Apalis thoracica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The bar-throated apalis (Apalis thoracica) is a small African passerine bird belonging to the genus Apalis of the family Cisticolidae. It is native to the eastern and southern Afrotropics. It inhabits forest and scrub in Southern and East Africa from southern and eastern parts of South Africa north as far as the Chyulu Hills in Kenya. In the northern part of is range it is found only in highland areas where there are a number of subspecies restricted to isolated mountain ranges. Some of these may be treated as separate species including the Namuli apalis (A. lynesi) in Mozambique, yellow-throated apalis (A. flavigularis) of Malawi and Taita apalis (A. fascigularis) in Kenya.
The bar-throated apalis is a slender bird with a long tail and is 11 to 13 cm in length. The plumage varies depending on the subspecies: the upper parts can be grey or green while the underparts are white or pale yellow. All forms have a narrow black band across the breast, white outer tail-feathers and a pale eye. The black bill is fairly long and slender and is slightly curved. Females are similar to males but have a narrower breast band. Juveniles have buffer underparts... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 9 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-throated Apalis sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 273rd most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bar-throated Apalis in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April to February, the lowest months. That is one of uMkhuze Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain against 15 mm in July.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bar-throated Apalis sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
13th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Bar-throated Apalis sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 50%), Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 50%) and Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Apalis
The closest relatives of the Bar-throated Apalis that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (genus Apalis, Apalises) are Yellow-breasted Apalis (about 50%) and Rudd's Apalis (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bar-throated Apalis is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (5 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.
