Pyrenestes ostrinus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The black-bellied seedcracker (Pyrenestes ostrinus) is a bird species of the family Estrildidae. They live in most Central African countries and inhabit tropical rainforest. The species comprises individuals with different physical appearance which are grouped into three categories (small, large and mega bill size). Adults are mainly granivorous but diet preference varies with bill size and food availability. Black-bellied seedcrackers also exhibit very distinctive colorations with bright patches of black and red, making them easy to identify in the field. Overall, little is known about this species apart from its range, but intensive studies are currently looking at bill size variations among individuals and their effects on behaviors.
Black-bellied seedcracker is one of the 27 African species of finch out of 141 worldwide. They are thought to originate from India and South Asia and would have expanded in Africa over time with continental dynamics and tectonic activities. Finches belong to the family Estrilidae, within the order Passeriformes. They are considered a monophyletic clade, meaning that from an evolutionary perspective, finches in the family Estrilidae constitute...
Song0:19
Congo (Democratic Republic) · 2025
© Deville Tanguy · XC1182139 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kakum National Park | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 3 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Seedcracker sighting in Kakum National Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 179th most-seen of the 250 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-bellied Seedcracker in Kakum National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–March, the lowest months. That is one of Kakum National Park's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain against 35 mm in January.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-bellied Seedcracker sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Black-bellied Seedcracker sightings, Kakum National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Semuliki National Park (Uganda, about 10%).
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the Black-bellied Seedcracker that you can see in Kakum National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Gray-headed Negrofinch (about 60%), White-breasted Negrofinch (about 40%) and Chestnut-breasted Negrofinch (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-bellied Seedcracker is recorded against all the birds logged in Kakum National Park (34 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.
