Urolestes melanoleucus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The magpie shrike (Urolestes melanoleucus), also known as the African long-tailed shrike, is a species of bird in the family Laniidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Urolestes. It is native to the grasslands of eastern and southeastern Africa, where its natural habitats are dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It has a very wide range and is common in places, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The magpie shrike was formally described in 1831 as Lanius melanoleucus by the English naturalist William Jardine based on three specimens collected by Andrew Smith near the Orange River in South Africa. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek μελανος/melanos meaning "black" with λευκος/leukos meaning "white". The genus Urolestes was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis to accommodate a single species, the magpie shrike. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ουρα/oura meaning "tail" with λῃστης/lēistēs meaning "robber" (i.e. shrike). Based on the results of molecular genetic studies, this species has sometimes been... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 5 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 13 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 14 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Oregon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Cologne Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Vogelpark Heiligenkirchen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Shrike sighting in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, based on 634 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 334 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.
January
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Shrike in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Moremi Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against almost none in May.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Magpie Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Magpie Shrike sightings, Moremi Game Reserve ranks 4th at about 50%. The best odds are in Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 70%), Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 60%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Laniidae
The closest relatives of the Magpie Shrike that you can see in Moremi Game Reserve (family Laniidae, Shrikes) are Southern White-crowned Shrike (about 10%), Red-backed Shrike (about 10%) and Lesser Grey Shrike (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Magpie Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Moremi Game Reserve (634 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.
