Erythropygia quadrivirgata
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The bearded scrub robin (Tychaedon quadrivirgata), also known as the eastern bearded scrub robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa. This species was formerly placed in the genus Cercotrichas.
This species was described as Thamnobia quadrivirgata by the German ornithologist Anton Reichenow in 1879. It was formerly placed in the genus Erythropygia. It forms a superspecies with the forest scrub robin, miombo scrub robin and brown scrub robin. The specific epithet quadrivirgata means "four-striped" in Latin. The species is so named because of four diagnostic stripes on its face.
Its length is 15–17 cm (5.9–6.7 in), and its weight is approximately 20–31 g (0.71–1.09 oz). The male and female are alike, with the female being slightly smaller. The crown and upperparts are mostly dark olive-brown. The tail is dark brown, with the outer feathers having white tips. The wing coverts are grey-brown with olive-brown edges. The flight feathers are dark brown... Wikipedia →
Recording0:05
South Africa · 2024
© Sally Adam · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Eswatini · 2026
© Phil White · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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South Africa · 2024
© Heinrich Human · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 9 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 13 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 15 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 16 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bearded Scrub Robin sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 131st most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Bearded Scrub Robin in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May, the lowest month. Those are among Lower Zambezi National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against almost none in September. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bearded Scrub Robin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Bearded Scrub Robin sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 30%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 20%) and Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bearded Scrub Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (39 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.
