Muscicapa caerulescens
Silhouette: Ekytza · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The ashy flycatcher (Fraseria caerulescens) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, or other genera. Ashy flycatchers are mostly grey in colour, with pale grey or white underparts, and display no sexual dimorphism.
The species has a small, thin, and pointed beak adapted for eating insects. Its diet is mostly insectivorous, although it also eats berries and small geckoes. The birds are very active, foraging alone, in groups, or in mixed-species flocks. They forage in the upper levels of the canopy, catching prey in flight and from foliage, bark, and leaves. The species breeds in solitary pairs, with each pair maintaining a territory of 1–4 hectares and raising young alone. A variety of vocalisations are used by the species, and there is very little geographical variation in calls.
The ashy flycatcher... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Alseonax sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 166th most-seen of the 243 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.
November
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Ashy Alseonax in Meru National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 200 mm of rain against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ashy Alseonax sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 31
Of the 31 parks where we can rate Ashy Alseonax sightings, Meru National Park ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 20%), Lower Zambezi National Park (Zambia, about 20%) and Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ashy Alseonax is recorded against all the birds logged in Meru 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.
