Poicephalus robustus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The Cape parrot (Poicephalus robustus) or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus Poicephalus endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-necked parrot (Poicephalus fuscicollis) and grey-headed parrot (P. f. suahelicus), but is now considered a distinct species.
The Cape parrot was described in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham under the English name, the "robust parrot". When in 1788 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, he included the Cape parrot with a short description, coined the binomial name Psittacus robustus and cited Latham's work. The type locality is South Africa. The Cape parrot is now placed with nine other species in the genus Poicephalus that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1837. The genus name is from the Ancient Greek phaios "grey" and -kephalos "headed". The specific epithet rubustus is Latin for "strong" or "robust". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The Cape parrot was formerly considered to be one of the three subspecies of the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 5 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 7 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 8 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Szeged Zoo | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Levaillant's Parrot sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 174th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Levaillant's Parrot in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June and September–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 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Levaillant's Parrot sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Levaillant's Parrot sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 10%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%) and Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Levaillant's Parrot is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (18 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.
