Cinnyris afer
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The greater double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris afer) is a small bird in the sunbird family. It was formerly placed in genus Nectarinia. The sunbird breeds in southern, eastern and northeastern South Africa and Eswatini. It is mainly resident, but partly migratory in the northeast of its range. It is common in gardens, fynbos, forest edges and coastal scrub.
This sunbird is 14 cm long and exhibits a clear sexual dimorphism. The adult male has a glossy, metallic green head, throat upper breast and back. It has a broad brilliant red band across the chest, separated from the green breast by a narrow metallic blue band. The rest of the underparts are pale grey. When displaying, yellow feather tufts can be seen on the shoulders. The plumage on the female is pale grey, darker in the wings. 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 lesser double-collared sunbird by the latter's smaller size, narrower red chest band and shorter bill. The call is a hard chut-chut-chut, and the song is a high pitched jumble of tweets and twitters... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birds of Eden | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Double-collared Sunbird sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 120th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, July–August and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Double-collared Sunbird in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in March–June, September–October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Greater 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.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Greater Double-collared Sunbird sightings, Durban has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Johannesburg (South Africa, under 5%).
Same genus: Cinnyris
The closest relatives of the Greater Double-collared Sunbird that you can see in Durban (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are White-breasted Sunbird (about 20%) and Purple-banded Sunbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Greater Double-collared Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Durban (34 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.
