Euplectes albonotatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 115th most-seen of the 220 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park on a given day, against under 5% in April to September, the lowest months. That is one of Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 15 mm in June.
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.
12th of 32
Of the 32 parks where we can rate White-winged Widowbird sightings, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park ranks 12th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 30%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the White-winged Widowbird that you can see in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Red-collared Widowbird (about 20%), Fan-tailed Widowbird (about 20%) and Red Bishop (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 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (39 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.
