Pentholaea arnotti
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Arnot's chat (Myrmecocichla arnotti), also known as the white-headed black-chat, is a species of bird in the chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species is found in southern Africa from Rwanda and Angola to South Africa.
Arnot's chat was formally described and illustrated in 1869 as Saxicola arnotti by English clergyman and ornithologist Henry Baker Tristram based upon a specimen collected at the Victoria Falls in modern-day Zimbabwe. Tristram wrote that he named the species after the collector, a Mr. Arnott, but the man was actually named David Arnot. For this reason, it was suggested in 1965 that the name should be spelled arnoti instead. However, since there is no evidence in Tristram's original paper that the name was misspelled, the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature mandate that the spelling arnotti should be maintained. Arnot's chat is now placed in the genus Myrmecocichla that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. Along with the white-fronted black chat this species is sometimes separated into the genus Pentholaea.
Three subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 5 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 12 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat sighting in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, based on 91 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 172nd most-seen of the 334 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.
December
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April–July and September, the lowest months. That is one of Moremi Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 85 mm of rain against almost none in May.
6th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate White-headed Black-Chat sightings, Moremi Game Reserve ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 20%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the White-headed Black-Chat that you can see in Moremi Game Reserve (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are African Stonechat (about 20%), White-browed Robin-Chat (about 20%) and Mariqua Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Black-Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in Moremi Game Reserve (91 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.
