Ploceus alienus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The strange weaver (Ploceus alienus) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is found in the Albertine Rift montane forests. Strange weaver - Species text in Weaver Watch. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nyungwe National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 4 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Strange Weaver sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 193rd most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, June and September–October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Strange Weaver in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May, July–August and November–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Strange Weaver sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Strange Weaver sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda, about 20%), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda, about 20%) and Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda, about 10%).
Same genus: Ploceus
The closest relatives of the Strange Weaver that you can see in Virunga National Park (genus Ploceus, Typical Weavers) are Village Weaver (about 20%), Baglafecht Weaver (about 20%) and Black-headed Weaver (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Strange Weaver is recorded against all the birds logged in Virunga National Park (21 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.
