Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Southern Double-collared Sunbird

Cinnyris chalybeus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
at Cape Town

In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%

2,165 Verified sightings at Cape Town
8,460 In all 6 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Southern Double-collared Sunbird

The southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalybeus) is a small passerine bird which breeds in southern Africa. It is mainly resident, but partially migratory in the north-east of its range.

This sunbird is common in gardens, fynbos, forests and coastal scrub. The southern double-collared sunbird breeds from April to December, depending on region. The closed oval nest is constructed from grass, lichen and other plant material, bound together with spider webs. It has a side entrance which sometimes has a porch, and is lined with wool, plant down and feathers.

The southern double-collared sunbird is 12 cm long. The adult male has a glossy, metallic green head, throat, upper breast and back. It has a brilliant red band across the chest, separated from the green breast by a narrow metallic blue band. The rest of the underparts are whitish. When displaying, yellow feather tufts can be seen on the shoulders. As with other sunbirds the bill is long and decurved. The bill, legs and feet are black. The eye is dark brown. The male can be distinguished from the similar greater double-collared sunbird by its smaller size... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:24

South Africa · 2026

© JJSUN · XC1077950 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:29

South Africa · 2025

© Ehren Eksteen · XC1005407 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:55

South Africa · 2017

© Faansie Peacock · XC371363 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~70%
2 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~60%
3 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
4 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
5 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
6 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cape Town 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Southern Double-collared Sunbird in Cape Town?

Likely

About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Double-collared Sunbird sighting in Cape Town on a given day, based on 2,165 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 9th most-seen of the 196 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Southern Double-collared Sunbird in Cape Town?

April

In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Southern Double-collared Sunbird in Cape Town on a given day, against about 30% in November, the lowest month.

What time of day is best to see a Southern Double-collared Sunbird?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Southern Double-collared Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Southern Double-collared Sunbird?

Only Cape Town, in our data

Cape Town is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Southern Double-collared Sunbird sightings: about 50% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Which relatives of the Southern Double-collared Sunbird live in Cape Town?

Same family: Nectariniidae

The closest relatives of the Southern Double-collared Sunbird that you can see in Cape Town (family Nectariniidae, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters) are Amethyst Sunbird (about 10%) and Malachite Sunbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Southern Double-collared Sunbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Southern Double-collared Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Cape Town (2,165 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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