African Citril

African Citril

Crithagra citrinelloides

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Nairobi

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

338 Verified sightings at Nairobi
534 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Citril

The African citril (Crithagra citrinelloides), also known as the Abyssinian citril, is a species of finch. It is found from Ethiopia and Eritrea to western Kenya. It is closely related to the western and southern citril, to which it was formerly considered conspecific.

The African citril was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the African citril were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.

This bird was studied in the Degua Tembien massif, and observed to be a breeding resident of woodland edges, forest edges and scrubland. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:33

Kenya · 2022

© Lars Lachmann · XC752966 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:36

Kenya · 2018

© James Bradley · XC444919 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:05

Kenya · 2007

© Nature sounds by Simply Birding · XC615651 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
2 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
3 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
4 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
5 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~30%
2 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Citril in Nairobi?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Citril sighting in Nairobi on a given day, based on 338 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 36th most-seen of the 234 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Citril in Nairobi?

December

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report an African Citril in Nairobi on a given day, against about 10% in February and August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an African Citril?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Citril 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 Nairobi the best place to see an African Citril?

2nd of 2

Of the 2 cities where we can rate African Citril sightings, Nairobi ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia, about 30%).

Which relatives of the African Citril live in Nairobi?

Same genus: Crithagra

The closest relatives of the African Citril that you can see in Nairobi (genus Crithagra, African Seedeaters, Serins, Canaries, and Citrils) are Streaky Seedeater (about 50%) and Reichenow's Seedeater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the African Citril sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Citril is recorded against all the birds logged in Nairobi (338 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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