Cinnyris venustus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The variable sunbird or yellow-bellied sunbird (Cinnyris venustus), formerly Nectarinia venusta, is a sunbird. The sunbirds are a group of small Old World passerine birds which feed largely on nectar, although they will also take insects, especially when feeding young. Flight is fast and direct on their short wings. Most species can take nectar by hovering like a hummingbird, but usually perch to feed most of the time.
The variable sunbird is a fairly common resident breeder in equatorial Africa. Two eggs are laid in a suspended nest in a tree. This species is found in open woodland and cultivation. Variable sunbirds are small, only 10 cm long. They have medium-length thin down-curved bills and brush-tipped tubular tongues, both adaptations to their nectar feeding.
The adult male has a glossy green head, throat and nape, and a maroon breast band. In most subspecies, the belly of the male is yellow, but in a few it is orange or white. The female has grey-brown upperparts and yellowish underparts, and an obvious pale supercilium. The eclipse male is like the female, but shows some green, especially on the throat. The call is a clear tew-tew-tew-tew-tew. Wikipedia →
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelma | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Papiliorama | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Sunbird sighting in Awash National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 199th most-seen of the 217 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.
January
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Variable Sunbird in Awash National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June–August and October–December, the lowest months. That is one of Awash National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 85 mm in August. February–March, May and September have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Variable Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
24th of 35
Of the 35 parks where we can rate Variable Sunbird sightings, Awash National Park ranks 24th at under 5%. The best odds are in Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda, about 60%), Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 60%) and Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Cinnyris
The closest relatives of the Variable Sunbird that you can see in Awash National Park (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are Beautiful Sunbird (about 40%), Shining 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 Variable Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Awash National Park (5 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.
