Vidua purpurascens
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The purple indigobird (Vidua purpurascens) is a species of bird in the family Viduidae. It is a brood parasite and parasitizes (lays its eggs in the nest of) Jameson's Firefinch (Lagonosticta rhodopareia). It is also known as the dusky indigobird, a name which can refer to Vidua funerea. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
Purple indigobird - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 2 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Indigobird sighting in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 253rd most-seen of the 283 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple Indigobird in uMkhuze Game Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of uMkhuze Game Reserve's wettest months, with about 85 mm of rain against 15 mm in July.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple Indigobird 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 6 parks where we can rate Purple Indigobird sightings, uMkhuze Game Reserve ranks 5th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Liwonde National Park (Malawi, under 5%), Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, under 5%) and Kafue National Park (Zambia, under 5%).
Same genus: Vidua
The closest relatives of the Purple Indigobird that you can see in uMkhuze Game Reserve (genus Vidua, Indigobirds and Whydahs) are Long-tailed Paradise Whydah (about 10%) and Pin-tailed Whydah (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple Indigobird is recorded against all the birds logged in uMkhuze Game Reserve (7 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.
