Copper Sunbird

Copper Sunbird

Cinnyris cupreus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Freetown

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

12 Verified sightings at Freetown
936 In all 11 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Copper Sunbird

The copper sunbird (Cinnyris cupreus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is native to tropical Africa, its range extending from Senegal and Guinea in the west to South Sudan and Kenya in the east, and southwards to Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

The adult male copper sunbird is about 12.5 cm (5 in) long. The subspecies C. c. cupreus inhabits the western part of its range and weighs about 7.5 to 11 g (0.26 to 0.39 oz). The male C. c. chalceus, from the eastern half, weighs 7.5 to 11 g (0.26 to 0.39 oz) while the female of both subspecies weighs 7.3 to 10.2 g (0.26 to 0.36 oz).

C. c. cupreus: Senegal to east Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, west Kenya and west Tanzania C. c. chalceus: Angola to southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo, west Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:59

Uganda · 2010

© Erik Eggenkamp · XC64942 · CC BY-NC-ND 2.5

Uncertain1:01

Gabon · 2021

© BurBenj · XC687588 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:26

Zambia · 2019

© Peter Boesman · XC508816 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
2 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
3 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
4 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~10%
5 Semuliki National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
6 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
7 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
8 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
9 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
10 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
11 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Brazzaville 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo
~40%
2 Abidjan 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire
~20%
3 Yaoundé 🇨🇲 Cameroon
~20%
4 Accra 🇬🇭 Ghana
~20%
5 Abuja 🇳🇬 Nigeria
~10%
6 Freetown 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
~10%
7 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
8 Monrovia 🇱🇷 Liberia
<5%
9 Dakar 🇸🇳 Senegal
<5%
10 Harare 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 London Zoo 🇬🇧 United Kingdom In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Copper Sunbird in Freetown?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Copper Sunbird sighting in Freetown on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 29th most-seen of the 79 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Copper Sunbird in Freetown?

May and June

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Copper Sunbird in Freetown on a given day, against under 5% in January, the lowest month. March–April, July–August and October–November have too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Copper Sunbird?

Between 9 am and noon

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

Is Freetown the best place to see a Copper Sunbird?

6th of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate Copper Sunbird sightings, Freetown ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo, about 40%), Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire, about 20%) and Yaoundé (Cameroon, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Copper Sunbird live in Freetown?

Same genus: Cinnyris

The closest relatives of the Copper Sunbird that you can see in Freetown (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are Variable Sunbird (about 30%) and Splendid Sunbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Copper Sunbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Copper Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Freetown (12 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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