Smithornis capensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The African broadbill (Smithornis capensis), also known as the black-capped broadbill or Delacour's broadbill, is a species of bird in the suboscine family Calyptomenidae. The African broadbill is a boldly streaked, largely brown, stocky, flycatcher-like bird. They have dark crowns, which are black in the males and grey in the females of the eastern subspecies, and blackish in both sexes of the subspecies S.c. meinertzhageni. The upperparts are mainly olive-brown with black streaks, the bases of the feathers on the lower back and rump are white and are hidden when the bird is at rest. The underparts are buff or creamy-white with black streaks on the flanks and the breast. There is subspecific variation with S.c. meinertzhageni and S.c. suahelicus being whiter below with thicker streaks than, for example S.c. medianus. It measures 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length and in South Africa males weighed 21–26.9 g (0.74–0.95 oz) and females 17.4–27.5 g (0.61–0.97 oz).
The African broadbill produces a very loud sound which has been compared to an old-fashioned car horn. It is loud, vibrating "Prrrrup" which is produced during a display flight, and it may... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 11 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Broadbill sighting in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 224th most-seen of the 233 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
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Broadbill in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, July–September and November, the lowest months. That is one of Gonarezhou National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 150 mm in January. March–April, June and December–January have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Broadbill 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 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate African Broadbill sightings, Gonarezhou National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 10%), uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, under 5%) and Kafue National Park (Zambia, under 5%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the African Broadbill that you can see in Gonarezhou National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Meves's Glossy-starling (about 80%), Fork-tailed Drongo (about 70%) and Blue-breasted Cordonbleu (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Broadbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Gonarezhou National Park (9 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.
