Euplectes albonotatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The white-winged widowbird (Euplectes albonotatus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male's yellow plumage turns dark and he gains more white feathers, contrasting with the female's predominantly pale coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.
The white-winged widowbird was first described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1848. Hybrids with "red bishops", probably northern red bishop (E. franciscanus), have been reported in captivity. Non-captive interbreeding of race eques with nominate appears to occur in southern Tanzania, but they appear to stay segregated in Burundi and western Tanzania. A proposal has been made for race sassii, which is found along the northwestern shore of Lake Tanganyika. Alternate common names include: white-fronted/white-shouldered widowbird, white-winged/white-shouldered whydah, long-tailed black whydah. Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged 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 339th most-seen of the 369 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird in Lake Nakuru National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-winged 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.
30th of 32
Of the 32 parks where we can rate White-winged Widowbird sightings, Lake Nakuru National Park ranks 30th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 30%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 30%) and uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the White-winged 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 White-winged 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.
