Ploceus bicolor
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The dark-backed weaver (Ploceus bicolor), also known as the forest weaver, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is very sparsely present across central and southern Sub-Saharan Africa. Dark-backed weaver - Species text in Weaver Watch.
(Dark-backed weaver = ) Forest weaver - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. image at ADW Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 5 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 6 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver sighting in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 181st most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, April–May and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, June–August and October–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dark-backed 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.
6th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Dark-backed Weaver sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 40%), uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 30%) and Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 20%).
Same genus: Ploceus
The closest relatives of the Dark-backed Weaver that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Village Weaver (about 20%), Spectacled Weaver (about 20%) and Southern Masked Weaver (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark-backed Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (10 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
