Oenanthe lugubris
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The Abyssinian wheatear (Oenanthe lugubris), or Abyssinian black wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae, the Old World flycatchers and chats. It is found from Ethiopia to southern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.
The Abyssinian wheatear was first formally described in 1837 as Saxicola lugubris by the German naturalist and explorer Eduard Rüppell with its type locality given as "the rocky valleys of the Abyssinian province of Simien, and on the volcanic hills around Gondar" (Vorkommen in der felsigen Thälern der Abyssinischen provinz Simen, und auf der vulkanischen Hügeln um Gondar). It is regarded, by some authorities, as being the same species as the mourning wheatear (Oenanthe lugens) of Northern Africa and the Middle East but the I.O.C. regard it as a valid species. The Abyssinian wheatear is regarded as closely related to the Arabian wheatear (Oenanthe lugentoides), which has also been regarded as being the same species as the mourning wheatear. These species may form a species complex.
The I.O.C. recognises the following subspecies: Oenanthe lugubris lugubris (Rüppell, 1837) Oenanthe lugubris schalowi (Fischer & Reichenow... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Abyssinian Wheatear sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 295 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 134th most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March–April, July and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Abyssinian Wheatear in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against about 10% in February, May–June, August–October and December, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Abyssinian Wheatear sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Abyssinian Wheatear sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Lake Nakuru National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
Same genus: Oenanthe
The closest relatives of the Abyssinian Wheatear that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Oenanthe, Wheatears and Allies) are Capped Wheatear (about 30%), Northern Wheatear (about 10%) and Isabelline Wheatear (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Abyssinian Wheatear is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (295 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.
