Erythropygia signata
Silhouette: Martin Bulla, based on François Desbordes' illustration · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The brown scrub robin (Tychaedon signata) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Eswatini, Mozambique and, South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtropical dry or moist forests. This species was formerly placed in the genus Cercotrichas.
There are two accepted races: T. s. signata – South African coastal bush and Afromontane forest Description: Greyish brown plumage T. s. tongensis – coastal plain from northern KZN to southern Mozambique Description: Smaller with shorter bill. Paler brown plumage above and warmer buff plumage below. More conspicuous supercilium and moustache stripe.
Brown (scrub) robin - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
Recording0:18
South Africa · 2025
© James · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording1:23
South Africa · 2026
© agapantha · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:14
South Africa · 2022
© Peter Vos · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Scrub Robin sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 253rd 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.
April and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Scrub Robin in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Scrub Robin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Brown Scrub Robin sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Erythropygia
The closest relatives of the Brown Scrub Robin that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (genus Erythropygia) are White-browed Scrub Robin (about 40%) and Bearded Scrub Robin (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Scrub Robin is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (9 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.
