Nicator gularis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The eastern nicator (Nicator gularis) is a species of songbird in the family Nicatoridae. It is found in Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, dry savanna, and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland. It occurs south to around Mtunzini in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and is regularly reported from lowland areas north through to east Africa, including inland areas along the Zambezi River.
This species was formerly called the "yellow-spotted nicator" although this is no longer the case, with that name now belonging solely to the central African western nicator. It is an insectivore. Eastern Nicator (= Yellow-spotted Nicator) - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 11 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 12 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 13 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Nicator sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 37 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 152nd most-seen of the 257 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.
December and January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Nicator in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April, June–July and September–October, the lowest months. Those are among South Luangwa National Park's wettest months, with about 260 mm of rain a month against almost none in September.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Nicator sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 15
Of the 15 parks where we can rate Eastern Nicator sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Mana Pools National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%), Lower Zambezi National Park (Zambia, about 20%) and uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Eastern Nicator that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Meves's Glossy-starling (about 80%), White-browed Sparrow-Weaver (about 70%) and Blue-breasted Cordonbleu (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Nicator is recorded against all the birds logged in South Luangwa National Park (37 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.
