Melaenornis pammelaina
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The southern black flycatcher (Melaenornis pammelaina) is a small passerine bird of the genus Melaenornis in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, native to open and lightly wooded areas of eastern and southern Africa. This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 4,000,000 square kilometres (1,500,000 sq mi). The global population size has not been quantified but the bird is listed by the IUCN as being of "Least concern".
The southern black flycatcher is entirely black, with a black beak and black legs. The iris of the eye is brown and this, along with the square-cut tail, helps distinguish it from the otherwise similar fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) which has a red iris and long forked tail.
The southern black flycatcher is native to eastern and southern Africa. It has been recorded from Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa. It is typically found in habitats with open areas and light woodland, riparian corridors, the edges of plantations... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher sighting in Nairobi National Park on a given day, based on 136 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 193rd most-seen of the 371 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.
April and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Black Flycatcher in Nairobi National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, September and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Nairobi National Park's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Black Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 34
Of the 34 parks where we can rate Southern Black Flycatcher sightings, Nairobi National Park ranks 16th at about 10%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 40%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the Southern Black Flycatcher that you can see in Nairobi National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are Cape Robin-Chat (about 40%), White-browed Scrub Robin (about 40%) and African Gray Flycatcher (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Black Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Nairobi National Park (136 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.
