Laniarius willardi
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Willard's sooty boubou (Laniarius willardi) is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, native to the Albertine Rift montane forests. The species was first described in 2010, based on five specimens, all collected by the Field Museum of Natural History and originally identified as the Mountain sooty boubou (L. poensis). Four were collected in 1997 on a private banana plantation in southern Uganda, and the fifth was collected in Burundi in 1991.
The species' main distinct trait is its gray-to-blue-gray eye color, in comparison to the reddish-black to black eye color typically found in the Mountain sooty boubou. However, specimens collected as far back as 1910 were identified as having gray irises, but categorized as L. poensis. The species was also identified as being genetically diagnosable, differing 11.5% in uncorrected sequence divergence from the co-located Albertine sooty boubou. The species is named in honor of Field Museum of Natural History collections manager David Willard, with its common name also reflecting its uniform black plumage.
The species is also considered to be potentially threatened, due to occurring in a narrow elevational band between... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Willard's Sooty Boubou sighting in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, based on 195 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 84th most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, June and September–October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Willard's Sooty Boubou in Nyungwe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Willard's Sooty Boubou sightings, Nyungwe National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
Same genus: Laniarius
The closest relatives of the Willard's Sooty Boubou that you can see in Nyungwe National Park (genus Laniarius, Boubous and Gonoleks) are Lühder's Bushshrike (about 20%), Western Boubou (about 20%) and Tropical Boubou (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Willard's Sooty Boubou is recorded against all the birds logged in Nyungwe National Park (195 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.
