Apalis alticola
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The brown-headed apalis (Apalis alticola) is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis in the family Cisticolidae. Formerly included within the grey apalis (A. cinerea) but is now commonly considered to be a separate species.
It is 12–13 cm long with a long tail and fairly long, slender bill. The legs and feet are pinkish and the eye is pale orange. The upperparts are grey-brown, becoming chocolate-brown on the crown and cheeks. The underparts are whitish. The adult male and female are alike; juvenile birds are more olive above and slightly yellowish below.
The grey apalis is similar but has a grey-brown head and dark eye. The outer tail-feathers are white like those of A. a. dowsetti but it does not overlap in range with that subspecies. The song of the brown-headed apalis is a series of loud, high-pitched "chip" notes.
It has a patchy distribution in central and east Africa... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Apalis sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 237 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 173rd most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Apalis in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against under 5% in June and July, the lowest months. Those are among Ngorongoro Conservation Area's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-headed Apalis sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Brown-headed Apalis sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Arusha National Park (Tanzania, under 5%).
Same genus: Apalis
The closest relatives of the Brown-headed Apalis that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Apalis, Apalises) are Yellow-breasted Apalis (about 10%) and Bar-throated Apalis (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-headed Apalis is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (237 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.
