Rhinoptilus cinctus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The three-banded courser or Heuglin's courser (Rhinoptilus cinctus) is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, Somaliland, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Image at ADW Three-banded courser - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 12 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 13 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 14 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 15 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 16 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Three-banded Courser sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 90 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 278th most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March and November–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Three-banded Courser in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, against under 5% in January and April–October, the lowest months. Those are among Ngorongoro Conservation Area's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against almost none in July.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Three-banded Courser sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
11th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Three-banded Courser sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 10%), Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 10%) and South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Three-banded Courser is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (90 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.
