Prodotiscus regulus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The brown-backed honeybird (Prodotiscus regulus), also known as Wahlberg's honeybird, Wahlberg's honeyguide and sharp-billed honeyguide, is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. This bird is named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, DRC, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
(Sharp-billed Honeyguide =) Brown-backed Honeyguide - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 3 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Wahlberg's Honeyguide sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 265th 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.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Wahlberg's Honeyguide in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of uMkhuze Game Reserve's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 120 mm in February.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Wahlberg's Honeyguide 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 11 parks where we can rate Wahlberg's Honeyguide sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 5th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, under 5%), Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia, under 5%) and Akagera National Park (Rwanda, under 5%).
Same family: Indicatoridae
The closest relatives of the Wahlberg's Honeyguide that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (family Indicatoridae, Honeyguides) are Greater Honeyguide (about 10%), Lesser Honeyguide (about 10%) and Scaly-throated Honeyguide (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Wahlberg's Honeyguide is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (8 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.
