Nigrita canicapillus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The grey-headed nigrita (Nigrita canicapillus) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,700,000 km2. It is widespread throughout the African tropical rainforest.
The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The grey-headed nigrita was formally described in 1841 by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland based on a specimen collected on the island of Bioko (formerly named Fernando Pó), off the west coast of Africa. He coined the binomial name Aethiops canicapillus where the specific epithet combines the Latin canus meaning "grey" with -capillus meaning "-capped" or "-headed". The grey-headed nigrita is now one of four species placed in the genus Nigrita that was introduced in 1843 by Strickland.
Six subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 5 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Taï National Park | 🇨🇮 Ivory Coast | |
| 7 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 8 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 9 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 11 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-headed Negrofinch sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 136th most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-headed Negrofinch in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to February, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray-headed Negrofinch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Gray-headed Negrofinch sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 50%), Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 30%) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the Gray-headed Negrofinch that you can see in Virunga National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Red-billed Firefinch (about 30%), Kandt's Waxbill (about 20%) and Bronze Mannikin (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray-headed Negrofinch is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (32 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.
