Calendulauda sabota
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The sabota lark (Calendulauda sabota) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural habitats of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is generally sedentary but local movements occur in drier regions. The species name is derived from sebotha or sebothé, the Tswana generic name for a lark.
Formerly, the Sabota lark was classified as belonging to the genus Mirafra until moved to Calendulauda in 2009. Not all authorities have followed this re-classification. Two distinctive taxa of this species are respectively known as the large-billed Sabota lark and small-billed Sabota lark. The large-billed subspecies are found in the dry to arid west and south of its range, while the small-billed subspecies are native to mesic woodlands of the north and east.
Found on the Cabinda coast of north-western Angola Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 9 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 10 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sabota Lark sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 110 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 90th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and June
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Sabota Lark in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and October, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sabota Lark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Sabota Lark sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 40%), Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 20%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Sabota Lark that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Common Bulbul (about 70%), Fork-tailed Drongo (about 70%) and Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sabota Lark is recorded against all the birds logged in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (110 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.
