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Kenya’s Red Weaver in the Boni-Dodori Forest on July 3, 2026.[Courtesy]
When James Apolloh Omenya and Simon Odhiambo walked alongside a team of local guides and armed Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) escorts into the dense Boni-Dodori Forest, it seemed, on the surface, like just another gruelling day in the field.
Yet deep down, they knew the Red Weaver, a bird last photographed 12 years ago, existed somewhere in the thickets. It was this belief that drove them to comb through remote, security-sensitive terrain purely to contribute to science.
The last time the bird had been documented on camera was in April 2014, when ornithologist John Musina took a photograph of a male in the Boni-Dodori Forest. As the years passed without another record, scientists grew increasingly worried. In March 2025, having gone over a decade without a confirmed sighting, the Red Weaver was officially added to the global Search for Lost Birds priority list.
