Prodotiscus zambesiae
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The green-backed honeybird (Prodotiscus zambesiae), also known as the eastern green-backed honeyguide, green-backed honeyguide and slender-billed honeyguide, is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. It is a nest parasite of three white-eye species. It is an insectivore that sometimes eats the waxy shed of scaly insects.
The adult green-backed honeybird of both sexes has ashy-gray, sometimes white, underparts, which is considered an adaptation to its environment. Its upperparts are gray-green, and its outer tail feathers, including the tips, are white. Between the back and the side, it has a white patch that can be raised upright. Its beak and legs are black. In Angola, this species is greener, less golden, and overall darker than in other areas. In Central Ethiopia, it is also darker. The juvenile is duller than the adult. It is greyer, paler, yellower above and yellowish-brown below. Younglings have an orangish mouth opening.
Its upperparts are more greyish compared to the greener Cassin’s honeybird. This closely related species is darker, olive or greenish on its underparts while the green-backed honeybird is paler, especially on its belly. Otherwise, the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 2 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nairobi | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-backed Honeyguide sighting in Arusha National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 241st most-seen of the 373 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July–August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Green-backed Honeyguide in Arusha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June, September and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green-backed Honeyguide sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Green-backed Honeyguide sightings, Arusha National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green-backed Honeyguide is recorded against all the birds logged in Arusha National Park (22 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.
