Brubru
Nilaus afer (Latham, 1801)
The brubru (Nilaus afer) is a species in the family Malaconotidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 19.1 g to 23.2 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the brubru
- Weight
- 19.1 g – 23.2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 8 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the brubru live?
Not recorded
What is the brubru?
The brubru (Nilaus afer) is a species of bushshrike (family Malaconotidae) found in most of Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Nilaus.
From the Wikipedia article “Brubru” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brubru&oldid=1379919655), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the brubru endangered?
The brubru is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the brubru classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMalaconotidae
- genusNilaus
- SpeciesNilaus afer (Latham, 1801)
Synonyms Lanius afer
Other names and names in other languages (27)
- BontroklaksmanAfrikaans
- ťuhýkovec africkýCzech
- cigydd brwbrwWelsh
- NilausDanish
- BrubruwürgerGerman
- Brubru-WürgerGerman
- brubruoEsperanto
- BrubrúSpanish
- väike-pagulindEstonian
- kääpiölepinkäinenFinnish
- Brubru africainFrench
- Brúbrú AfracachIrish
- šarenokrila čagraCroatian
- Brubru-gébicsHungarian
- ヒメヤブモズJapanese
- brubrasLithuanian
- BroebroeDutch
- DzierzbowikPolish
- dzierzbowik (zwyczajny)Polish
- Dzierzbowik zwyczajnyPolish
- brubruPortuguese
- БрубруRussian
- Сорокопут-брубруRussian
- mäsiarik strakatýSlovak
- Brubru svračakSerbian
- 非洲鵙Chinese
- 非洲伯勞Chinese
Relatives of the brubru
Other species in the same family Malaconotidae.

Black-crowned tchagra
Tchagra senegalus

Yellow-crowned gonolek
Laniarius barbarus

Crimson-breasted shrike
Laniarius atrococcineus

Swamp boubou
Laniarius bicolor
Bokmakierie
Telophorus zeylonus
Black-headed gonolek
Laniarius erythrogaster
CompareBrubru vs Black-crowned tchagraBrubru vs Yellow-crowned gonolekBrubru vs Crimson-breasted shrikeBrubru vs Swamp boubou
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the brubru?
An adult brubru weighs 19.1 g – 23.2 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the brubru endangered?
The brubru is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the brubru?
The brubru (Nilaus afer) belongs to the family Malaconotidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Brubru (Nilaus afer). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brubru
“Brubru (Nilaus afer).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brubru.
@misc{brubru_2026,
title = {Brubru (Nilaus afer)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brubru},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}