Lagonosticta nitidula
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The brown firefinch (Lagonosticta nitidula) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Southern Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,300,000 km2. It is found in Angola, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, southern Tanzania and northern areas of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The IUCN has classified the species as being of least concern.
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds BirdLife International species factsheet Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 3 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Firefinch sighting in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 246th most-seen of the 334 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Firefinch in Moremi Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in February to December, the lowest months. That is one of Moremi Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 150 mm of rain against almost none in May.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Firefinch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Brown Firefinch sightings, Moremi Game Reserve ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 10%) and Chobe National Park (Botswana, under 5%).
Same genus: Lagonosticta
The closest relatives of the Brown Firefinch that you can see in Moremi Game Reserve (genus Lagonosticta, Firefinches) are Red-billed Firefinch (about 10%) and Jameson's Firefinch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown Firefinch is recorded against all the birds logged in Moremi Game Reserve (23 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.
