Bronze Sunbird

Bronze Sunbird

Nectarinia kilimensis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Kigali

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

495 Verified sightings at Kigali
3,406 In all 18 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Bronze Sunbird

The bronze sunbird (Nectarinia kilimensis) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is native to the Bié Plateau (Angola) and eastern Afromontane forests. Bronze sunbirds have a long, thin, well-curved bill. Males have bronze-and-green undertones but most often look black in light. While the male has the undertones, the female however has a pale eyebrow and an added yellowish park below the belly with fine streaking. On some subspecies specifically located in Angola there is a splash of odd green, but it does not overlap in range with malachite or scarlet-tufted sunbirds in similar areas which do not have this green streaking. Male sunbirds lack any purple tones to the plumage which is found on female species.

Bronze sunbirds use a jumble of twittering notes followed by cleaner whistle sounds. These sounds are most often heard during the early morning and mid day. The bronze sunbird can be found in Africa. While not very common they can be best found near the edges of the Afromontane forest, mountain sides and Zimbabwe's eastern highlands and adjacent next to Mozambique. Other countries they can be found... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Dawn song0:35

Kenya · 2026

© Ding Li Yong · XC1180776 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song0:21

Zimbabwe · 2024

© Dries Van de Loock · XC963297 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:52

Kenya · 2021

© isaac kilusu · XC622850 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Volcanoes National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~50%
2 Arusha National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~50%
3 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~40%
4 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~30%
5 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
6 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
~20%
7 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
8 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~20%
9 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
10 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
11 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
12 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
13 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
14 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
15 Lake Manyara National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
16 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
17 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
18 Tarangire National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~50%
2 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~40%
3 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Bronze Sunbird in Kigali?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Sunbird sighting in Kigali on a given day, based on 495 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 26th most-seen of the 244 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Bronze Sunbird in Kigali?

April and July

In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Bronze Sunbird in Kigali on a given day, against about 20% in December, the lowest month.

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

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bronze 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 Kigali the best place to see a Bronze Sunbird?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Bronze Sunbird sightings, Kigali ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Nairobi (Kenya, about 50%).

Where does the Bronze Sunbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Bronze Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Kigali (495 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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