Erythropygia leucophrys
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-browed scrub robin (Cercotrichas leucophrys), also known as the red-backed scrub-robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa, especially East and southern Africa. Within range, its Turdus-like song is one of the often-heard sounds of the bush. The flitting of the tail is characteristic of this species, but also of some near relatives.
Louis Pierre Vieillot described the white-browed scrub robin in 1817. The specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek words leukos "white" and ǒphrys "eyebrow". For the white-browed scrub robin, some 9 to 12 subspecies are recognized: Two groups of subspecies are recognised, namely the 'white-winged' group of arid country, and the 'red-backed' group of mesic to moist habitats. Intergradation between these is apparently limited to subspecies brunneiceps and vulpina around Simba, Kenya. Otherwise the variation is clinal, though the extremes may be quite distinct. Wikipedia →
Recording0:13
Botswana · 2020
© Dewald du Plessis · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:16
South Africa · 2021
© Lukas Lindenthal · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:30
Zimbabwe · 2026
© i_c_riddell · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Scrub Robin sighting in Pretoria on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 117th 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 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Scrub Robin in Pretoria on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Pretoria's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Scrub Robin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate White-browed Scrub Robin sightings, Pretoria ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mombasa (Kenya, about 40%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 10%) and Lubango (Angola, about 10%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the White-browed Scrub Robin that you can see in Pretoria (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Cape Robin-Chat (about 60%) and Fiscal Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-browed Scrub Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in Pretoria (19 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.
