Melaenornis pammelaina
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The southern black flycatcher (Melaenornis pammelaina) is a small passerine bird of the genus Melaenornis in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, native to open and lightly wooded areas of eastern and southern Africa. This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 4,000,000 square kilometres (1,500,000 sq mi). The global population size has not been quantified but the bird is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least concern".
The southern black flycatcher is entirely black, with a black beak and black legs. The iris of the eye is brown and this, along with the square-cut tail, helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) which has a red iris and long forked tail.
The southern black flycatcher is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has been recorded from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. It is typically found in habitats with open areas and light woodland, riparian corridors, the edges of plantations... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 158th most-seen of the 308 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–June and August–September, the lowest months. Those are among Hwange National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Black Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
18th of 34
Of the 34 parks where we can rate Southern Black Flycatcher sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 18th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Black Flycatcher that you can see in Hwange National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Scrub Robin (about 20%), Spotted Flycatcher (about 10%) and Mariqua Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Black Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (31 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.
