Lanius humeralis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The northern fiscal (Lanius humeralis) is a member of the shrike family found through most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It used to be grouped with the southern fiscal (Lanius collaris). Together they were called the common fiscal. The fiscal gets its English and Afrikaans common names from its black and white 'suit-and-tie' appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).
This is a fairly distinctive 21–23 cm long passerine with white underparts and black upperparts extending from the top of the head down to the tail. The bird has a characteristic white 'V' on the back and a relatively long black tail with white outer feathers and white tips on the other feathers. The bill, eyes and legs are black. Adult male and female northern fiscals are quite similar except for the rufous lower flank of the female. Wikipedia →
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 922 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 398 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fiscal in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in March–June and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Fiscal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Northern Fiscal sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 6th at about 30%. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 60%), Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 40%) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Fiscal is recorded against all the birds logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (922 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.
