African Thrush

African Thrush

Turdus pelios

Silhouette: Sharon Wegner-Larsen · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Semuliki National Park

In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%

133 Verified sightings at Semuliki National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,532 In all 14 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Thrush

The African thrush or West African thrush (Turdus pelios) is a passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is common in well-wooded areas over much of the western part of sub-Saharan Africa, it was once considered to be conspecific with the olive thrush but that species has now been split further. Populations are resident (non-migratory).

The African Thrush has dark olive-grey upperparts. The underparts show a whitish evenly brown- streaked side throat, the breast is greyish brown and the flanks are pale buff-orange with this colour not extending on to the lower breast, the belly and vent are white. It has a yellow-orange bill. It weighs 46–78 g (1.6–2.8 oz) and measures 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 in) in length.

The song of the African thrush is a sustained, clear warbling made up of different phrases repeated rather randomly in a sequence. Also a high-pitched squealing flight call. The African thrush is distributed from Senegal and Gambia in the west to South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea south to northwestern Zambia and western Angola.

The African thrush can be found in all sorts of wooded habitats including forest... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:27

Ethiopia · 2026

© Kiros Welegrima · XC1105610 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:17

Gabon · 2021

© BurBenj · XC671679 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:25

Zambia · 2019

© Peter Boesman · XC509172 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
2 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~30%
3 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
4 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
5 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%
6 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
7 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
8 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
9 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
10 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
11 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
12 Niokolo-Koba National Park 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
13 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
<5%
14 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~90%
2 Ouagadougou 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
~80%
3 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~70%
4 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~70%
5 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~50%
6 Yaoundé 🇨🇲 Cameroon
~50%
7 Bujumbura 🇧🇮 Burundi
~50%
8 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
9 Maiduguri 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~50%
10 Lagos 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~40%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Thrush in Semuliki National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Thrush sighting in Semuliki National Park on a given day, based on 133 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 50th most-seen of the 280 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Thrush in Semuliki National Park?

May

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report an African Thrush in Semuliki National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February, September and November–December, the lowest months. That is one of Semuliki National Park's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 5 mm in January.

What time of day is best to see an African Thrush?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Thrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Semuliki National Park the best place to see an African Thrush?

3rd of 14

Of the 14 parks where we can rate African Thrush sightings, Semuliki National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 40%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%).

Which relatives of the African Thrush live in Semuliki National Park?

Same family: Turdidae

The closest relatives of the African Thrush that you can see in Semuliki National Park (family Turdidae, Thrushes) are Fraser's Rufous Thrush (about 60%), Red-tailed Ant-Thrush (about 50%) and Fire-crested Alethe (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the African Thrush sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Thrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Semuliki National Park (133 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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