Curruca subcoerulea
Silhouette: Alexis Lours · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The chestnut-vented warbler, chestnut-vented tit-babbler or rufous-vented warbler (Curruca subcoerulea) is an Old World warbler of the family Sylviidae. The chestnut-vented warbler breeds in southern Africa in Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Eswatini. This is a common species found in a range of habitats including fynbos, scrub, thickets and dry riverbeds.
The first formal description of the chestnut-vented warbler was by the French naturalist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1817. He introduced the binomial name Sylvia subcœrulea using the œ ligature. The specific epithet would normally be spelled subcaerulea or subcærulea and comes from the Latin sub meaning somewhat or beneath and caeruleus for blue. In modern Latin subcaeruleus is used to indicate pale blue. Most authorities use the standard spelling subcaerulea but some use the original spelling subcoerulea.
The chestnut-vented warbler is 14–15 cm long and weighs around 16 g. Its upperparts are grey-brown, and the tail is black with a broad white band at its tip. This warbler has a white eye ring. The throat is grey with heavy dark streaking, the breast... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 6 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 7 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 10 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 11 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tit Babbler sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 67th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Tit Babbler in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against about 10% in May and September–March, the lowest months. 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 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tit Babbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Tit Babbler sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in West Coast National Park (South Africa, about 30%), Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 30%) and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South Africa, about 30%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Tit 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 Tit Babbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Waterberg Plateau Park (22 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.
