Fan-tailed Widowbird

Fan-tailed Widowbird

Euplectes axillaris

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Kampala

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

97 Verified sightings at Kampala
2,920 In all 24 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Fan-tailed Widowbird

The fan-tailed widowbird (Euplectes axillaris), also known as the red-shouldered widowbird, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, which is native to grassy and swampy areas of the tropical and subtropical Afrotropics.

It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, DRC, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

(Fan-tailed widowbird = ) Red-shouldered widowbird - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:18

Zambia · 2024

© Dries Van de Loock · XC958782 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:09

Uganda · 2015

© Rolf A. de By · XC282050 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:35

South Africa · 2010

© Charles Hesse · XC62397 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
2 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
3 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
4 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
5 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
6 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
7 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
8 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
9 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
10 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
11 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
12 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
13 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
14 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
15 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
16 Liwonde National Park 🇲🇼 Malawi
<5%
17 Mkomazi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
18 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
19 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
20 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
21 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
22 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
23 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
24 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~40%
2 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
3 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
4 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Fan-tailed Widowbird in Kampala?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Widowbird sighting in Kampala on a given day, based on 97 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 136th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Fan-tailed Widowbird in Kampala?

March–May and September–October

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Fan-tailed Widowbird in Kampala on a given day, against under 5% in June–August and November–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Fan-tailed Widowbird?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fan-tailed 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.

Is Kampala the best place to see a Fan-tailed Widowbird?

3rd of 4

Of the 4 cities where we can rate Fan-tailed Widowbird sightings, Kampala ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kigali (Rwanda, about 40%) and Maputo (Mozambique, about 10%).

Where does the Fan-tailed Widowbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Fan-tailed Widowbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Kampala (97 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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