Pentholaea arnotti
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Arnot's chat (Myrmecocichla arnotti), also known as the white-headed black-chat, is a species of bird in the chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species is found in southern Africa from Rwanda and Angola to South Africa.
Arnot's chat was formally described and illustrated in 1869 as Saxicola arnotti by English clergyman and ornithologist Henry Baker Tristram based upon a specimen collected at the Victoria Falls in modern-day Zimbabwe. Tristram wrote that he named the species after the collector, a Mr. Arnott, but the man was actually named David Arnot. For this reason, it was suggested in 1965 that the name should be spelled arnoti instead. However, since there is no evidence in Tristram's original paper that the name was misspelled, the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature mandate that the spelling arnotti should be maintained. Arnot's chat is now placed in the genus Myrmecocichla that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. Along with the white-fronted black chat this species is sometimes separated into the genus Pentholaea.
Three subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 5 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 12 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 187th most-seen of the 241 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and September–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May, July–August and December–January, the lowest months. Those are among Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 290 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
8th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate White-headed Black-Chat sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 20%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the White-headed Black-Chat that you can see in Lower Zambezi National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are White-browed Robin-Chat (about 30%), Ashy Alseonax (about 20%) and Collared Palmthrush (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Black-Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (13 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.
