Euplectes albonotatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The white-winged widowbird (Euplectes albonotatus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male's yellow plumage turns dark and he gains more white feathers, contrasting with the female's predominantly pale coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
The white-winged widowbird was first described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1848. Hybrids with "red bishops", probably northern red bishop (E. franciscanus), have been reported in captivity. Non-captive interbreeding of race eques with nominate appears to occur in southern Tanzania, but they appear to stay segregated in Burundi and western Tanzania. A proposal has been made for race sassii, which is found along the northwestern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Alternate common names include: white-fronted/white-shouldered widowbird, white-winged/white-shouldered whydah, long-tailed black whydah. Wikipedia →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 45 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 96th 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 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird in Harare on a given day, against under 5% in March–May, July and October, the lowest months. That is one of Harare's wettest months, with about 180 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 White-winged Widowbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 cities where we can rate White-winged Widowbird sightings, Harare has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Pretoria (South Africa, under 5%) and Nairobi (Kenya, under 5%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the White-winged Widowbird that you can see in Harare (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Red Bishop (about 20%), Red-collared Widowbird (about 20%) and Yellow-shouldered Widowbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-winged Widowbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Harare (45 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.
