Dark-backed Weaver

Dark-backed Weaver

Ploceus bicolor

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Durban

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

61 Verified sightings at Durban
1,235 In all 8 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dark-backed Weaver

The dark-backed weaver (Ploceus bicolor), also known as the forest weaver, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is very sparsely present across central and southern Sub-Saharan Africa. Dark-backed weaver - Species text in Weaver Watch.

(Dark-backed weaver = ) Forest weaver - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. image at ADW Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:24

Tanzania · 2026

Kileo Jumah · XC1148961 · CC0

Duet0:19

South Africa · 2024

© Tim Cockcroft · XC923579 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:48

Zambia · 2023

© Ehren Eksteen · XC882462 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
2 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
3 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%
4 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
5 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
<5%
6 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
7 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
8 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dark-backed Weaver in Durban?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 61 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 95th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Dark-backed Weaver in Durban?

November and December

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and June–August, the lowest months. Those are among Durban's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Dark-backed Weaver?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-backed 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.

Where else can you see a Dark-backed Weaver?

Only Durban, in our data

Durban is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Dark-backed Weaver sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Dark-backed Weaver live in Durban?

Same genus: Ploceus

The closest relatives of the Dark-backed Weaver that you can see in Durban (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Spectacled Weaver (about 50%), Village Weaver (about 30%) and African Golden-Weaver (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Dark-backed Weaver sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dark-backed Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (61 verified sightings), 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.

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