Apalis melanocephala
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The black-headed apalis (Apalis melanocephala) is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae. It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Black-headed apalis - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Apalis sighting in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 192nd most-seen of the 272 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-headed Apalis in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and December, the lowest months. That is one of Mkomazi National Park's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 5 mm in July. May has too few records to rate.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-headed Apalis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Black-headed Apalis sightings, Mkomazi National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 30%).
Same genus: Apalis
The closest relatives of the Black-headed Apalis that you can see in Mkomazi National Park (genus Apalis, Apalises) are Yellow-breasted Apalis (about 30%) and Bar-throated Apalis (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-headed Apalis is recorded against all the birds logged in Mkomazi 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.
