MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: Derek Keats from Johannesburg, South Africa · CC BY 2.0 · source ↗
Sombre Greenbul
Gewone Willie · Andropadus importunus
A plain olive-green bird of dense thickets and riverine forest, drab except for a conspicuous pale, staring eye. It is a notorious skulker, keeping inside the foliage and far more often heard than seen. Its loud, abrupt call, famously rendered as 'willie, come out and fight, scaaared', rings out from cover. It feeds mainly on fruit and insects.
Log your Sombre Greenbul sighting — free →How to identify it
Plain dull olive-green with a striking pale whitish eye; almost always heard, an explosive 'willie!', before it is seen.
Listen for its call
Heard not seen — "Willie!... come out and fight!" from dense leaves.
Where to see it in Kruger
Resident in dense riverine forest, thickets and coastal-type bush, staying hidden in foliage; mainly along the southern rivers.
Did you know
Its call sounds like it shouts 'Willie!' and then mumbles a grumpy reply to itself from inside the bush.
Often confused with
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