Purple-banded Sunbird

Purple-banded Sunbird

Cinnyris bifasciatus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

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

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

11 Verified sightings at Mombasa
1,778 In all 20 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Purple-banded Sunbird

The purple-banded sunbird (Cinnyris bifasciatus) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Tsavo sunbird, sometimes lumped with the purple-banded, is here considered a separate species. Purple-banded sunbird - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:50

Zambia · 2025

© Dries Van de Loock · XC1046993 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:07

Kenya · 2024

© Peter Boesman · XC948055 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Alarm call0:17

Zambia · 2015

© Rory Nefdt · XC267462 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
2 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
3 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~10%
4 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
5 Lower Zambezi National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
6 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
7 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
8 Mana Pools National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~10%
9 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
10 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
11 Virunga National Park 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo
<5%
12 Mikumi National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
13 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
14 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
15 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
16 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
17 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
18 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
19 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
20 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Zanzibar City 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~40%
2 Dar es-Salaam 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~30%
3 Luanda 🇦🇴 Angola
~10%
4 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
5 Mombasa 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
6 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
7 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Purple-banded Sunbird in Mombasa?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-banded Sunbird sighting in Mombasa on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 127th most-seen of the 146 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.

When is the best time to see a Purple-banded Sunbird in Mombasa?

July, October and December

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-banded Sunbird in Mombasa on a given day, against under 5% in January–June, August–September and November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Purple-banded Sunbird?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-banded Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Mombasa the best place to see a Purple-banded Sunbird?

5th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate Purple-banded Sunbird sightings, Mombasa ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Zanzibar City (Tanzania, about 40%), Dar es-Salaam (Tanzania, about 30%) and Luanda (Angola, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Purple-banded Sunbird live in Mombasa?

Same family: Nectariniidae

The closest relatives of the Purple-banded Sunbird that you can see in Mombasa (family Nectariniidae, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters) are Scarlet-chested Sunbird (about 40%), Olive Sunbird (about 30%) and Collared Sunbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Purple-banded Sunbird sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Purple-banded Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Mombasa (11 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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