Laniarius erythrogaster
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The black-headed gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is found in the African countries of Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. The black-headed gonolek is a distinctively coloured bush-shrike though it is generally shy and retiring. However, close to human habitation and in gardens, it often becomes much bolder. It has a very distinctive call which it makes in concert with its partner. The male makes a loud, clear, bell-like sound to which the female responds almost simultaneously with a harsh grating response. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 5 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 6 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Gonolek sighting in Lake Mburo National Park on a given day, based on 717 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 12th most-seen of the 362 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Gonolek in Lake Mburo National Park on a given day, against about 30% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Lake Mburo National Park's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 15 mm in July.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Gonolek sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Black-headed Gonolek sightings, Lake Mburo National Park ranks 3rd at about 50%. The best odds are in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 70%) and Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Laniarius
The closest relatives of the Black-headed Gonolek that you can see in Lake Mburo National Park (genus Laniarius, Boubous and Gonoleks) are Tropical Boubou (about 30%) and Papyrus Gonolek (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Gonolek is recorded against all the birds logged in Lake Mburo National Park (717 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.
