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Brubru

Nilaus afer

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesWoodlandCup nestSmall · 19 g
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 1
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 2
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 3
Photo: Sri Srikumar · CC0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 4
Photo: avocat · CC BY 4.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 5
Photo: jujurenoult · CC BY 4.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 6
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 7
Photo: jujurenoult · CC BY 4.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 8
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 9
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Brubru (Nilaus afer), photo 10
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

What the Brubru sounds like

Sonogram of the Brubru: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Kileo Jumah · Call, song · Mererani,Kudu hills, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Brubru: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by paulo kivuyo · oldonyosambu, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Brubru: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by paulo kivuyo · oldonyosambu, Arusha Region, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The brubru is a small passerine, 12–15 cm long. The adult male of the nominate subspecies, N. a. afer, has a black crown, white supercilium and forehead, and black eyestripe. The back is black with a tawny strip, the rump is mottled black, and the tail is black with white tips and edges to the outer feathers. The wings are black with a buff shoulder stripe. The underparts are white with rufous flanks. The female is duller and browner, with some streaking on the underparts and less rufous on the flanks.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Brubru

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is November, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Brubru

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 34 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

South Africa Namibia Kenya Tanzania Zimbabwe Botswana Zambia Uganda Ethiopia Eswatini Mozambique Ghana Nigeria Gambia Senegal Malawi Angola Rwanda Cameroon Niger Somalia Congo - Kinshasa Mauritania Chad Côte d’Ivoire Guinea Benin Burkina Faso Central African Republic Guinea-Bissau South Sudan Mali Sierra Leone Togo

Recorded as a rare visitor in Eritrea.

About the Brubru

The brubru is a species of bushshrike found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Brown-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra australis) Brown-crowned TchagraTchagra australisThe brown-crowned tchagra is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. Orange-breasted Bushshrike (Chlorophoneus sulfureopectus) Orange-breasted BushshrikeChlorophoneus sulfureopectusThe orange-breasted bushshrike or sulphur-breasted bushshrike is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. Grey-headed Bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti) Grey-headed BushshrikeMalaconotus blanchotiThe sexes are alike, and measure 22.6 to 25.2 cm (bill to tail).

Side by side: Brubru vs Grey-headed Bushshrike

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