Compact Weaver

Compact Weaver

Ploceus superciliosus

Silhouette: PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kibale National Park

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

154 Verified sightings at Kibale National Park From 2019 to 2026
260 In all 4 parks
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Compact Weaver

The compact weaver (Pachyphantes superciliosus) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Pachyphantes. It has a highly discontinuous distribution from Senegal to Liberia, east to Ethiopia and south to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The compact weaver was formally described in 1873 as Hyphantornis superciliosus by the English ornithologist George Ernest Shelley based on specimens collected in West Africa. The specific epithet is Latin meaning "haughty" or "eyebrowed" from supercilium meaning "eyebrow". The compact weaver is now the only species placed in the genus Pachyphantes that was introduced for the species by Shelley in 1896. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek παχυς/pakhus meaning "large" or "thick" with ὑφαντης/huphantēs meaning "weaver". A molecular genetic study of the weaverbirds published in 2017 found that the compact weaver was sister to clade containing the fodies in the genus Foudia. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. ��2�... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:29

Gabon · 2024

© Paul Lenrumé · XC939873 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:26

Nigeria · 2021

© Sun Madakan · XC667068 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:06

Uganda · 2022

© Peter Boesman · XC739937 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
2 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
3 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
4 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~10%
2 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Compact Weaver in Kibale National Park?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Compact Weaver sighting in Kibale National Park on a given day, based on 154 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 136th most-seen of the 366 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.

When is the best time to see a Compact Weaver in Kibale National Park?

January, August and October

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Compact Weaver in Kibale National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Compact Weaver?

Between 7 and 10 am

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

Is Kibale National Park the best place to see a Compact Weaver?

Yes

Of the 4 parks where we can rate Compact Weaver sightings, Kibale National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 10%) and Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Compact Weaver live in Kibale National Park?

Same genus: Ploceus

The closest relatives of the Compact Weaver that you can see in Kibale National Park (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Vieillot's Weaver (about 50%), Black-necked Weaver (about 40%) and Village Weaver (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Compact Weaver sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Compact Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Kibale National Park (154 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.

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