Oriolus larvatus
Silhouette: L. Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The black-headed oriole (Oriolus larvatus) is a species of bird in the family Oriolidae. It is found in Africa and has a very striking appearance with a bright yellow body, contrasting black head and flesh-coloured beak.
Some authorities have considered the mountain oriole to be a subspecies of the black-headed oriole. Alternate names for the black-headed oriole include the African black-headed oriole, Eastern black-headed oriole and Eastern oriole.
Five subspecies are recognised: Oriolus larvatus rolleti – Salvadori, 1864: Originally described as a separate species. Found from southern Sudan and southern Ethiopia to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and central Kenya
Oriolus larvatus reichenowi – Zedlitz, 1916: Found from Somalia to eastern Tanzania Kenya black-headed oriole or tropical blackhead oriole (Oriolus larvatus angolensis) – Neumann, 1905: Found from Angola and Namibia to western Tanzania and northern Mozambique
Oriolus larvatus tibicen – Lawson, 1962: Found from coastal southern Tanzania to coastal southern Mozambique Southern black-headed oriole (Oriolus larvatus larvatus) – Lichtenstein, MHK, 1823: Found from southern... Wikipedia →
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Oriole sighting in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 38th most-seen of the 233 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.
September and October
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Oriole in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, against about 40% in February, July–August and November, the lowest months. Those are among Gonarezhou National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 150 mm in January. March–April, June and December–January have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Oriole sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 43
Of the 43 parks where we can rate Black-headed Oriole sightings, Gonarezhou National Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 60%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Oriole is recorded against all the birds logged in Gonarezhou National Park (78 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.
