Bubalornis niger
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The red-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis niger) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa. Its natural habitat is the dry savanna. The body length of full grown red-billed buffalo weavers is 21 to 25 cm (8.3 to 9.8 in) and body mass averages 82.1 g (2.90 oz) in males and 70.7 g (2.49 oz) in females. This may the largest of the Ploceidae (weaver birds). Visually the sexes are not greatly differentiated from one another. The red-billed buffalo weaver is differentiated from the white-billed buffalo weaver (Bubalornis albirostris) by the color of its bill.
The feathers of the male are dark chocolate brown in color. The front wing edges and the wing tips are flecked with white. His bill is a shade of red. The eyes are brown and the feet are reddish brown. The female's body is also colored dark chocolate brown, without the white flecks on the wings. However, her chin and throat feathers include broad white colored hems. Her eyes are dark brown and her legs light brown. Adolescent birds are a lighter shade of brown.
The diet of the red billed buffalo weaver consists primarily of insects... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 7 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 8 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 9 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 14 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 16 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 17 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 18 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 19 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 20 | Mikumi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 21 | Lake Manyara National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 22 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver sighting in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, based on 396 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 380 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver in Tsavo West National Park on a given day, against about 30% in September and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-billed Buffalo-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.
4th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver sightings, Tsavo West National Park ranks 4th at about 50%. The best odds are in Meru National Park (Kenya, about 70%), Tarangire National Park (Tanzania, about 60%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Ploceidae
The closest relatives of the Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver that you can see in Tsavo West National Park (family Ploceidae, Weavers and Allies) are White-headed Buffalo-Weaver (about 50%), Red-billed Quelea (about 50%) and Chestnut Weaver (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Tsavo West National Park (396 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.
