Grey-headed Bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti)
About the Grey-headed Bushshrike
The grey-headed bushshrike (Malaconotus blanchoti), colloquially known as the ghostbird, is a species of passerine bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, although relatively absent in Central Africa and the interior of southern Africa. It is the most widespread species of its genus, which consists of large bushshrikes with massive bills and mournful hooting calls. It occurs sparsely in a range of wooded habitats, though typically in denser vegetation within dry or moist savannah. The monogamous pairs occupy woodland with sufficient cover. They are sedentary, but will undertake limited post-breeding movements. Six or seven subspecies are recognized. The tropical subspecies intergrade widely, and are locally not separable.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 126 recordings for this species: 4 CC BY-NC-ND · 1 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- African Pied WagtailMotacilla aguimprecording
- African Wood OwlStrix woodfordiirecording
- BrubruNilaus aferrecording
- Common GreenshankTringa nebulariarecording
- African GoshawkAccipiter tachirorecording
- Barn SwallowHirundo rusticarecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.