Lonchura fringilloides
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The magpie mannikin or magpie munia (Spermestes fringilloides) is a species of estrildid finch, sparsely present across Sub-Saharan Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,400,000 km2. It is found in subtropical/ tropical (lowland) moist shrubland, forest and dry grassland habitat. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
BirdLife Species Factsheet Magpie mannikin - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Mannikin sighting in Kibale National Park on a given day, based on 222 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 114th 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 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, September and December–January
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Magpie Mannikin in Kibale National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February–April, June–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Magpie Mannikin 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 3 parks where we can rate Magpie Mannikin sightings, Kibale National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Semuliki National Park (Uganda, under 5%) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
Same genus: Lonchura
The closest relatives of the Magpie Mannikin that you can see in Kibale National Park (genus Lonchura, Typical Munias and Mannikins) are Bronze Mannikin (about 40%) and Black-and-white Mannikin (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Magpie Mannikin is recorded against all the birds logged in Kibale National Park (222 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.
