Anomalospiza imberbis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The cuckoo-finch (Anomalospiza imberbis), also known as the parasitic weaver or cuckoo weaver, is a small passerine bird now placed in the family Viduidae with the indigobirds and whydahs. It occurs in grassland in Africa south of the Sahara. The male is mainly yellow and green while the female is buff with dark streaks. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
The species was described in 1868 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis based on a specimen from East Africa, probably from the coast opposite Zanzibar. It was initially placed in the genus Crithagra but later moved to a genus of its own, Anomalospiza. The name of the genus means "anomalous finch" with spiza being a Greek word for finch. The specific name imberbis comes from Latin and means "beardless".
Its closest relatives are thought to be the indigobirds and whydahs of the genus Vidua. These birds are now usually considered to form a family, Viduidae. Previously they were treated as a subfamily, Viduinae, within either the estrildid finch family Estrildidae, or the weaver family Ploceidae.
The cuckoo-finch is a small finch-like bird, about 11–13 cm long. It has a short tail, large... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 5 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cuckoo Finch sighting in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 212th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cuckoo Finch in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and October–March, the lowest months. That is one of Kidepo Valley National Park's wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 10 mm in February. April and May have too few records to rate.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cuckoo Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Cuckoo Finch sightings, Kidepo Valley National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
Same family: Viduidae
The closest relatives of the Cuckoo Finch that you can see in Kidepo Valley National Park (family Viduidae, Indigobirds and Whydahs) are Pin-tailed Whydah (about 30%) and Village Indigobird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cuckoo Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Kidepo Valley National Park (18 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.
