Muscicapa adusta
Silhouette: Ekytza · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The African dusky flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta), also known as the dusky-brown flycatcher or dusky alseonax, is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is a resident breeder in elevated areas of Sub-Saharan Africa (including the Bié and Western High plateaus). It is very common in its woodland habitat, which includes riverine forests, evergreen forest edges and clearings, especially near water bodies such as lakes, dams and streams, and well-wooded suburban gardens.
The African dusky flycatcher is 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs around 11 g (0.39 oz). Its upperparts are plain brown, with the only facial marking being an indistinct narrow eye-ring. The chin is plain pale grey, and the rest of the underparts are grey-brown with indistinct streaks. The short, straight, laterally flattened bill is black, the legs and feet are grey, and the eyes are brown. The sexes are similar, but the juvenile is spotted with buff above, and is whitish spotted with brown below.
This species is similar to the common migrant, the spotted flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, but is smaller and darker, especially on the underparts, than that species. Spotted flycatcher... Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Dusky Flycatcher sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 193rd most-seen of the 283 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.
June and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Dusky Flycatcher in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–April and October–November, the lowest months. Those are among uMkhuze Game Reserve's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 120 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Dusky Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 32
Of the 32 parks where we can rate African Dusky Flycatcher sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 60%), Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 60%) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Muscicapa
The closest relatives of the African Dusky Flycatcher that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (genus Muscicapa, Muscicapa Flycatchers) are Spotted Flycatcher (about 10%) and Ashy Alseonax (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Dusky Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (32 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.
