Lonchura bicolor
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The black-and-white mannikin (Spermestes bicolor) also black-and-white munia or red-backed mannikin, is a species of estrildid finch, widely present throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 4,200,000 km2 (1,600,000 sq mi).
It is found in moist savanna and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest habitat. The status of the species is evaluated as least concern. They are seedeaters, but are known to feed on algae. The black-and-white mannikin was formally described in 1843 by the British zoologist and collector Louis Fraser from a specimen collected near Cape Palmas in Liberia. He placed the species in the genus Amadina and coined the binomial name Amadina bicolor. The black-and-white mannikin is now one of the four species placed in the genus Spermestes that was introduced in 1837 by William Swainson.
Four subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 10 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 12 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 13 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 15 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 16 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 17 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 18 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 19 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 20 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 21 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 22 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 23 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white Mannikin sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 116th most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white Mannikin in Harare on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months. That is one of Harare's driest months, with almost no rain against 200 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-and-white Mannikin sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
10th of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Black-and-white Mannikin sightings, Harare ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Yaoundé (Cameroon, about 40%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 20%) and Kampala (Uganda, about 10%).
Same genus: Lonchura
The closest relatives of the Black-and-white Mannikin that you can see in Harare (genus Lonchura, Typical Munias and Mannikins) are Bronze Mannikin (about 50%) and Brown-backed Munia (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-and-white Mannikin is recorded against all the birds logged in Harare (32 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.
