Euplectes albonotatus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
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 →
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird sighting in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 272 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a White-winged Widowbird in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and September–October, the lowest months. May has too few records to rate.
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.
Among the best
Of the 32 parks where we can rate White-winged Widowbird sightings, Mkomazi National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 30%).
Same genus: Euplectes
The closest relatives of the White-winged Widowbird that you can see in Mkomazi National Park (genus Euplectes, Bishops and Widowbirds) are Zanzibar Bishop (about 20%), Yellow-rumped Widowbird (about 10%) and Black-winged Bishop (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 Mkomazi National Park (53 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.
