Euplectes ardens
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The red-collared widowbird (Euplectes ardens) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. Red-collared widowbirds are found in grasslands and bush clearings in western and southern Africa. They are known for their long tails and brilliant red badges, both of which act as sexual ornaments. They are often associated with other widowbird and bishop species. They are polygynous, where males acquisition of territory is an important determinant in their access to mates. Red-collared widowbirds have a wide range and there is little concern in terms of conservation status.
The red-collared widowbird was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in the Cape of Good Hope region of South Africa. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Fringilla... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 6 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 7 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 8 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 14 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-collared Widowbird sighting in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 331st most-seen of the 369 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Red-collared Widowbird in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-collared Widowbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Red-collared Widowbird sightings, Lake Nakuru National Park ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 30%), Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 20%) and Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the Red-collared Widowbird that you can see in Lake Nakuru National Park (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Yellow-rumped Widowbird (about 10%) and Long-tailed Widow-bird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-collared Widowbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Lake Nakuru National Park (8 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.
