Plocepasser mahali
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The white-browed sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser mahali) is a predominantly brown, sparrow-sized bird found throughout central and north-central southern Africa. It is found in groups of two to eleven individuals consisting of one breeding pair and other non-reproductive individuals.
During his expedition to the interior of southern Africa in 1834–35, Andrew Smith collected specimens of the white-browed sparrow weaver at the Modder River, which he described in 1836, giving it the scientific name Plocepasser mahali.
Smith did not provide an explanation for the species epithet mahali, but is clear it is not a Latin name. Probably it is derived from the vernacular name for the bird in Setswana mogale or from the Sesotho word mohale, a brave or fierce person, which suggests the bird's name may refer to its angry scolding.
Other common names used in English include black-billed mahali weaverbird, black-billed sparrow weaver, Kismayu sparrow-weaver, stripe-breasted sparrow-weaver, white-browed weaver bird, and white-crowned weaver bird. In Kikamba it's called ngõsõ. In Tugen, spoken by the Tugen subtribe of the Kalenjin, it... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 279 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 68th 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.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver in Johannesburg on a given day, against under 5% in October to January, the lowest months. That is one of Johannesburg's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 130 mm in December.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Sparrow-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.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate White-browed Sparrow-Weaver sightings, Johannesburg ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Nairobi (Kenya, about 30%).
Same family: Passeridae
The closest relatives of the White-browed Sparrow-Weaver that you can see in Johannesburg (family Passeridae, Old World Sparrows) are Cape Sparrow (about 80%), Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (about 20%) and House Sparrow (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (279 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.
