Plocepasser mahali
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The white-browed sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser mahali) is a predominantly brown, sparrow-sized bird found throughout central and north-central southern Africa. It is found in groups of two to eleven individuals consisting of one breeding pair and other non-reproductive individuals.
During his expedition to the interior of southern Africa in 1834–35, Andrew Smith collected specimens of the white-browed sparrow weaver at the Modder River, which he described in 1836, giving it the scientific name Plocepasser mahali.
Smith did not provide an explanation for the species epithet mahali, but is clear it is not a Latin name. Probably it is derived from the vernacular name for the bird in Setswana mogale or from the Sesotho word mohale, a brave or fierce person, which suggests the bird's name may refer to its angry scolding.
Other common names used in English include black-billed mahali weaverbird, black-billed sparrow weaver, Kismayu sparrow-weaver, stripe-breasted sparrow-weaver, white-browed weaver bird, and white-crowned weaver bird. In Kikamba it's called ngõsõ. In Tugen, spoken by the Tugen subtribe of the Kalenjin, it... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 80 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 245th most-seen of the 398 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February–October and December, the lowest months. Those are among Masai Mara National Reserve's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in July.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-browed Sparrow-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.
28th of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate White-browed Sparrow-Weaver sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 28th at under 5%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 80%), Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 80%) and Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 70%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Passeridae
The closest relatives of the White-browed Sparrow-Weaver that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (family Passeridae, Old World Sparrows) are Gray-headed Social-Weaver (about 20%), Yellow-spotted Petronia (about 10%) and Northern Grey-headed Sparrow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (80 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.
