Turdoides bicolor
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The southern pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae, found in dry savannah of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The southern pied babbler is a medium-sized 75 to 95 grams (2.6 to 3.4 oz) cooperatively breeding passerine bird. Groups range in size from 2-16 adults, but pairs are rare. The species is sexually monomorphic, with males and females indistinguishable from physical characteristics. Each group comprises a dominant breeding pair that monopolise access to breeding opportunities. Recent genetic research has confirmed that these dominant pairs are responsible for more than 95% of young hatched. Occasional mixed parentage has been observed, but is predictable in most cases: subordinates primarily gain parentage when a new (unrelated) immigrant disperses into the group, or a new group is founded. All group members cooperate to help raise the young hatched from a single clutch. Clutch size varies between two and five, with a modal clutch size of three.
Cooperative behaviours include: provisioning young (both in the nest and post-fledging), sentinel behaviour, territory border defense, teaching behaviour and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 5 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Pied-Babbler sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 96 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 140th most-seen of the 260 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, July and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Pied-Babbler in Etosha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, April–June and August–September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Pied-Babbler 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 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Southern Pied-Babbler sightings, Etosha National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%), Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 10%) and Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same genus: Turdoides
The closest relatives of the Southern Pied-Babbler that you can see in Etosha National Park (genus Turdoides, Turdoides Babblers) are Bare-cheeked Babbler (about 20%) and Black-faced Babbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Pied-Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Etosha National Park (96 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.
