Turdoides bicolor
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The southern pied babbler (Turdoides bicolor) is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae, found in dry savannah of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The southern pied babbler is a medium-sized 75 to 95 grams (2.6 to 3.4 oz) cooperatively breeding passerine bird. Groups range in size from 2-16 adults, but pairs are rare. The species is sexually monomorphic, with males and females indistinguishable from physical characteristics. Each group comprises a dominant breeding pair that monopolise access to breeding opportunities. Recent genetic research has confirmed that these dominant pairs are responsible for more than 95% of young hatched. Occasional mixed parentage has been observed, but is predictable in most cases: subordinates primarily gain parentage when a new (unrelated) immigrant disperses into the group, or a new group is founded. All group members cooperate to help raise the young hatched from a single clutch. Clutch size varies between two and five, with a modal clutch size of three.
Cooperative behaviours include: provisioning young (both in the nest and post-fledging), sentinel behaviour, territory border defense, teaching behaviour and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 5 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 7 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Pied-Babbler sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Pied-Babbler in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. That is one of Waterberg Plateau Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 110 mm in January. April and June have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Pied-Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Southern Pied-Babbler sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe, about 30%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Southern Pied-Babbler that you can see in Waterberg Plateau Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are African Red-eyed Bulbul (about 80%), Green-backed Camaroptera (about 70%) and Pale-winged Starling (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Southern Pied-Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Waterberg Plateau Park (12 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.
