Ploceus bicolor
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 743 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 351 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and October–December
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-backed Weaver in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 30% in January–March, June–July and September, 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.
Yes
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Dark-backed Weaver sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come 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 iSimangaliso Wetland Park (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are African Golden-Weaver (about 40%), Spectacled Weaver (about 30%) and Southern Brown-throated Weaver (about 20%), 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 iSimangaliso Wetland Park (743 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.
