Hedydipna metallica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The Nile Valley sunbird (Hedydipna metallica) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen. In February, the male Nile Valley sunbird assumes his nuptial plumage which he displays in flamboyant fashion. In winter both sexes look alike, tiny, only 9 to 10 cm long, pale grey above and washed-out yellow below, with a long, slender and slightly down-curved bill.
By February the male is transformed into a glossy green extrovert with a brilliant sulfur-yellow belly and long tail streamers that add about an extra five centimetres to his length. Once transformed, he will be puffing up and parading his newfound finery and courting his duller mate. The display includes a hovering, accompanied by body rocking and wing-whirring. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Nile Valley Sunbird sighting in Cairo on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 92 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Nile Valley Sunbird in Cairo on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Nile Valley 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.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Nile Valley Sunbird sightings, Cairo ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Luxor (Egypt, about 30%) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia, about 10%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Nile Valley Sunbird that you can see in Cairo (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Hooded Crow (about 90%), House Sparrow (about 90%) and Barn Swallow (about 80%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Nile Valley Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Cairo (8 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.
