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Common Scimitarbill

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesGrasslandCavity nestSmall · 27 g
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 1
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 2
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 3
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 4
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 5
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 6
Photo: Derek Keats · CC BY 2.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 7
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 8
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 9
Photo: le0p0ld_d · CC BY 4.0
Common Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus cyanomelas), photo 10
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0

ID tip

Adults weigh roughly 35 grams and 26 cm in length. As adults, their beaks are black but as juveniles, their beaks are grey. Females and juveniles are more brown on the front of their body. They feed almost entirely on insects behind the bark of a tree, which is the reason for their probing beak.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Common Scimitarbill

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 Common Scimitarbill

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 15 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 Zimbabwe Botswana Kenya Zambia Eswatini Uganda Mozambique Tanzania Malawi Rwanda Angola Congo - Kinshasa Nigeria

Recorded as a rare visitor in Somalia.

About the Common Scimitarbill

The common scimitarbill is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

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

Easily confused with

Abyssinian Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus minor) Abyssinian ScimitarbillRhinopomastus minorThe bird is all black with a blue-purple iridescence which covers their whole body and especially the back of the head. Black Scimitarbill (Rhinopomastus aterrimus) Black ScimitarbillRhinopomastus aterrimusThe black scimitarbill, also known as the black wood hoopoe, is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae. Forest Wood Hoopoe (Rhinopomastus castaneiceps) Forest Wood HoopoeRhinopomastus castaneicepsThe forest wood hoopoe is a species of bird in the family Phoeniculidae.

Side by side: Abyssinian Scimitarbill vs Common Scimitarbill

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