Telophorus cruentus
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The rosy-patched bushshrike (Rhodophoneus cruentus) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Rhodophoneus. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
The rosy-patched bushshrike was formally described in 1828 as Lanius cruentus by the German naturalists Wilhelm Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg based on specimens collected at Arkiko near Massawa in Eritrea. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "bloody" or "stained with blood". It is now the only species placed in the genus Rhodophoneus which was introduced in 1871 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin to accommodate a single species, the rosy-patched bushshrike. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ῥοδον/rhodon meaning "rose" with φονευς/phoneus meaning "murderer".
Four subspecies are recognised: Rhodophoneus cruentus kordofanicus Sclater, WL & Mackworth-Praed, CW, 1918 – west-central Sudan Rhodophoneus cruentus cruentus (Hemprich, WF & Ehrenberg, CG, 1828) – northeastern Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia
Rhodophoneus cruentus... Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
Tanzania · 2024
© blackdogto · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Kenya · 2018
© Tuoichen · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy-patched Bushshrike sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 34th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy-patched Bushshrike in Meru National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month. That is one of Meru National Park's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against almost none in July. May and July–August have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rosy-patched Bushshrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Rosy-patched Bushshrike sightings, Meru National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Malaconotidae
The closest relatives of the Rosy-patched Bushshrike that you can see in Meru National Park (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Slate-colored Boubou (about 40%), Black-backed Puffback (about 30%) and Gray-headed Bushshrike (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rosy-patched Bushshrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Meru National Park (57 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.
