Nilaus afer
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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 |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brubru sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Brubru in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in October and December–January, the lowest months. That is one of Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
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.
7th of 41
Of the 41 parks where we can rate Brubru sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 7th at about 20%. 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 Lower Zambezi National Park (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Tropical Boubou (about 50%), Black-backed Puffback (about 40%) and Gray-headed Bushshrike (about 20%), 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 Lower Zambezi National Park (67 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.
