Nectarinia famosa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. They pollinate many flowering plants, particularly those with long corolla tubes, in the Fynbos.
The malachite sunbird was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Certhia famosa. Linnaeus specified the type locality as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He based his account on "Le grimpereau à longue queue du Cap de Bonne Espérance" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. The specific epithet is from Latin famosus meaning "renowned" (from fama meaning "fame" or "repute").
The sunbirds are a group of small Old World passerine birds, and are placed within the family Nectariniidae, which is found across Africa, the Middle East and into South-east Asia. Also called green sugarbird. The malachite sunbird has two subspecies. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Golden Gate Highlands National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Aberdare National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 8 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 9 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 11 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 12 | Volcanoes National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 13 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Sunbird sighting in Garden Route National Park on a given day, based on 69 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 154th most-seen of the 222 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.
April, June and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Malachite Sunbird in Garden Route National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, May and July–November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Malachite Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
9th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Malachite Sunbird sightings, Garden Route National Park ranks 9th at under 5%. The best odds are in Golden Gate Highlands National Park (South Africa, about 40%), Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 30%) and Aberdare National Park (Kenya, about 30%).
Same family: Nectariniidae
The closest relatives of the Malachite Sunbird that you can see in Garden Route National Park (family Nectariniidae, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters) are Greater Double-collared Sunbird (about 50%), Southern Double-collared Sunbird (about 40%) and Amethyst Sunbird (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Malachite Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Garden Route National Park (69 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
