Ploceus cucullatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus), also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver (the latter leading to easy confusion with P. melanocephalus), is a bird species in the family Ploceidae found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Portugal and Venezuela as well as to the islands of Hispaniola, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Mauritius and Réunion.
This often abundant species occurs in a wide range of open or semi-open habitats, including woodlands and human habitation, and frequently forms large noisy colonies in towns, villages, and hotel grounds. This weaver builds a large coarsely woven nest made of grass and leaf strips with a downward-facing entrance, which is suspended from a branch in a tree. Two or three eggs are laid. Village weavers are colonial breeders, so many nests may hang from one tree.
Village weavers feed principally on seeds and grain, and can be a crop pest, but readily take insects, especially when feeding young, which partially redresses the damage to agriculture. The calls of this bird include harsh buzzes and chattering.
Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller provided the first scientific name, Oriolus... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 2 | Yaoundé | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | |
| 3 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia | |
| 4 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 5 | Abidjan | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | |
| 6 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 7 | Mombasa | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 9 | Maiduguri | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 10 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Village Weaver sighting in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 112th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Village Weaver in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, against under 5% in December and January, 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 Village 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.
15th of 47
Of the 47 parks where we can rate Village Weaver sightings, Kidepo Valley National Park ranks 15th at about 20%. The best odds are in Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 50%), Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda, about 40%) and Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 40%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Village Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Kidepo Valley National Park (57 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.
