Greater Double-collared Sunbird

Greater Double-collared Sunbird

Cinnyris afer

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Johannesburg

In 3 days <5%

30 Verified sightings at Johannesburg
1,422 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
March Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Greater Double-collared Sunbird

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 →

Sounds

Recording0:22

South Africa · 2023

© Drew Davison · XC862275 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song1:26

South Africa · 2022

© Lynette Rudman · XC731568 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:27

South Africa · 2016

© Tim Cockcroft · XC324023 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~50%
2 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
3 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
5 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
2 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Birds of Eden 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Greater Double-collared Sunbird in Johannesburg?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Double-collared Sunbird sighting in Johannesburg on a given day, based on 30 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 150th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Greater Double-collared Sunbird in Johannesburg?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Greater Double-collared Sunbird in Johannesburg on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

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

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.

Is Johannesburg the best place to see a Greater Double-collared Sunbird?

Among the best

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Greater Double-collared Sunbird sightings, Johannesburg ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Durban (South Africa, under 5%).

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

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Greater Double-collared Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Johannesburg (30 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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