Crithagra mennelli
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The black-eared seedeater or blackeared canary (Crithagra mennelli) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. Its native habitat is miombo woodland. The black-eared seedeater 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 black-eared seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.
"Blackeared Canary" (PDF). The Atlas of Southern African Birds. p. 674. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 2 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-eared Seedeater sighting in Hwange National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 281st most-seen of the 308 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-eared Seedeater in Hwange National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months. That is one of Hwange National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 150 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-eared Seedeater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black-eared Seedeater sightings, Hwange National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Gorongosa National Park (Mozambique, under 5%).
Same genus: Crithagra
The closest relatives of the Black-eared Seedeater that you can see in Hwange National Park (genus Crithagra, African Seedeaters, Serins, Canaries, and Citrils) are Yellow-fronted Canary (about 20%) and Black-throated Canary (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-eared Seedeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Hwange National Park (6 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.
