Passer shelleyi
Silhouette: Andrew Butko (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Shelley's sparrow (Passer shelleyi), also known as Shelley's rufous sparrow or the White Nile rufous sparrow, is a sparrow found in eastern Africa from South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and north-western Somalia to northern Uganda and north-western Kenya. Formerly, it was considered as a subspecies of the Kenya sparrow. This species is named after English geologist and ornithologist George Ernest Shelley.
Summers-Smith, J. Denis (1988). The Sparrows: a study of the genus Passer. illustrated by Robert Gillmor. Calton, Staffs, England: T. & A. D. Poyser. ISBN 0-85661-048-8. White Nile rufous sparrow at the Internet Bird Collection Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Shelley's Rufous Sparrow sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 280 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 77th most-seen of the 424 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.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Shelley's Rufous Sparrow in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against about 10% in April and May, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shelley's Rufous Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Shelley's Rufous Sparrow sightings, Murchison Falls National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shelley's Rufous Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (280 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.
