Ploceus superciliosus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The compact weaver (Pachyphantes superciliosus) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Pachyphantes. It has a highly discontinuous distribution from Senegal to Liberia, east to Ethiopia and south to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The compact weaver was formally described in 1873 as Hyphantornis superciliosus by the English ornithologist George Ernest Shelley based on specimens collected in West Africa. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "haughty" or "eyebrowed" from supercilium meaning "eyebrow". The compact weaver is now the only species placed in the genus Pachyphantes that was introduced for the species by Shelley in 1896. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek παχυς/pakhus meaning "large" or "thick" with ὑφαντης/huphantēs meaning "weaver". A molecular genetic study of the weaverbirds published in 2017 found that the compact weaver was sister to clade containing the fodies in the genus Foudia. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. ��2�... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Compact Weaver sighting in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 382nd most-seen of the 400 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Compact Weaver in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Compact Weaver sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Compact Weaver sightings, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 10%), Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 10%) and Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
Same genus: Ploceus
The closest relatives of the Compact Weaver that you can see in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Brown-capped Weaver (about 40%), Baglafecht Weaver (about 30%) and Black-necked Weaver (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Compact Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
