Willard's Sooty Boubou
Laniarius willardi
The Willard's Sooty Boubou (Laniarius willardi) is a legendary bushshrik found in 3 countries. Willard's sooty boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, native to the Albertine Rift montane forests.
About the Willard's Sooty Boubou
Willard's sooty boubou is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae, native to the Albertine Rift montane forests.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The species was first described in 2010, based on five specimens, all collected by the Field Museum of Natural History and originally identified as the Mountain sooty boubou (L. poensis). Four were collected in 1997 on a private banana plantation in southern Uganda, and the fifth was collected in Burundi in 1991. The species' main distinct trait is its gray-to-blue-gray eye color, in comparison to the reddish-black to black eye color typically found in the Mountain sooty boubou. However, specimens collected as far back as 1910 were identified as having gray irises, but categorized as L.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, April, May, June, July, August, September, November, December, with peak activity in July. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Willard's Sooty Boubou?
- The species was first described in 2010, based on five specimens, all collected by the Field Museum of Natural History and originally identified as the Mountain sooty boubou (L. poensis). Full identification notes are on this page.
- Where can you see a Willard's Sooty Boubou?
- The Willard's Sooty Boubou occurs in 3 countries, including Rwanda, Uganda and Congo - Kinshasa.
- What birds look similar to a Willard's Sooty Boubou?
- The Willard's Sooty Boubou is most easily confused with the Red-naped Bushshrike, the Fülleborn's Boubou and the Yellow-breasted Boubou.
Learn the Willard's Sooty Boubou for real
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