Cinnyris habessinicus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The Abyssinian sunbird (Cinnyris habessinicus), formerly the shining sunbird, is a species of passerine bird in the sunbird family Nectariniidae. The Arabian sunbird was formerly treated as a subspecies. Three subspecies are recognised:
The Abyssinian sunbird is highly dimorphic and has three distinct plumages, juvenile, immature and adult. Adult males in breeding plumage have brilliant metallic green upperparts and throat, a violet or blue crown, a bright red band across the breast with a narrow line of metallic blue, and blue-black wings and tail. The females are brownish-buff, paler below. These small sunbirds mainly feed on nectar and small insects.
It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Sunbird sighting in Awash National Park on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 217 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to January
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Sunbird in Awash National Park on a given day, against about 20% in July and October, the lowest months. Those are among Awash National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain a month against 85 mm in August. February–March, May and September have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shining Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Shining Sunbird sightings, Awash National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, under 5%).
Same genus: Cinnyris
The closest relatives of the Shining Sunbird that you can see in Awash National Park (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are Beautiful Sunbird (about 40%) and Mariqua Sunbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shining Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Awash National Park (41 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.
