Turdus libonyana
Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The Kurrichane thrush (Turdus libonyana) is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. The species is found from central through to southern Africa. Its natural habitat is dry savanna and woodland, predominantly miombo woodland.
The Kurrichane thrush was described in 1836 by the zoologist Andrew Smith, on the basis of a specimen collected in the Transvaal in South Africa. It was originally assigned to the defunct genus Merula. The species is a sister species to the Comoro thrush.
The specific epithet of the Kurrichane thrush, libonyana, is derived from the Tswana name for the red-billed buffalo weaver, Lebonyana. It was given by mistake to this species, possibly because it also has a reddish bill. Its common name is derived from a corruption of Kaditshwene (rendered as 'Kurrichane'), a former town in northern South Africa where the original specimen was collected.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The Kurrichane thrush is 21 to 23 cm (8.3–9.1 in) long and weighs around... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 13 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 14 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 15 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 16 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Kurrichane Thrush sighting in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, based on 52 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 233 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Kurrichane Thrush in Gonarezhou National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February 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 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Kurrichane Thrush 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 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Kurrichane Thrush sightings, Gonarezhou National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Kurrichane Thrush 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 Kurrichane Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Gonarezhou National Park (52 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.
