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Where to see

Where to see the Common Scimitarbill in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Common Scimitarbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

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Common Scimitarbill
Photo: (c) Tony Rebelo, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Rebelo

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Common Scimitarbill

Hosts have recorded the Common Scimitarbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • Northern Cape

    Northern Cape

    Kgalagadi

    Self-driveMalaria-free
    Stays in Northern Cape
    Northern Cape
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    Hluhluwe-Imfolozi · iSimangaliso Wetland

    Stays in KwaZulu-Natal
    KwaZulu-Natal

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

KrugerKgalagadi

Species

Rhinopomastus cyanomelas

Records

518

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Common Scimitarbill on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the Common Scimitarbill in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Common Scimitarbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Madikwe Game Reserve. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

Where can you see the Common Scimitarbill in South Africa?

The Common Scimitarbill is most recorded in Mpumalanga (29% of records), Limpopo (20% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (17% of records), based on 518 iNaturalist observations. 22 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Common Scimitarbill on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Common Scimitarbill?

The Common Scimitarbill is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: Aug-Oct, flowers, Mar-May; Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; iSimangaliso Wetland Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the Common Scimitarbill?

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

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Common Scimitarbill

Every stay on the Common Scimitarbill page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

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