Nilaus afer
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The brubru (Nilaus afer) is a species of bushshrike (family Malaconotidae) found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus. Slight plumage and size variations reflect different ecological niches. The subspecies include:
Nilaus afer afer — West Africa, with distinctive male plumage Nilaus afer massaicus — East Africa, including northeastern Uganda Nilaus afer minor — East Africa, including Kenya and Tanzania Nilaus afer nigritemporalis — Katanga region of DRC and adjacent Zambia
Nilaus afer solivagus — Southern Africa and southern Zambia Its habitat is dry open woodland, but varies geographically. The six northern races and the subspecies N. a. Brubru of southern Africa are found in acacia and broadleaved woodland, whereas the three subspecies in a belt from northeastern Angola and northern Namibia east to Tanzania and northern Mozambique occur in Brachystegia miombo woodland.
The brubru is a small passerine, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, N. a. afer, has a black crown, white supercilium and forehead... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brubru sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 1,124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 140th most-seen of the 464 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.
January–February and October–November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brubru in Kruger National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–September and December, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brubru sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
14th of 41
Of the 41 parks where we can rate Brubru sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 14th at about 10%. The best odds are in Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 40%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 30%).
Same family: Malaconotidae
The closest relatives of the Brubru that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Black-backed Puffback (about 50%), Black-crowned Tchagra (about 30%) and Sulphur-Breasted Bushshrike (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brubru is recorded against all the birds logged in Kruger National Park (1,124 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.
