Calendulauda sabota
Silhouette: Gossipguy and T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The sabota lark (Calendulauda sabota) is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in southern Africa in its natural habitats of dry savannah, moist savannah, and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. It is generally sedentary but local movements occur in drier regions. The species name is derived from sebotha or sebothé, the Tswana generic name for a lark.
Formerly, the Sabota lark was classified as belonging to the genus Mirafra until moved to Calendulauda in 2009. Not all authorities have followed this re-classification. Two distinctive taxa of this species are respectively known as the large-billed Sabota lark and small-billed Sabota lark. The large-billed subspecies are found in the dry to arid west and south of its range, while the small-billed subspecies are native to mesic woodlands of the north and east.
Found on the Cabinda coast of north-western Angola Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 7 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 9 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 10 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sabota Lark sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 112 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 120th most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Sabota Lark in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in February, August–September and November, 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 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sabota Lark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Sabota Lark sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 40%), Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 20%) and Kruger National Park (South Africa, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Sabota Lark that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Common Bulbul (about 80%), Red-shouldered Glossy-starling (about 70%) and Lesser Striped-Swallow (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sabota Lark is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (112 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.
