Ploceus ocularis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 →
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Weaver sighting in Lilongwe on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 25th most-seen of the 52 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spectacled Weaver in Lilongwe on a given day, against about 10% in June–July, September and November–April, the lowest months. Those are among Lilongwe's driest months, with almost no rain against 310 mm in January. October has too few records to rate.
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.
10th of 12
Of the 12 cities where we can rate Spectacled Weaver sightings, Lilongwe ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, about 50%), Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%) and Harare (Zimbabwe, about 20%).
Same genus: Ploceus
The closest relatives of the Spectacled Weaver that you can see in Lilongwe (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Southern Masked Weaver (about 20%) 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 Lilongwe (9 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.
