Pentholaea arnotti
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Arnot's chat (Myrmecocichla arnotti), also known as the white-headed black-chat, is a species of bird in the chat and flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species is found in southern Africa from Rwanda and Angola to South Africa.
Arnot's chat was formally described and illustrated in 1869 as Saxicola arnotti by English clergyman and ornithologist Henry Baker Tristram based upon a specimen collected at the Victoria Falls in modern-day Zimbabwe. Tristram wrote that he named the species after the collector, a Mr. Arnott, but the man was actually named David Arnot. For this reason, it was suggested in 1965 that the name should be spelled arnoti instead. However, since there is no evidence in Tristram's original paper that the name was misspelled, the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature mandate that the spelling arnotti should be maintained. Arnot's chat is now placed in the genus Myrmecocichla that was introduced in 1851 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. Along with the white-fronted black chat this species is sometimes separated into the genus Pentholaea.
Three subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 3 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 5 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 8 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 12 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 318 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 51st 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.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Black-Chat in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Nyungwe National Park's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 550 mm in December.
3rd of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate White-headed Black-Chat sightings, Nyungwe National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Mikumi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%).
Same family: Muscicapidae
The closest relatives of the White-headed Black-Chat that you can see in Nyungwe National Park (family Muscicapidae, Old World Flycatchers, Robins, and Chats) are African Dusky Flycatcher (about 60%), White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher (about 50%) and African Stonechat (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Black-Chat is recorded against all the birds logged in Nyungwe National Park (318 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.
