Karoo Prinia
Prinia maculosa
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyCisticolidae (Cisticolas and Allies)
- GenusPrinia (Prinias)
- SpeciesPrinia maculosa (Karoo Prinia)
About the Karoo Prinia
The Karoo prinia or spotted prinia (Prinia maculosa) is a small passerine bird. It is a resident breeder in South Africa, Lesotho and far southern Namibia. It is a species found in karoo scrub, fynbos and bracken-covered slopes in semi-desert and mountains. The former eastern subspecies P. m. hypoxantha is now usually considered to be a separate species, the Drakensberg prinia, P. hypoxantha.
The Karoo prinia was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Montacilla maculosa in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. Buffon believed that his specimen had come from the Cape of Good Hope. The type locality was changed to Swellendam, in South Africa, by Phillip Clancey in 1963. The Karoo prinia is now placed in the... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Drakensberg Prinia
Prinia hypoxantha
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Prinia subflava
Levaillant's Cisticola
Cisticola tinniens
Wailing Cisticola
Cisticola lais
Wing-snapping Cisticola
Cisticola ayresii
Piping Cisticola
Cisticola fulvicapilla
Zitting Cisticola
Cisticola juncidis
Rock-loving Cisticola
Cisticola aberrans
Cloud Cisticola
Cisticola textrix
Pale-crowned Cisticola
Cisticola cinnamomeus
Rattling Cisticola
Cisticola chiniana
Gray Cisticola
Cisticola rufilatus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Karoo Prinia in Golden Gate Highlands National Park?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Karoo Prinia sighting in Golden Gate Highlands National Park, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Karoo Prinia in Golden Gate Highlands National Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Karoo Prinia in Golden Gate Highlands National Park in our monthly data.