Brown-rumped Seedeater

Brown-rumped Seedeater

Crithagra tristriata

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely
at Addis Ababa

In 3 days >90%

312 Verified sightings at Addis Ababa
34 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Brown-rumped Seedeater

The brown-rumped seedeater (Crithagra tristriata) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is native to the Ethiopian Highlands and Karkaar (Somaliland). It is widespread in towns, villages, gardens, plantations and upland heath.

The brown-rumped seedeater was formerly placed in the genus Serinus, but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the brown-rumped seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.

The brown-rumped seedeater is typically 13 cm long. It is a uniform grey-brown with a small white supercilium, and has a plain (not streaked or spotted) breast with white under the chin. Its uniformity means its eponymous 'brown rump' is often not apparent. It feeds on some small seeds and grains in plants and other small shrubs.

Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:14

Ethiopia · 2014

© Andrew Spencer · XC268727 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:30

Ethiopia · 2026

© Bram Piot · XC1104939 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~80%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown-rumped Seedeater in Addis Ababa?

Very likely

About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-rumped Seedeater sighting in Addis Ababa on a given day, based on 312 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 109 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown-rumped Seedeater in Addis Ababa?

October and December

In those months about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-rumped Seedeater in Addis Ababa on a given day, against about 70% in February, the lowest month. Those are among Addis Ababa's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 250 mm in August.

What time of day is best to see a Brown-rumped Seedeater?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-rumped Seedeater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Brown-rumped Seedeater?

Only Addis Ababa, in our data

Addis Ababa is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Brown-rumped Seedeater sightings: about 80% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Brown-rumped Seedeater live in Addis Ababa?

Same genus: Crithagra

The closest relatives of the Brown-rumped Seedeater that you can see in Addis Ababa (genus Crithagra, African Seedeaters, Serins, Canaries, and Citrils) are Streaky Seedeater (about 60%) and African Citril (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Brown-rumped Seedeater sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown-rumped Seedeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Addis Ababa (312 verified sightings), 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.

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