Mackinnon's Shrike

Mackinnon's Shrike

Lanius mackinnoni

Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Nyungwe National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

252 Verified sightings at Nyungwe National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,142 In all 7 parks
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Mackinnon's Shrike

Mackinnon's shrike (Lanius mackinnoni), also called Mackinnon's fiscal, is a songbird species of the family Laniidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and moist savanna. It is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.The population of this species is increasing, which is thought to be due to the degradation of nearby habitat. Its common name and Latin binomial commemorate Archibald Donald MacKinnon.

Mackinnon's shrike grows to a length of about 20 cm (8 in). The adult male has a greyish-black head and mantle, a white supercilium, white scapulars and black wings. The tail is black with white margins and the underparts are white, sometimes tinged with buff. The female is similar except for having rufous patches on the flanks. The juvenile is greyish-brown and heavily barred.

Mackinnon's fiscal is found in tropical humid parts of Central Africa. It has a disjunct range (from the Obudu Plateau to northern Angola on one hand and across northern Congo, the Ruwenzori and Lake Victoria regions on the other). It is found in forest edges, clearings, secondary growth and bushy areas, from sea level up... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Alarm call0:23

Kenya · 2022

© Oliver Fowler · XC709247 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:05

Cameroon · 2015

© Paweł Szymański · XC296081 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:28

Cameroon · 2012

© Mike Nelson · XC99345 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
2 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
3 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%
4 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
5 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
6 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
7 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Mackinnon's Shrike in Nyungwe National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mackinnon's Shrike sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 252 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Mackinnon's Shrike in Nyungwe National Park?

August

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mackinnon's Shrike in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, against about 10% in September to January, the lowest months. That is one of Nyungwe National Park's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 550 mm in December.

What time of day is best to see a Mackinnon's Shrike?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mackinnon's Shrike sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Nyungwe National Park the best place to see a Mackinnon's Shrike?

3rd of 7

Of the 7 parks where we can rate Mackinnon's Shrike sightings, Nyungwe National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 30%) and Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda, about 30%).

Where does the Mackinnon's Shrike sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Mackinnon's Shrike is recorded against all the birds logged in Nyungwe National Park (252 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.

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