Sigelus silens
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The fiscal flycatcher (Sigelus silens) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is the only species placed in the genus Sigelus. It is a resident breeder in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland, and a vagrant to Namibia.
This species is found in subtropical open woodland, dry savanna, shrubland and suburban gardens. The fiscal flycatcher was previously the only member of the genus Sigelus but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010. This black and white bird gets its name from its resemblance to the northern and southern fiscal shrikes (previously considered one species, common fiscal), shrikes that in turn get the name from their black and white suit-and-tie appearance reminiscent of the taxman ('fiscal'). The male may be confused with the fiscal shrikes, but the shrikes have heavy, hooked bills, white patches on the shoulder rather than the lower wing, and no white on their longer tails. The resemblance is assumed to be an example of Batesian mimicry.
The fiscal flycatcher is 17–20 cm in length. The adult male is black above and white below with... Wikipedia →
Recording0:11
South Africa · 2022
© Marion Maclean · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:10
South Africa · 2026
© vfdeh · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:19
South Africa · 2024
© Gareth Bain · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Fiscal Flycatcher sighting in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, based on 334 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 20th most-seen of the 189 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Fiscal Flycatcher in De Hoop Nature Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in August, the lowest month. June has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fiscal Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Fiscal Flycatcher sightings, De Hoop Nature Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 40%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Fiscal Flycatcher that you can see in De Hoop Nature Reserve (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Cape Robin-Chat (about 60%), Capped Wheatear (about 60%) and African Stonechat (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fiscal Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in De Hoop Nature Reserve (334 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
