Ploceus ocularis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The spectacled weaver (Ploceus ocularis) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found widely in woodland, forest edge and gardens of central, eastern and south-eastern Africa, but is absent from the most arid regions (such as the Karoo) and dense, primary rainforest. This common species breeds in solitary pairs, and both sexes are bright yellow, have an olive-yellow back, black "spectacles" and pale eyes. The male has a black throat.
Craig 2010. Family Ploceidae. pp. 74–197 in: del Hoyo, Elliott and Christie, eds. 2010. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 15. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Spectacled weaver - Species text in Weaver Watch. Spectacled weaver - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds.
Image at ADW Wikipedia →
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Weaver sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 140 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Weaver in Harare on a given day, against about 10% in April, the lowest month. That is one of Harare's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against almost none in August.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spectacled 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.
3rd of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Spectacled Weaver sightings, Harare ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 50%) and Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%).
Same genus: Ploceus
The closest relatives of the Spectacled Weaver that you can see in Harare (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Southern Masked Weaver (about 40%), Holub's Golden-Weaver (about 10%) and Village Weaver (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spectacled Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Harare (140 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.
