Sphenoeacus afer
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The Cape grassbird or Cape grass warbler (Sphenoeacus afer) is an African warbler found in southern Africa. It is the only species placed in the genus Sphenoeacus. The Cape grassbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa afra. Gmelin based his description on the "spotted yellow flycatcher" from the Cape of Good Hope that had been described in 1783 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. The Cape grassbird is now the only species placed in the genus Sphenoeacus that was introduced in 1841 by the English naturalist Hugh Strickland. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek sphēn meaning "wedge" with oiax meaning "helm". The specific epithet afer is Latin meaning "African".
Four subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Grassbird sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 42 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 25th most-seen of the 108 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Cape Grassbird in Golden Gate Highlands National Park on a given day, against about 20% in July, the lowest month. That is one of Golden Gate Highlands National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 15 mm in June. March has too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape Grassbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Cape Grassbird sightings, Golden Gate Highlands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Cape Grassbird that you can see in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Pied Starling (about 70%), Red-winged Starling (about 70%) and African Stonechat (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape Grassbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (42 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.
