Lybius torquatus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The black-collared barbet (Lybius torquatus) is a species of bird in the family Lybiidae which is native to sub-Saharan Africa. Indigenous names include Rooikophoutkapper in Afrikaans, isiKhulukhulu and isiQonQotho in Zulu, and Isinagogo in Xhosa.
It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa through Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The black-collared barbet usually is about 20–25 cm long, plump-looking and has a large head. It also has the heavy bill fringed with bristles that is characteristic of the genus Lybius. This barbet has a very obvious black collar and head which gives reference to its name. It also has a fire-engine red coloring around the eyes and beak. It has morphologically variable coloring because there is a replacement of a red head with a black head. It also has a more intense color and is larger than other barbets. This bird is also sexually monomorphic, which means that there is generally no phenotypic difference between the males and females of this species. The morphology, size and behavior are basically... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 4 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 11 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 13 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 14 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 15 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 16 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 17 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 18 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 19 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Monkeyland | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Black-collared Barbet sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 275 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and August
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Black-collared Barbet in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against about 30% in March, May and September, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-collared Barbet sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Black-collared Barbet sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 2nd at about 50%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Lybiidae
The closest relatives of the Black-collared Barbet that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (family Lybiidae, African Barbets) are Crested Barbet (about 50%), Acacia Pied Barbet (about 40%) and Southern Red-fronted Tinkerbird (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-collared Barbet is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (275 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.
