown-crowned Tchagra (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray-headed Bushshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Pretoria (38 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.
