Karoo Prinia
Prinia maculosa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- 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 →
Recent sightings of Karoo Prinia in Table Mountain National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Table Mountain National Park
Levaillant's Cisticola
Cisticola tinniens
Bar-throated Apalis
Apalis thoracica
Red-headed Cisticola
Cisticola subruficapilla
Piping Cisticola
Cisticola fulvicapilla
Zitting Cisticola
Cisticola juncidis
Red-winged Starling
Onychognathus morio
Cape White-eye
Zosterops virens
Southern Double-collared Sunbird
Cinnyris chalybeus
Cape Bulbul
Pycnonotus capensis
Pied Crow
Corvus albus
Olive Thrush
Turdus olivaceus
European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
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 Table Mountain National Park?
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Karoo Prinia sighting in Table Mountain National Park, based on 3,656 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Karoo Prinia in Table Mountain National Park?
September has the highest sighting rate for Karoo Prinia in Table Mountain National Park in our monthly data.