Rhaphidura sabini
Silhouette: Aviceda (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Sabine's spinetail ( SAY-bin; Rhaphidura sabini, sometimes spelled Raphidura sabini) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is widespread across the African tropical rainforest. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate General Sir Edward Sabine.
The Sabine's spinetail is a frugivore. Wikipedia →
Alarm call0:06
Uganda · 2012
© Wendy James · XC620058 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taï National Park | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | |
| 2 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sabine's Spinetail sighting in Kibale National Park on a given day, based on 113 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 165th most-seen of the 366 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.
May–August and October–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sabine's Spinetail in Kibale National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and December–April, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sabine's Spinetail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Sabine's Spinetail sightings, Kibale National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Taï National Park (Ivory Coast, about 10%).
Same family: Apodidae
The closest relatives of the Sabine's Spinetail that you can see in Kibale National Park (family Apodidae, Swifts) are White-rumped Swift (about 10%), Alpine Swift (about 10%) and Little Swift (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sabine's Spinetail is recorded against all the birds logged in Kibale National Park (113 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.
