Iduna pallida
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The eastern olivaceous warbler (Iduna pallida), known simply as the olivaceous warbler when its western relative is referred to as the 'isabelline warbler', is a small passerine bird with drab plumage tones, that is native to the Old World. For the most part it breeds in southeastern Europe, the Middle East and adjacent western Asia, and winters in the northern Afrotropics.
The eastern olivaceous warbler is a "warbler", formerly placed in the Old World warblers when these were a paraphyletic wastebin taxon. It is now considered a member of the acrocephaline warblers, Acrocephalidae, in the tree warbler genus Iduna. It was formerly regarded as part of a wider "olivaceous warbler" species, but as a result of modern taxonomic developments, this species is now usually considered distinct from the western olivaceous warbler, Iduna opaca.
Keyserling and Blasius gave no explanation of the genus name Iduna. The specific pallida is Latin for "pale". This small passerine bird is found in dry open country, including cultivation, with bushes or some trees. Like most warblers it is insectivorous.
It is migratory, wintering in sub-Saharan Africa... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 12 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 13 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 15 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 16 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 72 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 170th most-seen of the 341 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April–September and December, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Eastern Olivaceous Warbler sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 10%), Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 10%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Samburu National Reserve (72 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.
