Laniarius atrococcineus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The crimson-breasted shrike (Laniarius atrococcineus) or the crimson-breasted gonolek, ('gonolek' - supposedly imitative of its call), or the crimson-breasted boubou, is a southern African bird. It has black upper parts with a white flash on the wing, and bright scarlet underparts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as a "least-concern species".
The species was first collected by William John Burchell in 1811 near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. He named it atrococcineus meaning 'black/red', finding the striking colour combination quite remarkable. The generic name Laniarius was coined by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot and was meant to call attention to the butcher-like habits of the group. In South West Africa its colours reminded Germans of their homeland flag and it therefore became the Reichsvogel ("Empire bird"). The species is closely related to two other bushshrikes, the yellow-crowned gonolek (Laniarius barbarus) and the black-headed gonolek (Laniarius erythrogaster) of East Africa, but DNA research has shown that it does not form a superspecies with the yellow-crowned gonolek (L. barbarus), the black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 6 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 7 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 8 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-breasted Gonolek sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 105 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, May and July–August
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Crimson-breasted Gonolek in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against about 40% in November and December, the lowest months. April and June have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Crimson-breasted Gonolek 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 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Crimson-breasted Gonolek sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Malaconotidae
The closest relatives of the Crimson-breasted Gonolek that you can see in Waterberg Plateau Park (family Malaconotidae, Bushshrikes and Allies) are Black-backed Puffback (about 40%), Brown-crowned Tchagra (about 30%) and Brubru (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Crimson-breasted Gonolek is recorded against all the birds logged in Waterberg Plateau Park (105 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.
